Video game fonts. 10 free pixel faces you can ship inside a game you sell.
Press Start 2P, VT323 and Doto lead 10 video game fonts in the lab’s pixel style, the most used first.
Press Start 2P
Pixel
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pixel score 8.3 · 1 weight · no italics
VT323
Pixel
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pixel score 4.22 · 1 weight · no italics
Doto
Pixel
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pixel score 4.72 · 9 weights · no italics
Jacquard 12
Pixel
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pixel score 4.56 · 1 weight · no italics
Bitcount Single
Pixel
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pixel score 5.27 · 9 weights · no italics
Geist Pixel
Pixel
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pixel score 5.37 · 1 weight · no italics
Jersey 25
Pixel
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pixel score 5.59 · 1 weight · no italics
Jacquard 24
Pixel
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pixel score 3.45 · 1 weight · no italics
Rubik Pixels
Pixel
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pixel score 4.5 · 1 weight · no italics
Pixelify Sans
Pixel
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pixel score 6.22 · 4 weights · no italics
Press Start 2P scores 8.3 as pixel lettering, the highest here; shipping any of them inside a game asks only that the licence travels with the font file.
Compare fonts for video games
10 / 10
pixel score 8.3 · pick 1 of 10
Press Start 2P
PRESS START · LEVEL 1
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Why Press Start 2P fits video games: pixel score 8.3, 1 weight, and no italics.
App for video games: the font file shipped inside the game.
Commercial for video games: a game that is sold.
- ✓Commercial
- OFL 1.1
Can I ship them inside a game I sell?
| Free font | Licence | App | Commercial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press Start 2P | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| VT323 | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Doto | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Jacquard 12 | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Bitcount Single | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Geist Pixel | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Jersey 25 | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Jacquard 24 | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Rubik Pixels | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
| Pixelify Sans | OFL 1.1 | !* | ✓ |
- * App (the font file shipped inside the game): yes for all 10 if you ship the copyright notice and licence with the font files, OFL 1.1 Condition 2.
- Commercial (a game that is sold): yes for all 10, OFL 1.1 Permission & Conditions; the font file may not be sold by itself (Condition 1); a changed font may not use a Reserved Font Name (Condition 3).
- OFL 1.1 text
Which of the video game fonts to pick
Press Start 2P suits a game’s main menu, with the highest pixel score here, 8.3. Use Pixelify Sans for score displays, where its 4 weights can distinguish the score from its label. Bitcount Single gives level headings more weight choices with its 9 weights, while keeping to the pixel shelf with a pixel score 5.27.
Pixel fonts in a game
Press Start 2P has the highest pixel score of the 10, 8.3. Preview its letters at the actual in-game size; a font’s pixel style does not specify one universal grid or scaling step.
3 of the video game picks come in more than one weight (Doto, Bitcount Single, and Pixelify Sans), handy for a score beside its label; Jacquard 24 at pixel score 3.45 is the least typical of the style.
What the rule selected: the 10 video game fonts and their numbers
| Free font | pixel score | Weights | Italics | Google Fonts rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Press Start 2P | 8.3 | 1 | 0 | 72 |
| VT323 | 4.22 | 1 | 0 | 98 |
| Doto | 4.72 | 9 | 0 | 289 |
| Jacquard 12 | 4.56 | 1 | 0 | 344 |
| Bitcount Single | 5.27 | 9 | 0 | 346 |
| Geist Pixel | 5.37 | 1 | 0 | 386 |
| Jersey 25 | 5.59 | 1 | 0 | 389 |
| Jacquard 24 | 3.45 | 1 | 0 | 390 |
| Rubik Pixels | 4.5 | 1 | 0 | 430 |
| Pixelify Sans | 6.22 | 4 | 0 | 465 |
Video game fonts: questions
Which free font is best for video games?
Press Start 2P, the most used of these 10 on Google Fonts (rank 72), with pixel score 8.3, 1 weight, and no italics; VT323 and Doto come next at ranks 98 and 289.
Are these video game fonts free for an app and commercial use?
All 10, from Press Start 2P to Pixelify Sans, are under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, which allows an app (the font file shipped inside the game) on a condition and commercial use (a game that is sold). The one condition for video games (the font file shipped inside the game): ship the copyright notice and licence with the font files.
Can I ship these pixel fonts inside a game?
Yes, all 10, under OFL 1.1 with one condition: ship the copyright notice and licence with the font files. Selling the game is fine; selling the font file on its own is not (Condition 1).
Which of these video game fonts has the most weights?
Doto, with 9 weights; Bitcount Single has 9 weights and Pixelify Sans has 4 weights.
How were these video game fonts chosen?
Games set their menus and scores in pixel, arcade and LCD letters: the lab’s pixel style. 43 of the 1,674 free fonts we checked pass that rule for video games. The 10 here are the most used on Google Fonts, from Press Start 2P at rank 72 to Pixelify Sans at rank 465, one font a family.