My favorite free courses to learn Game Development for Beginners in 2024

Free Udemy online courses to learn game development using Unity, HTML 5, JavaScript, Phaser, libGDX, and MIT Scratch for kids.

If you are a programmer with a passion for game development or computer science graduate who wants to become a Game Developer for the console, Android, or iOS device and looking for some excellent courses to start with, then you have come to the right place.

In this article, I am going to share some of the best Game Development courses which are entirely free using Unity, Corona, and LibGDX, three of the most popular game engines for Programmers and Game Developers.

While LibGDX is Java-based and Unity is C# based but probably the most popular game engine at this moment. Unity Game engine is both powerful and free, which makes it ideal to use it for game development. If you don’t know, Unity is the same software used to create Pokemon Go and many other best selling mobile games!

These courses will teach you how to download and install Unity in your machine and start development at your own pace. Since I am a Java developer, I have also included a LibGDX course, which is another excellent game engine for Java developers.

If you are aiming for Android and iOS devices, you can also use the Corona game engine. I have also included one free course to learn game development using Corona on this list.

Game development can be both fun and very rewarding when publishing a hit game to the iOS App Store or Google Play store. Still, most importantly, it also teaches you how to program, and that’s why I suggest anyone learning to code or program to start developing games. It has helped me a lot to build my coding and algorithm skills in the past and will help you as well.

Btw, If you are new into the game development world and want to learn everything a Game Developer should know about C# and Unity that there is no better course than The Complete C# Unity Developer Guide by Ben Tristem and Rick Davidson. It’s not free, but it’s completely worthy of your time and money and more than 350K people have already joined this course

C# Unity Developer 2D Coding: Learn to Code Video Games

10 Udemy Free Courses to learn Game Development in 2024

Anyway, without any further ado, here is a list of some of the free courses to learn Game Development in 2024. As I have said in the first paragraph, it includes courses on Unity, Corona, and LibGDX frameworks.

1. Introduction to Game Development with Unity

This is one of the best courses to learn Unit Game Development online, and the best thing is that it’s free. In this course, you will not only learn how to install and setup Unity software but also how to create projects, scenes, and navigate.

You will learn how to use Camera and Lighting, Adding 2D and 3D game objects, manipulating the scene, and play with object colors and material to create real-world games.

Another beautiful thing about the course is that the Instructor is very enthusiastic, which makes this course more exciting and bright.

In short, an excellent course to get an overview of Unity’s different features and start with the Unity game engine.

Here is the link to join this course — Introduction to Game Development with Unity

2. Game Development Crash Course w/Corona SDK: You Can Do It!

If you’re interested in 2D mobile game development for Android and iOS, then you’ve probably heard of the Corona SDK framework. If not, it’s another popular game engine for creating games.

In this course, you will first dive in and create a simple game. Along the way, you’ll magically learn how to use the core concepts of Corona SDK like Animation, Tap and Touch Events, and Playing Audio.

The course is not long with just an hour of content, but it gives you enough ideas to go further. In short, an excellent online game development crash course for programmers interested in 2D mobile game development for Android and iOS using the Corona SDK.

Here is the link to join this course —Game Development Crash Course w/Corona SDK: You Can Do It!

3. Pygame Tutorial for Beginners — Python Game Development Course

This is another best free online course to learn Game Development using Python by freeCodeCamp and you can watch them free on their Youtube channel.

In this 2.15 hours online course, you will learn how to use Pygame to code games with Python. In this full tutorial course, you will learn Pygame by building a space invaders game.

The course will help you understand the main game development concepts like moving characters, shooting bullets, and more.

Here is the link to join this course on Youtube:

4. Simple Game Programming From Scratch with libGDX and Java

This is another short course to learn Game Development in Java using LibGDX, one of the most popular game development libraries in Java.

In this course, you will learn how to develop a “flappy bird-like” game by libGDX and Java from scratch and learn the basics of programming and game development along the way.

The only thing I don’t like about the course is that the Instructor is a bit slow and low, a bit of enthusiasm invoice would have made this course much better. Unfortunately, there are not many free courses with Java + LibGDX, so you have to contend with this.

Here is the link to join this course — . Simple Game Programming From Scratch with libGDX and Java

5. Unity Game Development — Build a Basketball Game

This is the perfect course for someone who wants to learn Game development but has no programming experience.

In this course, A Basketball game will be developed from scratch, and you will learn the basics of game development along the way.

This is not a long course but packed with 4.5 hours of powerful material where you will learn many important aspects of game development like one-tap start, characters with different behaviors, collision detections, animation, and so on.

In short, an excellent little course to learn Game Development with Unity, perfect for beginners, newbies, and anyone who wants to develop games without programming experience.

Here is the link to join this course — . Unity Game Development — Build a Basketball Game

6. Introduction to Game Development with Unity

This is a great online course to learn how to develop a high-quality 3D game for web, PC, Mac, or even Linux using Unity.

In this course, you will first learn how to create, acquire, modify, and integrate AAA quality assets such as sounds, music, and 3D models.

You will also learn Agile Game Development design principles and practices geared towards Unity3D and .Net.

