Best Game Programming Books of 2025

The 5th edition of "Learning Python" is a comprehensive guide to the core language, perfect for both new programmers and experienced developers. Written by Mark Lutz, a leading Python trainer, the book covers both Python 2.7 and 3.3, as well as advanced language features like decorators and metaclasses. With quizzes, exercises, and helpful illustrations, this self-paced tutorial is an excellent resource for anyone looking to write efficient, high-quality code in Python.

The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, Third Edition by Jesse Schell presents over 100 sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a game’s design. This book describes the deepest and most fundamental principles of game design, demonstrating how tactics used in board, card, and athletic games also work in video games. The book provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again. The author, Jesse Schell, is a top game designer, professor, and CEO of Schell Games, LLC. This book is an essential resource for game designers and enthusiasts alike.

The Game Programming Patterns book is a comprehensive guide to help game programmers overcome the challenge of completing their games by providing proven patterns to optimize their game code. The book includes recipes organized by independent patterns, allowing readers to select the patterns they need. The book covers topics such as scripting engines, spatial partitions, and classic design patterns for games. The author, Genever Benning, draws on years of experience in shipped AAA titles to provide readers with the best practices and techniques for writing a robust game loop, organizing entities using components, and improving performance. Overall, Game Programming Patterns is an essential resource for game programmers looking to improve their coding skills.

The Official Scratch Coding Cards (Scratch 3.0) by Natalie Rusk is an excellent guide for kids to learn coding with Scratch, a free-to-use graphical programming language. The 75-card deck features interactive programming projects, such as creating games, stories, music, and animations. Each card shows an activity on the front and how to put code blocks together on the back. Kids also learn coding concepts like sequencing, conditionals, and variables. The author, a lead developer of Scratch, co-founded The Computer Clubhouse, an international network of after-school centers where young people learn to use new technologies creatively. This book is a must-have for parents and educators who want to introduce coding to children in a fun and engaging way.

Object-Oriented Python: Master OOP by Building Games and GUIs is an excellent guide for those who want to improve their Python programming skills with object-oriented programming. The book covers the basics of building classes and creating objects, and then moves on to explore the key concepts of object-oriented programming, such as encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance. The best part is that the book provides clear examples using the pygame package to help visualize the object-oriented style, and it also covers two fully functional Python code packages that will speed up the development of graphical user interface (GUI) programs in Python. Overall, Object-Oriented Python is a fun, practical, and thorough guide to mastering OOP in Python programming.

The third edition of "Game Engine Architecture" offers a comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of game engine software development. The author, Jason Gregory, draws on his vast experience to explain the broad range of technologies and techniques used by AAA game studios in detail. The book covers computer and CPU hardware, memory caches, compiler optimizations, C++ language standardization, and more. With an entirely new chapter on hardware parallelism and concurrent programming, it caters to both beginners and senior engineers. Overall, this book is an invaluable resource for game developers seeking a deeper understanding of game development technology.

The 10th-anniversary edition of "Theory of Fun for Game Design" by Raph Koster explores the essential elements of modern video games and their similarities with traditional games. The author delves into the concept of fun and why it is crucial in any game. Koster examines why some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years and how games are fundamental and powerful learning tools. This illustrated edition is an excellent resource for game developers, dedicated gamers, and curious observers who want to understand what drives this major cultural force. Overall, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in game design and the psychology of fun.

The Level Up! 2nd Edition is a comprehensive guide for those interested in designing and building video games. Written by Scott Rogers, a leading video game expert, the book provides practical examples and solutions based on his years of professional experience. This newly expanded edition teaches readers how to develop marketable ideas, design exciting levels, create games for mobile and console systems, and monetize their creations. The book also includes effective and professional design document examples and a new chili recipe. Overall, Level Up! 2nd Edition is an indispensable guide for video game designers in both the field and the classroom.

How to Make a Video Game All By Yourself is an excellent guide for anyone who wants to create their own video game. It covers everything from finding inspiration to picking a game engine and guiding your project to completion. This book is written by a video game industry veteran and is filled with handmade drawings, charts, and quotes from notable game developers. The author's pragmatic and concise approach makes this book an essential read for anyone interested in making a video game on their own. Overall, it's a unique and valuable resource for aspiring game designers.

The 3rd edition of "Blueprints Visual Scripting for Unreal Engine 5" by Brenden Sewell is a practical guide that enables game designers to script their games with UE5 Blueprints without writing a single line of code. The book is a comprehensive guide that teaches readers how to create a fully functional game, from implementing visual scripting to developing gameplay mechanics, UI, visual effects, VR, and artificial intelligence. The book also covers advanced Blueprint nodes, such as arrays, maps, enums, and vector operations, and introduces the elements needed for VR game development. This book is an excellent resource for game designers and programmers who want to learn how to use UE5 Blueprints effectively.