Games are the type of application most downloaded by users on their android devices. There are more than 2.7 million apps stored in Google Play and most of the apps that reach to the top are games, whether they are free or paid. Google Play offers a great variety of categorized games, from Action and Adventure to Puzzles and Role Playing, for everyone’s entertainment.

For Android developers, there are several tools and engines for game development. If you have always dreamed of creating your own game for mobiles devices, then you should know some of the best resources out there for it. Some of them required programming skills and some others provide a friendly drag-and-drop interface, which can be very useful for beginners or if you want to save yourself some time:

App Game Kit

AppGameKit was built to be an easy to use game-making tool for indie developers worldwide and to solve many device fragmentation problems. It features its own BASIC script language and its a good alternative for beginners or professional developers who want to create games for mobile devices and other platforms.

Besides, you can use native functions to improve performance by coding games with C++ or publishing your games to multiple stores by using its own guides. You can also find some video tutorials on their youtube channel. A trial version is available but you can order more advanced packs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKMTSpqrnXM

Game Maker Studio

A beginner friendly 2D game development environment, which you can use to export your game to multiple platforms, including Android, of course. Game Maker Studio is a highly customized tool with a drag-and-drop user interface, however, you can also learn Game Maker Language (GML) if you want a higher development control.

A popular software among amateur and professional developers. With GMS you can import animations, fonts, sprites and create stunning visual effects to bring your 2D physics games to life. Check introduction tutorials here.

Version 2 of Studio has recently been released, although its trial version is Windows test only and you could find its pro version price quite expensive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvrKQlI_1A

Unity

A multi-platform game engine recognized throughout the industry. One of the most complete tools for game development due its rapid prototyping, asset store, shaders, rendering power, monetization and sharing services. Unity allows you to create 2D and 3D games, you can download a free personal edition or get a “Plus” or a “Pro” version as well.

If you are new in game development, Unity may seem a little overwhelming at first, as it is recommended for advanced developers. However, there are a lot of official tutorials and a great community to help you get started with this amazing engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNdJ0KWlYPw

Unreal Engine

Epic’s Unreal engine has just released its new version 4.15. This is another multi-platform technology commonly used by the game industry. Unlike Unity, it gives you complete access to the C++ source code in case you need it. You can use Unreal for free and pay 5% of gross revenues when you start making incomes from your game.

Like Unity, this engine provides you a great amount of tools you might struggle to understand at first. So they offer you some documentation, video tutorials and other community resources on its website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEoDS__sfWA

Conclusion

We know games are frequently search by users on Google Play, and that makes it a highly competitive market. However, this should not prevent you from developing the game you’ve always wanted to create. All of these tools are free or offer a trial version, so why don’t you give it a shot?

There are many tools that provides you monetization services, but you can also make use of Google AdMob to get app revenues.  Make sure to enroll to the Monetize Android Apps with Business Models course to get the most out of game idea.

There are plenty more tools for Android game development, What others have you used? What do you think about these ones?