By the end of this course, you will have a survival game that you can publish and play with your friends and family or continue to develop into your own custom creation.

Here is the link to join this course — . Unity Game Development — Build a Basketball Game

Btw, you would need a Pluralsight membership to access this course, which costs around $29 per month or $299 per year and provides access to their 5000+ online courses on the latest technologies. If you can invest that much money on your learning, then by all means you do, it’s completely worthy of it.

But, if you don’t have a membership, you can still access this course for free by taking advantage of their 10-day free pass, which allows 200 minutes of free access to all of their classes.

In short, a great course to learn game development using Unity3D, but some C# and .NET experience are needed for this course.

7. Intro to Game Development with JavaScript — Full Tutorial

This is another great free tutorial and course to learn Game Development online but with Javascript. This course is also created by freeCodeCamp and you can watch it free on their Youtube channel.

In this 1.16 hour long course you will learn how to create game development using vanilla JavaScript and HTML5 canvas. Build a complete brick-breaker game while learning the fundamentals of game development.

Here is the link to join this course on Youtube or here itself.

8. Code Your First Game: Arcade Classic in JavaScript on Canvas

This is a free online course on Udemy which will teach you how to create Arcade games using JavaScript. The course is completely free and you just need a free Udemy account to join this course.

Here are the key things you will learn in this course:

1. How to display, position, and move filled shapes for retro and prototype gameplay
2. How to move a ball around your game space such that it bounces off boundaries
3. How to handle real-time mouse input
4. How to detect and respond to simple collisions
5. How to program very basic artificial intelligence
6. How to keep and display score during play

The course will also teach you things like the difference between a classic game in this style which is fun to play versus one that isn’t

Here is the link to join this course — Code Your First Game: Arcade Classic in JavaScript on Canvas

9. HTML5 Simple Game Programming Preparation

This free HTML 5 Game Development course begins with a quick overview of web development in HTML5 and shows you the basic web framework used in all modern pages.

Here are the key skills you will learn in this free course:

1. How to build a basic web page with HTML
2. How to use CSS to add essential style to your page
3. Understand the main concepts of programming (variables, conditions, loops, branches, functions, and arrays) using JavaScript
4. How to use JavaScript and the Document Object Model to build a basic interactive web page

The course will also teach you how to use the free simpleGame.js game library and use the online practice tool to begin building your own games online!

Here is the link to join this course — HTML5 Simple Game Programming Preparation

10. Making Games With Phaser 2.X

This is another free Udemy course that covers the fundamentals of JavaScript and Phaser. You do not need to have any prior coding experience! All you need is a computer, determination, and a thirst for knowledge.

Here are the main things you will learn in this free Game development course:

1. Learn the fundamentals of JavaScript And Phaser!
2. Understand the fundamentals of JavaScript
3. Know the basics of using Github
4. How to create games with Phaser

By the end of the course, you will be able to create your own video games!

Here is the link to join this course —Making Games With Phaser 2.X

11. Intro to HTML5 Game Development

This is another free course to learn HTML 5 for Game development. You don’t need any programming experience as this course will teach you how to code mobile games with HTML5 and publish them to the Amazon Appstore

In this free online training course, you will learn the basics of HTML5 game development by creating your first Super Mario-style platformer game. All of it using 100% free tools and frameworks!

Here are the key things you will learn in this course:

1. Learn how to create simple 2D games using the Quinus HTML5 framework
2. Learn how to use Tiled to create levels
3. Learn how to publish HTML5 games to the Amazon Appstore

The course uses the Quintus HTML5 game framework, which is a lightweight yet powerful JavaScript library used to create professional 2D games. This course was created by Pablo Farias Navarro, HTML5 developer and founder of ZENVA.

Here is the link to join this course —Intro to HTML5 Game Development

12. Scratch Game Programming for Young Adults

If you don’t know, MIT created a special programing language to teach coding, its called Scratch and it's very popular for creating games.

This course provides a fun guide to programming for kids & teens or adults who want to help kids learn to code. Scratch is the best educational programming software for kids available today. With Scratch, you can create games and interactive art projects all while having lots of fun!

This free course (and supplemental book) covers the creation of several classic games like brick Breaker, Snake, and Fruit Ninja. Instead of memorizing a list of programming concepts, you’re guided through making these games and picking up programming concepts on the way.

The lectures follow the 6 game and computer art projects, along with additional content on debugging and experimenting with Scratch.

Here is the link to join this course —Scratch Game Programming for Young Adults

That’s all about some of the best free Unity courses to learn Game Development in 2024. I have also included a game development course with Corona, another popular game engine, which will teach you how to develop games for the Android and iOS platforms.

Though, if you want to create games in Java for desktop and Android platforms, you can also join Android LibGDX Game Development Masterclass to create Games Using Java with the LibGDX Game Development Framework.

Game development is both fun and rewarding when your game becomes hit on the iOS store, Google Play store, or on the web like Facebook.


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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these free game development courses, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. — If you are new to the game development world and want to learn everything a Game Developer should know about C# and Unity that there is no better course than The Complete C# Unity Developer Guide by Ben Tristem and Rick Davidson. You should check that as well.

C# Unity Developer 2D Coding: Learn to Code Video Games