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Game Maker 8.1 Pricing

The price of upgrading to Game Maker Pro is to increase by 60% on June 1st.

The current Game Maker Pro 8 will be renamed to Game Maker Standard as of version 8.1 and from June will sell for $39.99.

Anyone who has a purchase reference number for Game Maker 8 (including those who received a free upgrade from Game Maker 7) is eligible to receive Game Maker Standard 8.1 at no additional cost.

The change in the naming structure is the biggest indication yet that a more expensive version of the software with additional capabilities will be made available.

The ability to export produced games in HTML5 format is one of the ‘addons’ or extra features that could appear in any more expensive version. Speaking to Sandy earlier this month he stated that the HTML5 product, if released, would be more expensive than the existing Game Maker but “won’t be thousands, it won’t even be hundreds”. He also said that he felt “a higher price in someways helps people value the product”.

This is the first change in the Game Maker pricing structure since the increase by $5 to $25 in February 2009.

What do you think?

21 Comments

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  1. YoYo started nice, but now…they want more…come on, one day they will compare you with UDK. If you are willing to give FEATURES in GM 8.1. i will pay…You YoYo.

  2. Please do not focus on the price, instead we should identify the function and capability of the upgraded program.

  3. A little more than I would have expected but still an excellent value, especially if YoYo Games continue in their earnest effort to improve and iterate on the product. The notion that there is an even more capable “Pro” edition of Game Maker on the horizon is exciting.

  4. $40 is not even more than the normal price of a new video game. It’s funny how parents wouldn’t take much convincing to buy their child a video game for $40, but some software that lets you make games? No, $40 is ridiculous; I’m not wasting $40 on that piece of shit.

    Just an observation. D:

  5. I hope they introduce a Basic Pro type version. Sure, a higher price helps people value the product, but many people use Game Maker because it’s the best bang for buck. Also, there are many children aged people who find it hard enough to convince their parents to buy them a $25 program they (may) only use once, but $40 is getting up there.

    It’s not going to put me off, but I can see it putting other people off.

  6. Finally!

    I’m happy with this… and eager to see what they’re gonna throw in the “Professional” version.

    I’m sure this will certainly help Game Maker to be considered as a much more serious game development tool than it is today.

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Game Maker 8.1 Official Feature List

Mid-week Community Links: “Appstore” and GameSalad Differences