10 Unity Game Development Languages for You to Learn in 2023

If you are a game developer, these are the top 10 Unity game development languages for you to learn in 2023

Game development platforms like Unity make it possible to create everything from simple 2D platformers to fully detailed 3D first-person shooters, all on your own. Unity is free for small developers, and there are many resources available online for anybody who wants to learn to use this platform. Here are the top 10 Unity game development language for you to learn in 2023.

C#

Inquiring minds demand to know: what programming language does Unity use? According to its official documentation, C# is the only language that Unity supports natively. For anyone just starting out with Unity, or anyone with previous knowledge of object-oriented programming, C# is the best Unity programming language, to begin with. In fact, C# is the only Unity coding language worth learning for the platform, and with good reason. The good news is that C# is a powerful language and one that's easy to learn. Unity is just one of many reasons to learn C#, and if you're a beginner, you might even find it more accessible. Developing games is one way to give structure to learning, and project-based goals can lead to an enhanced understanding of new subjects. With the consistent introduction of new features, Unity continues to push what can be done with C#. Without question, C# is the best programming language for Unity.

C/C++

Since 2016, many Unity programming languages have been deprecated by the company, in favor of C#. Despite the robust Unity library and all the available tools, C# gives, sometimes you might want to use plugins. C++ is the most common Unity development language used for plugin creation. People use plugins for a number of reasons, including speed and access to a codebase that's already written in another language. Building these scripts into dynamic link library (DLL) plugins saves you the trouble of rewriting code, and can even improve performance in some cases. Although C++ is typically the language developers use for plugin creation, C works equally well. As long as the code builds into a DLL file, you can place it in Unity's plugin folder and reference it in the code.

Rust

Rust is a language with a lot of buzz around it. It was created by Mozilla in 2009, as a way for developers to develop high-performance software quickly. Experienced programmers love it for the incredible amount of control it gives, all while eliminating the pitfalls of languages like C++, which can feel less friendly at times. While it isn't possible to write Rust in Unity directly, you can access functions and methods written in Rust from your Unity code. Jim Fleming covers the subject in detail in his how-to guide on Medium.

IronPython

If you want to develop games, Python is probably not the language for you, but it is possible to use. In his Microsoft Developer Community blog, Charlie Calvert outlines how to run Python from C#, but it's not for the faint-hearted. In short, you will need to download the IronPython libraries from GitHub and refer to them in your C# project. Almost 10 years after its introduction, IronPython is still in active development. It will allow you to call Python scripts from C# scripts, much like you would any other library.

Lua

One of the best implementations of an external language for Unity is MoonSharp, a Lua interpreter. This project isn't designed to replace C# as a language, but rather to act as a bridge. The perfect use case for MoonSharp is adding a way for players to create game modifications in the Lua language. You could also use it to describe objects and design levels separately from your core game code. If you are already coding in C# and looking for an interesting way to interface with your code, MoonSharp is worth consideration. Since this Unity scripting language is available for free on Unity's Asset store, you can import it directly into your projects.

Java

Java runs on everything, from printers and microwaves to complex video game systems. It is a very dynamic language with lots of applications, and also one of the easiest programming languages to learn.

Javascript

Beginning designers should include JavaScript in their roster of game programming languages. JavaScript is commonly used to build games for browsers and for mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and JavaScript has a large set of tools and frameworks like WebGL and the HTML5 gaming framework Phaser.

SQL

SQL is used for back-end database work so that the player can access their account and do other things on the server, like in MMORPGs. SQL is not very important if you're developing a single-player game.

HTML 5

HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and final major HTML version that is a World Wide Web Consortium recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML Living Standard.

CSS

CSS is also being utilized to build fully-interactive UIs. Things that used to require JavaScript can now be done with code that is natively supported in all modern web browsers. Among the best examples of this trend is the bevy of pure CSS games that are popping up.