OpenRA
OpenRA reimagines the classic real-time strategy titles Dune 2000, Command and Conquer, and Red Alert for modern systems. Campaigns have been updated, maps are user-created and curated, and online multiplayer is supported. If you plan to jump into competitive play, expect steep competition: longtime players have high expectations of teammates, so it’s worth practicing against the AI first.
StepMania
StepMania began as a clone of Konami’s DDR and has grown into a full-featured dance and rhythm game. It supports external dance pads and includes an editor for composing your own step charts. The project also has a notable fork: Project OutFox, which focuses on modernizing the codebase, improving performance and graphical fidelity, and expanding support for additional game types. Its latest Alpha 4.9.9 release ships with new features and bug fixes.
Pioneer
Inspired by Frontier: Elite 2, Pioneer is a space trading and combat simulator set across millions of star systems. You can trade legally or turn to piracy, smuggling, and other criminal pursuits. The project saw a steady stream of releases last month, introducing new music tracks and improved selection alongside a redesign of a classic ship, viewable on SketchFab.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Shattered Pixel Dungeon, a roguelike RPG developed by @00-Evan, reached its 1.0 milestone recently. The project began in 2014 as a mod for Pixel Dungeon, intended to last only a few months. Community enthusiasm changed that trajectory, and it has evolved into a standalone game while retaining some code and assets from its predecessor. Expect deep variety, significant challenge, and strong replayability.
C-Dogs SDL
C-Dogs SDL is a four-player run-and-gun title where you fight alongside or against other players. The latest release includes AI improvements and weapon sprites that show what enemies are carrying. The original C-Dogs was freeware DOS software from the nineties by Ronny Wester; after being open sourced in 2002, it was ported to SDL by Jeremy Chin and Lucas Martin-King. Today @cxong maintains the project, which now features four-player multiplayer, co-op AI, moddability, and new campaigns and maps.
AssaultCube
AssaultCube is a lightweight multiplayer first-person shooter that fits in around 50MB. Game modes include Deathmatch, Survivor, Capture the Flag, Hunt the Flag, Keep the Flag, Pistol Frenzy, Last Swiss Standing, and One-Shot One-Kill. A built-in map editor supports real-time co-operative editing with other players, removing the need to share files through version control.
Minetest
Minetest is an open source voxel game engine whose blocky aesthetic belies its flexibility. You can choose from many games or create your own worlds and mods. Play solo, locally with friends, or on online servers featuring worlds that extend 62,000 blocks in each direction—that means you can dig a mine 31,000 blocks down. The getting involved guide documents how to report issues, review code, and contribute.
Zero-K
Zero-K is a real-time strategy game spanning land, air, and sea combat across hundreds of maps and unit types. It offers a single-player campaign, multiplayer, and strong AI opponents. The game runs on the open source Spring engine, and new contributors can consult the getting started guide.
Wyrmsun
Wyrmsun is a real-time strategy game drawing on history, mythology, and lore from other open source titles like Battle for Wesnoth. An in-game encyclopedia describes units and buildings along with their historical and mythological inspirations. Fans of Warcraft II will find familiar mechanics here.
Mindustry
Mindustry, created by @Anuken, blends tower defense with factory building. You construct supply chains of conveyor belts, feed ammunition into turrets, and produce materials to fortify your base against successive waves of enemies. The combination of logistics management and defensive strategy is better experienced than described.
SuperTux
Bookending the series with another penguin, SuperTux is a classic platformer in the style of certain Italian plumber games. Beyond the story mode, a large number of community-created levels are available as add-ons. Contributors can browse open issues and refer to CONTRIBUTING.md for guidance.
