in , , ,

GameMaker Studio Standard Edition Is Currently Free ($50 Value)

Update: GameMaker Studio Standard is now 100% free permanently, click here for more info »

[highlight]The promotion below has ended[/highlight]

icon-gmsGameMaker Studio version 1.2.1214 was just released, and with it comes an offer to upgrade to the Standard edition free of charge. Valued at $50, GameMaker Studio Standard is a significant improvement upon the free version of the software which imposes harsh restrictions on the resources that developers can make use of.

Additionally, developers can use their free Standard edition license to upgrade to the Professional edition for only $50 more. It’s likely that this is a time-limited offer, so if you’re using the free version of GameMaker Studio be sure to act quickly. Instructions for upgrading are listed below.

The option to upgrade to Standard is displayed after starting GameMaker Studio. Make sure you have updated to version 1.2.1214 (or later) of GameMaker Studio. As the update is part of the beta updates channel, choose this option when it is presented. You may need to right click the GameMaker icon in your system tray and select the correct updates channel.

UPDATE: The promotion is now running on the stable updates channel as of version 1.2.1222, so you do not need to change to the beta channel anymore.

You will need to register for a license key to be sent to you via email, and then you can use that key to upgrade your free version of GameMaker Studio to the Standard edition. Some users are reporting that it has taken up to 60 minutes to receive the email which includes the license key due to current high demand.

This offer is not being extended to users who have GameMaker for Steam.

Download GameMaker Studio »

GameMaker community members expressed their delight at the offer. “I’ve been wanting to recommend Studio to friends for a long time, but the resource limits of Studio Free make the program borderline unusable,” said one user.

Subscribe to our newsletter in the sidebar to receive the latest GameMaker news, discounts and giveaways.

What do you think?

112 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Is this offer still open? If so, does it work for people already using the free version? I updated but don’t see anywhere to select the upgrade.

  2. WORKS!
    Downloaded from link above, then wait for all updates and then update to stable, don’t do anything else. Restart game maker, then it will show you the 3 options and choose the middle for the free standard verison. add email and its done!

    • I did the same as you, and i think i have everything set up correctly but how do you check it?
      When i go into help>about it says that the copy registered to none and if i go under update licence it says that the copy is unlicensed. i just want to make sure ive got everything set up correctly.

  3. Where do I click to get the Beta, please someone tell me I am so confused. People say right click on something what should I click on?! please tell me I would be very thank full

    • There’s a link to download the mac version on the website, but the free version doesnt seems to be for mac users 🙁 i need help too.

    • Its there your just not searching, once you finished all that update theres the ads page, click on the arrow to the right and the option to upgrade to standard should be there.

  4. Okay, tried to get it set up, but to no avail. Here’s what I did.

    *Installed GM Studio and selected the beta updates channel from the prompt; A screen asking for “Primary License” and “Modules” appears, but with no sign of obvious updating or notice of what to put in the license fields. Clicking on “Submit License” and “Use Free Edition” do nothing but bring up error messages that “A connection with the server could not be established. Version listed in error message is stated as v1.2.1135
    *Installed again; No notice of being able to choose update channel. Same error messages.
    *Uninstalled and then did a new fresh install; No notice of being able to choose update channel. Same error messages.

    I assume traffic taking the servers down is the main problem here?

  5. I was able to get it to give me the offer on steam, I had to change my beta participation in the properties menu for GM:S, and then it downloaded the update. After that, the ad offers game maker standard came up, but since then it isn’t allowing me to see the ads, and my key hasn’t come through, so I might have just hit the button at just the right time or something.

  6. Downloaded, installed, selected beta channel. It gave me 3 choices: Free, Standard (for free), then something that cost money. Put my e-mail in for Standard, said it sent a license, still haven’t gotten anything.

    So, I went back and chose free. It restarted, then said I could upgrade to Standard for free. Clicked it, took me to the same screen to enter in my e-mail for the license, entered a different e-mail, still no key for either e-mail. T_T

  7. I downloaded it, and then it offered an update. every time i try to update, it keeps crashing. so i decided to redownload. however this time, it automatically updates while installig. any way around this?

  8. I followed all the steps, but it’s not asking for my email. But, it is asking me to update it back into 1.2.12 instead of 1.2.1214.

