What is Ren'Py?
Ren'Py is a visual novel engine – used by thousands of creators from around the world – that helps you use words, images, and sounds to tell interactive stories that run on computers and mobile devices. These can be both visual novels and life simulation games. The easy to learn script language allows anyone to efficiently write large visual novels, while its Python scripting is enough for complex simulation games.
Ren'Py is open source and free for commercial use.
Where does it run?
Where do I get it?
The latest official release of Ren'Py 8 is 8.3.7 "Second Star to the Right", released on March 17, 2025. Ren'Py 8 is recommended for all projects.
The nightly fix version of Ren'Py is built every night, and contains fixes to the latest stable version. It isn't tested as well as the official release, but often has fixes that haven't made it through the release process.
Ren'Py 7 is the legacy version of Ren'Py, to support ongoing projects that will be released in 2024. The latest version of Ren'Py 7 is 7.8.7 "Straight on Till Morning", released on March 17, 2025.
Where do I start?
The quickstart walks you through the process of creating a simple game.
Ren'Py comes with a comprehensive, if complex, reference manual, also available in Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
If you think you've found a bug in Ren'Py, report it to our GitHub issue tracker.
If you'd like to contribute to Ren'Py development, please visit our GitHub project page.
How do I keep in touch?
The best places to ask questions about Ren'Py are the Lemma Soft Forums, the Ren'Py Discord, and the #renpy IRC channel.
We make news about Ren'Py available on a number of social platforms:
Twitter: You can follow Ren'Py's lead developer @renpytom for release announcements, development news, and general commentary on life.
Facebook: We announce new releases on our Facebook page.
Who is it sponsored by?
Become a Sponsor!
To ask questions that aren't appropriate for a public forum, or to find a speaker for your visual novel-related conference or con, please contact us via email.
Featured Games
Ren'Py has been used to create over 8,000 visual novels, games, and other works. You can find Ren'Py visual novels at the Visual Novel Database, and games made with Ren'Py on Itch.io and Steam.
Here are just a few of the games made with Ren'Py.
South Scrimshaw: Part One is a fictional nature documentary that uses Ren'Py's interactivity to explore an alien world.
The desktop version of Doki Doki Literature Club makes use of Ren'Py to be more than it appears to be.
Some graphic content means it may not be suitable for all players.
In Slay the Princess, a voice asks you to kill the princess to save the world. Can you trust it?
Slay the Princess uses Ren'Py to change on each play-through. Some graphic content means it may not be suitable for all players.
