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Ren’Py

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Free, open source engine for building visual novels and story-driven games.

Game Development Software
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Ren’Py screenshot See all screenshots
  • Deployment On Premises
  • Starting price Free
  • Free trial Not offered
  • Best for Freelancers, Startups

What is Ren’Py?

Ren'Py is a free, open source visual novel engine used by thousands of independent creators to build story driven and simulation games. It combines a simple, screenplay-like scripting language for dialogue and branching plots with full Python scripting for advanced logic, making it approachable for beginners while remaining powerful for experienced developers.

The engine includes built-in save and load systems, rollback, scene transitions, and its own Animation and Transform Language for in-engine animation, plus a Screen Language for building custom interfaces. Ren'Py games export to Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and HTML5, and the engine can be used commercially at no cost with no royalties owed.

Key Features of Ren’Py

Ren’Py lists 8 documented features, including Screenplay-like scripting language for branching dialogue and stories, Python scripting for advanced game logic and simulations and Built-in save, load, rollback, and preferences systems. The list below covers what the product does rather than how it is marketed.

  • Screenplay-like scripting language for branching dialogue and stories
  • Python scripting for advanced game logic and simulations
  • Built-in save, load, rollback, and preferences systems
  • Animation and Transform Language (ATL) for in-engine animation
  • Screen Language for building custom, fully animated UI
  • Full-screen movie and animated sprite playback
  • Cross-platform export to Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and HTML5
  • Free and open source, usable commercially with no royalties

Ren’Py Pricing

Ren’Py lists one plan, at Free.

Open Source

Free

Unlimited

Request pricing

Free and open source, including for commercial visual novels; no paid tiers exist.

Ren’Py Specifications

Ren’Py is available on Windows and macOS. It has a free plan.

Deployment
  • On Premises
Billing cycle
One-time
Desktop
  • Windows
  • macOS
Languages
  • English
Built for
  • Freelancers
  • Startups
Integrations
itch.io, Steam/Steamworks export tooling, Google Play and Apple App Store build export
Public API
No
Free trial
No
Free plan
Yes
Runs in browser
No
Customisable
Yes
Website
renpy.org

Ren’Py Videos

Ren’Py Screenshots

Ren’Py screenshot 1

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Ren’Py FAQs

Yes, Ren'Py is open source and free to use, including for commercial visual novels, with no royalties owed.

Basic visual novels can be made with Ren'Py's simple screenplay-like scripting language; Python knowledge is only needed for advanced features.

Ren'Py supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and HTML5/WebAssembly (beta) exports.

Yes, saving, loading, preferences, and rollback are built in and require no extra work from the developer.

Yes, its Python scripting support allows developers to build complex simulation and stat-tracking games beyond simple branching narratives.