RPG Maker: 6 Open Source Clones Compared
These clones split along RPG Maker's own version lines: EasyRPG Player specifically targets RPG Maker 2000/2003 (LCF-format) games, while mkxp, mkxp-z, Luminol, and Tapir instead target the newer RGSS-based XP/VX/VX Ace line. Among the RGSS engines, mkxp-z is a fork of mkxp built for compatibility with Win32-API-heavy games (like those made with Pokemon Essentials) and runs on more platforms, including Apple Silicon and ARM/POWER Linux, while base mkxp is Linux-focused and explicitly lacks movie playback, WMA audio, and Win32API support; Luminol currently supports only the RGSS1 format (not RGSS2/RGSS3 tilesets) and doesn't work in Firefox. RPG-Maker-MacOS-Launcher isn't a separate engine at all — it's a macOS launcher that detects and wraps EasyRPG or mkxp-z depending on the game, and its own README says development is complete (bugfixes only), pointing users toward a newer alternative, Xenolauncher.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, OSX, Linux, Android
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- Android
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 5d ago
- Stars
- 1,221
- Contributors
- 123
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesGame interpreter designed to play RPG Maker 2000, 2003, and EasyRPG games; requires the original game data/project files.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 8mo ago
- Stars
- 587
- Contributors
- 15
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoCan load fonts from a Fonts folder in the game directory, supporting cross-platform font discovery without requiring system-installed fonts.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 3mo ago
- Stars
- 377
- Contributors
- 34
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoIncludes a built-in default font (Liberation Sans) when requested fonts are not found in the Fonts folder.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- None
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1mo ago
- Stars
- 147
- Contributors
- 10
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesLuminol reads RGSS1 rxdata files from RPG Maker projects; you must provide your own project files.
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 3mo ago
- Stars
- 122
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux
- Play in browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Archived
- Last updated
- 9y ago
- Stars
- 113
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- —
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesTapir is a runtime for RPG Maker XP/VX/VX Ace games; requires the original game files and RTPs to run.
| Title | EasyRPG Player | mkxp | mkxp-z | Luminol | RPG-Maker-MacOS-Launcher | Tapir |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Playable | — | Playable |
| Platforms | Windows, OSX, Linux, Android | Windows, Linux, OSX | Windows, Linux, OSX | None | OSX | Linux |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Mobile | Android | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||||
| Development status | Active | Sporadic | Active | Active | Sporadic | Archived |
| Last updated | 5d ago | 8mo ago | 3mo ago | 1mo ago | 3mo ago | 9y ago |
| Stars | 1,221 | 587 | 377 | 147 | 122 | 113 |
| Contributors | 123 | 15 | 34 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | — |
| Engine | SDL2 | SDL2 | SDL2 | — | — | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | ||||||
| Requires original assets | YesGame interpreter designed to play RPG Maker 2000, 2003, and EasyRPG games; requires the original game data/project files. | NoCan load fonts from a Fonts folder in the game directory, supporting cross-platform font discovery without requiring system-installed fonts. | NoIncludes a built-in default font (Liberation Sans) when requested fonts are not found in the Fonts folder. | YesLuminol reads RGSS1 rxdata files from RPG Maker projects; you must provide your own project files. | — | YesTapir is a runtime for RPG Maker XP/VX/VX Ace games; requires the original game files and RTPs to run. |
| Preview | | | | |
Known limitations
- compatibility: Movie playback not supported.
- audio: WMA audio files not supported.
- platform: Win32API ruby class not available for cross-platform compatibility reasons.
- graphics: Creating Bitmaps with sizes greater than the OpenGL texture size limit (around 8192 on modern cards) will fail; mega surfaces work only for tileset bitmaps loaded from files.
- audio: WMA audio files not supported.
- graphics: Creating Bitmaps with sizes greater than hardware texture size limits will fail; mega surfaces work only for tileset bitmaps loaded from files.
- compatibility: Currently compatible with RGSS1 only; RGSS2 and RGSS3 tileset formats are not yet supported.
- platform: Browser support is limited; Firefox is not supported due to Mozilla's stance on the Filesystem Access API.
Frequently asked questions
Are the RPG Maker 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.
What license do these RPG Maker clones use?
EasyRPG Player, Luminol, and RPG-Maker-MacOS-Launcher (GPL-3.0); mkxp and mkxp-z (GPL-2.0).
Do I need to own the original RPG Maker to play these clones?
mkxp and mkxp-z run standalone, no original files needed; EasyRPG Player, Luminol, and Tapir require original game assets to play.
Can I play any of these RPG Maker clones directly in a browser?
Yes — Tapir has a browser-playable build linked in the comparison table above, no install required.
Which RPG Maker clone is the most actively maintained?
EasyRPG Player, mkxp-z, and Luminol 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 RPG Maker.