Gotcha Gotcha Games, the developer behind the RPG Maker series, has rolled out a significant update for its game creation tool, ACTION GAME MAKER, on June 17. To celebrate the tool’s first anniversary, version 1.3.0 introduces support for 3D backgrounds, enabling the development of 2.5D-style games.
First launched in 2025 on Steam, Action Game Maker serves as a successor to Pixel Game Maker MV. It is engineered to empower creators without programming expertise to craft 2D games like platformers, action RPGs, and shoot-em-ups. Built on the open-source Godot engine, the tool grants access to its full suite of 2D capabilities. While it fully supports standard GDScript coding, Action Game Maker also incorporates a node-based visual scripting language tailored for non-programmers. In addition to Godot features, the development tool includes RPG Maker-like functionalities such as a database system, scene transition tools, 2D bone animations, and libraries of graphical and audio assets.
The latest update allows users to import 3D models as environmental backdrops for their games, fulfilling a long-standing request from the community. It’s important to note that the 3D content remains distinct from the 2D gameplay area, though it can function as a parallax background that syncs with 2D gameplay elements, such as mirroring the movement of the 2D camera. A guide on utilizing this new feature is accessible on the RPG Maker Guild.
Action Game Maker has also welcomed custom action plugins, a concept inspired by the plugin ecosystem of the RPG Maker series. This addition lets users design original Conditions and Actions using GDScript. Further insights into the update and Action Game Maker’s upcoming development plans can be found in Producer Letter #19 on the Steam store page.