Teeworlds is a free and open-source retro multiplayer 2D shooter where round cartoon characters battle across platform maps with a signature combination of shooting, double-jumps and a grappling hook. Originally created by Swedish developer Magnus Auvinen and first released in 2007 (as TeeWars, renamed Teeworlds in 2008), it is now community-maintained and still played on hundreds of community servers. Matches support up to 16 players in classic modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, alongside community-born modes such as Race, plus a built-in map editor so you can design and share your own arenas. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, is also available on Steam, and ships with a dedicated server binary so anyone can host a game for friends or the public. The latest stable release is 0.7.5 (April 2020), with development continuing openly on GitHub.

Key Features

• Grappling-hook movement — swing, drag and launch yourself and other players around the map; movement skill matters as much as aim.
• Classic multiplayer modes — Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag for up to 16 players, plus community modes such as Race.
• Built-in map editor — design your own arenas with the included editor and share them with the community.
• Run your own server — a dedicated server binary with a public server browser makes hosting a game straightforward.
• Lightweight and fast — simple cartoon graphics and modest requirements mean it plays well even on older hardware.
• Customisable characters — skins, colours and cosmetic parts to make your player character your own.
• Free forever — no accounts, no ads, no in-game purchases; the full game is free and open source.

Why Use Teeworlds?

Teeworlds has survived for well over a decade because its core formula is genuinely hard to put down: fast 2D shooting where mastering the grappling hook feels as rewarding as landing the shot. It is the rare multiplayer game that asks nothing of you — no account, no launcher lock-in, no payments — and gives you everything, including the tools to host servers and build maps. The community servers keep the game alive around the clock, while LAN play makes it a dependable pick for game nights. For the technically curious, the complete C++ source is open and well suited to studying real-time multiplayer networking and 2D game physics.

Use Cases

• Quick online multiplayer matches in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag.
• LAN-party gaming on modest or older machines that cannot run modern 3D shooters.
• Hosting a public or private community game server for friends.
• Designing and sharing custom 2D multiplayer maps with the built-in editor.
• Studying open-source C++ game code, netcode and 2D platform physics.

Platforms

Windows · macOS · Linux (also distributed on Steam)

Licence

Zlib-style licence for the code with game content under CC BY-SA 3.0 — open source.

Website

teeworlds.com · source on GitHub

Similar open-source game

Hedgewars — another free, cartoony multiplayer battler where squads fight across destructible 2D terrain, with local, LAN and online play.