Here’s something outside the usual data and web crates I normally touch: Bevy. I had skimmed the docs before but never actually shipped even a basic scene until putting this post together. I mostly stick to Godot and Unity for game work, and this isn’t me announcing some big switch to Bevy because it’s suddenly the greatest thing ever. It’s literally just an experiment. Take it with a grain of salt Bevy isn’t a game changer for me (at least not yet).
Game development in Rust has improved a lot though. Bevy stands out because it’s built data-oriented from the start, which fits Rust’s focus on performance and safety. No hidden runtime surprises, no GC pauses, just predictable systems working on entities and components.
What Makes Bevy Different
Bevy stays lean while covering the essentials most games need.
Things that stood out in my quick tests:
- Pure ECS: entities are just IDs, components are plain data, systems query and update
- Built-in renderer handling PBR, lighting, shadows, and post-processing
- Hot reloading of assets and shaders while the game runs
- Plugin system to enable only what you need—UI, audio, physics, networking
- Cross-platform out of the box: desktop, web via WASM, mobile support progressing
- Scene hierarchy through simple parent-child relationships
The repo is extremely active with regular releases and a solid contributor base. Community examples and third-party plugins cover everything from tilemaps to procedural stuff.
Why It Caught My Eye This Time
Rust game dev used to mean wrestling low-level graphics APIs directly. Bevy hides that complexity while keeping the speed. Parallel system execution happens automatically when safe, and the borrow checker stops whole categories of bugs you normally chase in other engines.
In practice:
- Iteration feels fast thanks to hot reloading
- Rendering holds up well even on regular hardware
- The API pushes clean separation that should scale
- WASM builds are actually usable, not the usual compromise
It still misses some polish compared to Godot or Unity visual editor, mature physics options, that kind of thing but the momentum is clear.
I’m not going to yap about C++/C# boilerplate versus Rust either. We all know boilerplate exists and it’s not worth crying over.
Simple 2D Example
A basic moving sprite with camera takes very little code:
use bevy::prelude::*;
fn main() {
App::new()
.add_plugins(DefaultPlugins.set(WindowPlugin {
primary_window: Some(Window {
title: "Bevy Simple Example".into(),
..default()
}),
..default()
}))
.add_systems(Startup, setup)
.add_systems(Update, move_sprite)
.run();
}
fn setup(mut commands: Commands, asset_server: Res<AssetServer>) {
commands.spawn(Camera2dBundle::default());
commands.spawn(SpriteBundle {
texture: asset_server.load("icon.png"),
transform: Transform::from_xyz(0.0, 0.0, 0.0),
..default()
});
}
fn move_sprite(time: Res<Time>, mut query: Query<&mut Transform, With<Sprite>>) {
for mut transform in &mut query {
transform.translation.x += 100.0 * time.delta_seconds();
}
}Drop any PNG into an assets folder, add bevy with default features to Cargo.toml, cargo run –release, and you get a window with a sprite sliding across instantly.
Where It Fits Right Now
Bevy feels solid for prototypes, game jams, small indie stuff, or anyone who wants to stay fully in Rust. It plays nicely with other crates—bevy_kira_audio for sound, bevy_rapier for physics, etc.
My first few scenes came together quicker than I thought. The ECS pattern clicks after a bit, and the built-in diagnostics help spot performance issues early.
That’s it from this quick experiment. Nothing revolutionary for my workflow yet, but definitely interesting to poke at.
