Build your
monster-catching
game.

Absolutely. OpenMon is a complete monster capture engine built for Unity that gives you everything needed to create a game in the style of classic creature-catching RPGs. It ships with a fully featured turn-based battle system, 668+ moves, type matchups, stat formulas, wild encounters, evolution logic, a save system, and grid-based overworld navigation. Whether you want to build a single-player adventure or a full monster-catching MMO, OpenMon provides the framework so you can focus on your creative vision instead of re-engineering core systems from scratch.

Pokemon Essentials is a popular RPG Maker XP toolkit, but it ties your project to Ruby scripting, 2D-only rendering, and copyrighted assets that prevent commercial release. OpenMon is the leading Pokemon Essentials alternative built on Unity 6, giving you access to modern 2D and 3D rendering, C# scripting, cross-platform deployment, and a professional asset pipeline. OpenMon even includes an importer that can convert your existing Pokemon Essentials project directly into the Unity framework, preserving your maps, events, stats, and mechanics. If you have ever searched for a way to take your fan game to the next level, OpenMon is that bridge.

Yes, that is precisely what OpenMon was designed for. Unlike fan game tools that rely on copyrighted IP, OpenMon is built for original IP from the ground up. You design your own monsters, your own world, and your own story. The game you ship is entirely yours. Publish on Steam, the Epic Games Store, console marketplaces, mobile stores, or anywhere else Unity deploys to. Commercial release needs the Indie edition or above; Starter is for evaluation and non-commercial use. There are no royalties, no revenue shares, and no restrictions on commercial distribution. If you want to sell a monster-catching game legally, OpenMon is the framework that makes it possible.

OpenMon is currently built for Unity 6 (URP), which is the most widely used game engine in the indie space. However, we are actively applying for an Epic MegaGrant to fund a full Unreal Engine port. If you are searching for a monster-catching game engine for Unreal, join our waitlist to be notified when the UE5 version launches. In the meantime, Unity gives you access to every major platform including PC, console, mobile, and web.

RPG Maker is a general-purpose 2D RPG tool that requires extensive scripting and plugins to support creature-catching mechanics. OpenMon is purpose-built for the monster-catching genre, running on Unity with professional-grade tools. You get a complete turn-based battle system, monster roster management, a grid-based tile engine, evolution chains, abilities, type matchups, a trainer AI system, and a visual scripting tool for NPC behavior, all out of the box. If RPG Maker is a blank canvas, OpenMon is a fully assembled monster game framework where you design the content and ship a polished product.

Yes. OpenMon includes a dedicated Pokemon Essentials importer that reads PE v20, v21, and v21.1 project files and converts them into Unity-native data. Your maps, events, trainer configurations, wild encounter tables, move definitions, and stat structures all transfer automatically. Once imported, you swap in original monster designs and assets to replace any copyrighted material, and your project is ready for commercial release. This is the fastest path from a Pokemon Essentials fan game to a fully original, publishable title on Unity.

Yes. OpenMon includes an optional online layer powered by Nakama, an open-source multiplayer server. This gives you real-time world synchronization, player-vs-player battles, social features, a virtual economy, live ops, and persistent cloud saves. If you have ever dreamed of building your own monster-catching MMO or a multiplayer experience similar to PokeMMO, OpenMon provides the complete networking infrastructure so you can focus on game design instead of server engineering. The online module is fully optional, so single-player-only games work with zero networking overhead.

OpenMon will offer options including full source access, so you can extend, modify, or learn from the engine internals. The documentation at openmon.io/docs Editions is freely available and covers the full architecture, API reference, guides for creating monsters, building worlds, and configuring battles. OpenMon will be distributed through the Unity Asset Store and Fab by Epic Games. Join the waitlist to be notified when it launches.

Yes. OpenMon includes a one-click importer for Pokemon Essentials v20, v21, and v21.1 projects. It converts your maps, events, trainers, encounters, moves, and stats into Unity-native data automatically. Once imported, you replace the copyrighted Pokemon assets with your own original monster designs, art, and names. The result is a fully original game that you own and can sell commercially on Steam, the Epic Games Store, consoles, or mobile. Developers behind projects like Pokemon Reborn, Insurgence, Infinite Fusion, and Unbreakable Ties face the same problem — years of work with no path to market. OpenMon is that path.

RPG Maker is a general-purpose 2D RPG tool that requires extensive scripting and community plugins for any monster-catching mechanics. OpenMon is purpose-built for the monster-catching genre, running on Unity 6 with professional-grade tools. You get a complete turn-based battle system with 668+ moves, type matchups, stat formulas, abilities, evolution chains, a grid-based tile engine, visual scripting for NPC events, and an optional online multiplayer layer — all out of the box. RPG Maker also limits you to Windows-only distribution, while Unity deploys to PC, Mac, Linux, mobile, web, and consoles. If you are building a monster-catching game specifically, OpenMon saves you 12-18 months of engineering.

The monster-catching genre is thriving on Kickstarter. Elestrals Awakened raised $1.4M in 2025, making it the most-funded monster catcher of the year. Monsterpatch, a cozy monster collector, hit 1,500% of its funding goal. Tomo: Endless Blue brought open-world voxel exploration to the genre and found its audience immediately. On the commercial side, Temtem built a $500M+ franchise, Palworld earned $400M+ in 2024, Coromon succeeded as a small indie on Steam, and Cassette Beasts was critically acclaimed. OpenMon gives you the same production-grade foundation these games were built on — battle systems, monster databases, grid worlds, save systems, and multiplayer — ready to use on day one.