In the last decade, game development has reached a completely new level and opened up huge virtual universes with an open world, photorealistic graphics and fascinating mechanics to the players. But none of this would be possible without code.

Therefore, in this article we will talk about the programming languages that are most in demand in game development.

C++ is a low-level object-oriented language that is used in most games on consoles and the Windows operating system.

One of the main advantages of C++ is its speed. The fact is that video games are subject to high load on the server. Because of this, if the code is interpreted too slowly, the player may experience annoying delays – ping.

C++ doesn’t have these problems because it’s low-level and was designed for machine readability. What’s more, it converts quickly even when running multiple tasks at the same time.

C++ is also one of the most popular languages for creating game engines – special development environments that provide ready-made tools and patterns for game development: graphics, object physics, sounds, artificial intelligence behavior, and more.

For example, C++ uses the following engines:

• Unreal Engine and Unreal Engine 5.
• Lumberyard.
• Godot.
• Cryengine.

This is another language from the C family, only high-level – that is, created for people to understand. It was developed and maintained by Microsoft and is therefore ideal for game development on Windows and Xbox.

C# is considered one of the main scripting languages for video games – it defines game mechanics and tells the computer what to do during the game. For example, if you want the player to see a certain message or picture when their character enters a new location or picks up an item, all this can be implemented in C#.

In addition, C# is the default language in Unity 3D, one of the most popular game engines chosen by 61% of developers. Many popular games are based on it, including Temple Run 2, Pokémon Go, and Hearthstone.

In addition, Unity dominates the VR market with 90% of all Samsung Gear games and 53% of Oculus Rift VR games, and therefore also uses the C# programming language.

Java is a versatile and cross-platform programming language that can run on almost any operating system, including iOS, Android, Microsoft, and Linux. Many front-page projects such as Minecraft and Mission Impossible III were written on it.

Java is often used in indie projects. This is because it runs on the JVM, a computing environment that runs independently of physical hosts. Therefore, it helps to speed up and reduce the cost of developing games, as well as facilitate their distribution and development after release.

Of the advantages of Java, it is also worth noting the support for multithreading. It allows you to process multiple sets of instructions at the same time, such as graphics rendering, gameplay logic, and more. This is important because in game development, developers prefer to separate different types of tasks into separate threads.

In addition, Java provides the ability to program sockets to provide two-way communication with the server, which makes it easier to create multi-user projects.

JavaScript is a multi-paradigm programming language that is widely used in the development of websites, mobile applications and game development. In the latter case, we mean the creation of browser games. They are often launched using the underlying HTML5 technology, which packages JavaScript code along with HTML and CSS markup languages, and ensures that it works correctly in PC, laptop and smartphone browsers with different screen sizes.

To speed up and simplify the development of games in JavaScript, developers often use special libraries and engines, for example:

• Three.JS.
• Goo Engine.
• Impact.JS.
• Allegro.JS.
• Babylon.JS.

Python is a high-level programming language that is best known in the field of software development. However, thanks to the capabilities of the PyGame library, it is also widely used in game development.

Of the benefits that PyGame provides to developers, it is worth noting the following:

• convenient and accessible documentation;
• flexible and combined basic modules;
• built-in installers for Windows and MacOS operating systems;

• a simple syntax created specifically for developing game scenarios.

As is always the case, along with the pros, there are also disadvantages. Since Python is a high-level language, it cannot match C++ in terms of performance, and compared to Java, its functionality in creating games is rather limited.

In summary, we can say that Python is not the best choice for developing large multiplayer projects, but for creating small and indie games, it can become indispensable.

Swift

Swift is a native programming language for the iOS operating system. It incorporates the best of C and Objective-C, and thanks to the SpriteKit framework, it allows you to conveniently animate sprites and textures.

In addition, with the help of Swift, you can work with the physics of objects, create collision effects – for example, when an object falls, and also create convenient user interfaces.

Lua

Lua is an object-oriented programming language that is just gaining popularity. It has a simple syntax and lightness, due to which it takes up little memory, which positively affects the performance of the project.

Another advantage of Lua is its embedding capability. The fact is that in gamedev, to achieve the desired result, developers often have to use several programming languages at once, and Lua code can be easily integrated into almost any project.

In games, almost all actions are tied to the use of scripts, for example:

• NPC attack at the right moment;
• launching dialogues and cut-scenes;
• change of equipment;

• swinging the bridge from side to side after the character ran over it.

The number of such events is simply huge, and in order for all of them to work correctly, it is important for developers to choose the optimal technology stack, including a programming language that will allow them to implement all the necessary settings, mechanics and ensure a high level of project performance.