  9. Hello!
    I just finished the download, I’m sure the .exe file downloaded correctly. However, when I try to run the Installer on my Windows 8.1 PC, it inmediately displays a prompt which reads: “NSIS Error – Error launching installer”… What gives?

  10. Dumb question: I currently have been using GameMaker 8.1 Lite, will this open my gm81 files? Does this software do the same thing? Or is it a completely different workflow?
    Thanks

    • It works almost identically to GM8.1 and you can import your .gm81 files. But there are some engine differences and you may need to alter certain projects to get them to run.

  11. So I’m guessing the Mac version is not free? I’m not seeing any of the things mentioned in this post that would let me get a key.

    • GM:Studio is for Windows but it can be run on a Mac with Parallels. Game Maker for Mac is a different product that is similar to Game Maker 7.

  12. How long does it take to receive the email with the license key?
    I entered my email address about 10 minutes ago, and I still got nothing (followed exactly the procedure, and also checked my spam folder).

  13. I got my license key (took around an hour, but I did get it), and I’m entering it in the application… Nothing is happening. No reaction from the program whatsoever. And I’ve tried several times over the last half hour. It’s not even rejecting the key or anything; it’s literally just doing nothing at all.

  14. Just downloaded this, looking forward to building something awesome.

    When I downloaded it though, it seems to be a newer version, 1.2.1222.

    How am I able to upgrade to standard edition if the version is newer than the version that let’s you upgrade?

    Any help would be awesome.

    • You can scroll down in the list of updates, and it will show you older ones as well. When you reach the 1.2.1214, click on it, it’s a link that will launch the update (you will have to click run on the new popup window.

  15. I’m confused, because the logo on the download page includes a picture of the Apple logo along with the Windows and Windows 8 logos, but the text says, “Please note that the GameMaker: Studio IDE will only run on Microsoft Windows systems.” What exactly does the logo indicate?

  16. Thanks for the heads up! I have upgraded to free but how do you get professional for $50? When I click upgrade to professional it still says $99.99…

  17. I’m running Windows 8.1 (yeah… -.-) and I updated the software to the beta release. Problem is, every time I’d try to run the software after the update, it just says its not responding in my Task Manager. Any ideas what I can do? I’m uninstalling and re-installing for the second time now, and its kinda taking forever.

    • I see the same behavior. My machine fell asleep while waiting for the code to show up. It’s acting like it has an open game or “newgame” but I see nothing else…

  18. I’m that guy. I saw the option to choose stable or beta, chose stable, and then read the very clear instructions on this page. Herp derp!
    Any advice on changing my free stable license to the standard beta license?

  19. Is Really 😀 I have my Serial to Studio Standard version.

    1.- Download and install the free version.
    2. – When open GM select BETA CHANNEL

    3.- When prompt, update, install and relaunch.

    4.- When open again select the option 2, put a valid email and follow instructions.

      • Perhaps since Steam users are more likely to just buy the upgrade (as they’re in an ecosystem based around buying content) the conversion rate is too high to justify a promotion like this. Or maybe it’s just too much of a hassle on a technical level.

        Either way, Steam users are constantly left out so it’s no surprise to see it happen again.

      • Do you realize the potential abuse if they gave Steam keys to everyone who get this for free? People could just get a bunch of Steam keys for free and sell them afterwards.

        • Of course not. Dont you realize that people will bitch about anything even when its given to them for free? Logic and appreciation is non existent these days

  20. Um, could you maybe post a step by step of how to do this, because my roommate is having no luck getting it to update to Standard edition.

    • I tried, but when I went to install GMS into a new directory and launch it as the trial version, it picked up my Master edition license automatically. I don’t have a computer without GMS Master on it so I can’t go through the process myself.

      However, it should be as simple as this from what I can tell:

      – Download GameMaker Studio from the link above
      – Install it
      – Upon launch, you should be prompted to update GMS
      – It may only update you to the latest stable version
      – To address this, start GMS then right click the icon in the system tray
      – This will let you change to the beta updates channel
      – Choose “check for updates” after changing to that channel
      – You should then be prompted to update to version 1.2.1214
      – After updating, you should be offered the chance to get Standard free on launch
      – You should receive a key

      I hope this helps.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Make Virtual Worlds For The Oculus Rift Using GameMaker Studio

Upgrade From GameMaker Studio Standard To Professional For $25