Luxe Engine is a proprietary [[Game Engine|Game Engine]] written in [[C++]]. - [Website](https://luxeengine.com/) - [Documentation](https://luxeengine.com/) - [Forum](https://community.luxeengine.com/?ref=luxeengine.com) > luxe is a cross platform, rapid development game engine to make games for Mac, Linux, Windows, and Web, with console support in development. \- Luxe homepage # Notability Used by [[Studio Any Percent]] for their games like Mossfield Origins.[^1] The only game engine that I'm aware of that ships with support for [[Wren]] scripting. Sometimes one of the developers ([[dev ruby0x1]], also a [[Wren]] developer) will stream[^3] engine development. # Philosophy ## 2D vs 3D > while luxe is capable and supports 3D, the preview is focused on being a great 2D tool first. Follow the roadmap to see when we transition from preview to 2D ready, and then after that to 3D ready. \- Luxe download page[^2] 2D-first, 3D secondarily. ## Monetization There are semi-optional tiered **subscriptions**. The engine says it is "pay what you want", as it can be downloaded for free without any restrictions. However, if you are a studio with more than 16 employees or 1MM USD revenue in the past year, you *must* contact them for a custom agreement. ## Limitations on Use Luxe has strict, specific prohibitions on use for military, gambling, and [[Cryptocurrency]]-related projects. ## Source Availability The source for Luxe is not currently ([[2025-09-13]]) available, but according[^4] to the FAQ source access is planned. ## Modularity While Luxe seems to have a very nice editor, it is fully optional and games may be made without it. According to the current ([[2025-09-13]]) FAQ,[^4] the editor cannot be used to build complete games on its own. ## History - [[2016]] - The first blog post[^7] about Luxe was published. - [[2025]] - January 1st was when the first preview was publicly released, without any announcement. - [[2025]] - June 12th was when the public preview was officially announced.[^8] There is a project roadmap[^9] that shows major planned (and completed) features. ## Release Frequency Luxe seems to release updates on average monthly, although at the time of this writing ([[2025-09-13]]) there has not been a new release in 3 months. # Platform Support ## Host - Linux - macOS - Windows ## Target All those covered by [[#Host]], plus: - Web browser - Switch ("soon") # Features ## Scripting Luxe is scripted using [[Wren]] with plans to support [[C Sharp]] and others. ## ECS Luxe seems to use something akin to an [[Entity Component System]], although they do not call it that. Luxe uses[^5] related terms: - Entities : anything that exists in a game world - Modifiers : can be changed at runtime, they connect Entities to Systems, and store the Entity-specific data required by the System (these sound a lot like components) - Systems : the actual provider of functionality (appearance, physics, behavior, etc) which Modifiers point to - Services : low level functionality required by other parts of the game (like rendering) - Modules : a collection of Modifiers/Systems/Services Anything that the engine provides for each of these categories may also be created in code by game developers, such as custom[^6] Modifiers. ## Limited Dependency Management While it does track project dependencies, they must be downloaded manually and individually from the "module" tab of the launcher. ## VS Code Integration >[!BUG] > When launching VS Code from the Luxe editor, the editor will freeze until VS Code terminates. > > You can work around this by launching VS Code first. There is a Luxe extension for VS Code for syntax highlighting and other integrations. ## Luxe Agent [[Detect it Easy]] reports that it is written in [[C]], but based on the strings in the executable and the fact that it links to `libstdc++.so` indicates that it is probably [[C++]] like the engine itself. It provides auto-completion for VS Code. # Tips ## First Launch It is probably a good idea to run the launcher from a terminal window. It produces a lot of verbose output. ## Tutorial >[!WARNING] > The "Tutorial" template ("outline") project supplied with the engine launcher doesn't work in the Editor at all. There is code in it, but the Luxe Editor doesn't seem to be able to do anything with it. If you use [[VS Code]] to open up the tutorial directory you created the "outline" in, you can build (`ctrl-shift-b`) the project from there. Before you can build the tutorial project, you must create a directory called `generated` in the project directory, otherwise the build will immediately fail. However on my system, even that was not sufficient, and after half an hour or so of "building" I exited VS Code. Perhaps follow the online tutorial guide[^10] instead. ## Luxe Directory Luxe stores modules, engine versions, and other engine data in a user folder: ```sh "$HOME/.local/share/luxeengine" ``` # Resources - https://ruby0x1.ca/7dfps-2025-dev-log-1/ # References [^1]: https://anypercent.studio/mossfield-origins/ [^2]: https://luxeengine.com/get/ [^3]: https://www.twitch.tv/ruby0x1 [^4]: https://luxeengine.com/faq/ [^5]: https://luxeengine.com/dev-log-11/ [^6]: https://luxeengine.com/dev-log-12/ [^7]: https://luxeengine.com/dev-log-1/ [^8]: https://luxeengine.com/dev-log-15/ [^9]: https://roadmap.luxeengine.com/tabs/1-current [^10]: https://docs.luxeengine.com/tutorials/hello/