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Students Can Start for Free

OpenForge MCP is MIT-licensed open-source software. Anyone can use it for free.

And if you are a student, you can get the AI side of things for free too -- meaning the entire setup costs nothing.

OpenForge MCP is free​

OpenForge MCP is released under the MIT license. It is completely free, including for commercial use. There is no cost to download, install, or use it.

Students get AI for free too​

OpenForge MCP requires an AI client, but students can use GitHub Copilot at no cost.

What is GitHub Education?​

GitHub Education is a program that gives students free access to GitHub's paid services.

Key benefits include:

  • GitHub Copilot for free (normally $10/month)
  • GitHub Pro account
  • Cloud service credits from various providers

How to apply​

  1. Go to github.com/education
  2. Click "Get benefits"
  3. Sign in with your GitHub account (create one if you don't have one)
  4. Enter your school email address (e.g., one ending in .edu)
  5. Upload a photo of your student ID
  6. Submit the application
  7. Approval typically takes a few days

Once approved, all student benefits -- including GitHub Copilot -- are activated.

A completely free AI game development setup​

With GitHub Copilot available, here is a fully free development environment:

SoftwareCost
OpenForge MCPFree (MIT license)
VS CodeFree
GitHub CopilotFree for students (GitHub Education)
UnityFree for students (Unity Student Plan)
BlenderFree (for everyone)
GodotFree (for everyone)

Total cost: zero.

Setup steps​

1. Apply for GitHub Education​

Follow the steps above to apply for the GitHub Education Pack. While you wait for approval, you can proceed with the rest of the setup.

2. Install VS Code​

Download and install VS Code from code.visualstudio.com.

3. Install the GitHub Copilot extension​

Open VS Code, go to the Extensions tab, search for "GitHub Copilot," and install it. Sign in with your GitHub account.

4. Set up OpenForge MCP​

Run the following command in a terminal:

npx openforge-mcp setup --client vscode --mode dynamic

5. Install a game engine​

Install whichever engine you want to use. You can install more than one.

6. Install the OpenForge plugin​

Install the OpenForge plugin for your engine.

For Unity:

npx openforge-mcp install unity

For Blender:

npx openforge-mcp install blender

7. Start chatting with Copilot​

Open Copilot Chat in VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+I) and give it an instruction in plain language.

Create a new scene in Unity and place one Cube in it

The AI will operate the game engine on your behalf.

Cost breakdown by engine​

Unity​

Free with the Unity Student Plan. Apply with your school email at unity.com/education. Unity Personal is also free for anyone whose annual revenue is below a certain threshold.

Blender​

Blender is fully open-source and free for everyone, including commercial use. Student status is irrelevant.

Godot​

Godot is also fully open-source under the MIT license. Free for everyone.

Not a student? You can still start for free​

Even without student status, you can eliminate AI costs entirely by using a local LLM.

Using LM Studio​

LM Studio is an application for running LLMs locally. You can choose a model that fits your hardware.

npx openforge-mcp setup --client lm-studio

Using Ollama​

Ollama is a command-line tool for running local LLMs.

npx openforge-mcp setup --client ollama

Local LLMs require no internet connection and offer full privacy. The trade-off is that response quality may not match large cloud models.

Summary​

Everything you need is available for free:

  • OpenForge MCP: Free
  • AI (GitHub Copilot): Free for students
  • AI (local LLM): Free for everyone
  • Unity: Free for students
  • Blender: Free for everyone
  • Godot: Free for everyone

The days of "I can't create because I can't afford the tools" are over. All you need is a computer, an internet connection, and your ideas.

Start building today.