Dance Dance Revolution: 3 Open Source Clones Compared
Groove Board is a small, halted tech demo (a single SDL/Perl prototype), not a full game. StepMania is a mature, actively developed rhythm game built around simfiles — custom song charts players create and share through its in-game mod system — making it the most modding-driven option here. Performous broadens the format further, covering karaoke and instrument-based band play (UltraStar, Frets on Fire, and StepMania song formats are all supported) alongside dance stepping, rather than focusing on DDR-style play alone.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 24d ago
- Stars
- 2,098
- Contributors
- 190
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- YesUsers can create simfiles (custom song charts) and share them with the community via the in-game mod system.
- Multiplayer
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 15d ago
- Stars
- 645
- Contributors
- 105
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoOpen-source karaoke and band game that supports custom song formats, no original assets required.
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- Local
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 15y ago
- Stars
- 1
- Contributors
- 1
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoIncludes custom music and art; does not require original game assets.
- Modding support
- —
- Multiplayer
- —
| Title | StepMania | Performous | Groove Board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Semi-playable |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux, OSX | Windows, Linux, OSX | None |
| Play in browser | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No |
| Project health | |||
| Development status | Active | Active | Halted |
| Last updated | 24d ago | 15d ago | 15y ago |
| Stars | 2,098 | 645 | 1 |
| Contributors | 190 | 105 | 1 |
| Engine | — | — | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | |||
| Requires original assets | — | NoOpen-source karaoke and band game that supports custom song formats, no original assets required. | NoIncludes custom music and art; does not require original game assets. |
| Modding support | YesUsers can create simfiles (custom song charts) and share them with the community via the in-game mod system. | — | — |
| Multiplayer | — | Local | — |
| Preview | | |
Known limitations
- platform: macOS users may need to launch Performous from the Terminal and specifically run Performous.app/Contents/MacOS/Performous for microphones to work.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Dance Dance Revolution clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
Do I need to own the original Dance Dance Revolution to play these clones?
Performous and Groove Board run standalone, no original files needed.
Which Dance Dance Revolution clone is the most actively maintained?
StepMania and Performous are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Dance Dance Revolution.