Level up your typography with the 10 best game fonts.
(Image credit: Astigmatic)
Whether you're developing your own indie games or creating graphic or web design work around a gaming theme, the best game fonts can provide a quick and easy way to set the right tone.
Of course, if you simply want your text to be legible, there's no reason you can't use a normal font like Helvetica (or one of these free fonts to get you started). But if you're trying to convey a specific look, whether that be retro arcade or sleek and futuristic, a more stylised typeface can elevate your project's visual appeal and enhance its overall atmosphere.
To help you get started, we've rounded up the 10 best game fonts, each of which can bring its unique character to your work. Some major in legibility (they must have followed our guide to kerning), while some are more about evoking a particular atmosphere, but all of these fonts work well in both game-themes designs and games themselves.
Designed by Jovanny Lemonad, Russo One is a bold and stylish sans-serif that's nicely legible and exudes modernity and strength. Its clean lines and sturdy structure make it an excellent choice for game logos, menu titles, and in-game headers.
This font's versatility enables it to fit seamlessly into various gaming genres, from action-packed shooters to strategy games. Developers working on games with a contemporary or futuristic setting will find Russo One particularly appealing, as it conveys a sense of technological advancement and sleek design.
More generally, Russo One's readability at different sizes ensures that it performs well both in-game and in promotional materials. Plus its support for multiple languages, including Cyrillic, makes it ideal for games and game-related designs with international releases.
Created by Linotype, Jim Ford's Posterama is a quirky-looking typeface family that's suitable for a wide range of gaming projects, from retro-inspired indie games to AAA titles with complex narratives.
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With its 63 fonts spanning nine distinct families, Posterama provides designers and game developers with a wealth of options to create unique visual identities. Posterama's different variants, such as Posterama 1984 and Posterama 2001, can be used to evoke specific time periods or aesthetic styles within games.
With all that in mind, this font family is particularly valuable for developers working on games with multiple timelines or those seeking to create a strong, cohesive visual brand across different game elements and marketing materials.
Designed by Luc(as) de Groot for Microsoft, Consolas is a monospaced font that has become a favourite among developers and gamers alike. Its clean, readable design makes it an excellent choice for in-game text, especially in games that involve coding elements or terminal-style interfaces.
Consolas particularly shines in strategy games, simulation titles, and any other game that requires players to read large amounts of text. And the font's support for various OpenType layout features enhances its versatility, allowing for creative use in user interfaces and game menus.
Developers working on games with a technical or scientific theme will find Consolas especially fitting, too, as it conveys a sense of precision and clarity.
Created by Steve Matteson of Ascender Corporation, Droid Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface originally designed for the Android mobile platform. And this optimised readability on small screens makes it an obvious choice for mobile game developers.
The font's neutral yet friendly appearance allows it to adapt to various game genres, from casual puzzle games to more complex RPGs.
Droid Sans' open forms and upright stress contribute to its legibility, making it ideal for in-game dialogue, menu items, and user interface elements. Developers focusing on cross-platform games, meanswhile, will appreciate Droid Sans' versatility and its ability to maintain consistency across different devices and screen sizes.
Designed by Astigmatic, Luckiest Guy is a bold, playful font that captures the spirit of 1950s advertisements. And while that might seem a world away from the spirit of modern videogames, its heavyweight sans-serif design makes it perfect for casual games with a retro or lighthearted theme.
Luckiest Guy's bouncy, energetic character lends itself esepcially well to casual games, platformers, and titles aimed at younger audiences. And its strong visual impact makes it an excellent choice for game logos, level titles, and promotional materials.
Developers working on games with a nostalgic or Americana-inspired aesthetic will find this font particularly fitting, as it evokes a sense of mid-century optimism and fun.
Designed by Riccardo De Franceschi, Contrail One is a sans-serif font inspired by UK posters from the jet age. Its slight slant and bouncy quality give it a dynamic, forward-moving feel that's perfect for racing games, flight simulators, or any title with a sense of speed and excitement.
The rounded corners add a friendly touch, making it suitable for a wide range of game genres. Contrail One's low contrast design ensures readability at various sizes, making it ideal for both in-game text and marketing materials.
Developers working on games set in the mid-20th century or those aiming to capture a sense of adventure and progress will find Contrail One a worthy font to consider for their projects.
07. Enter Command
(Image credit: Font End Dev)
Price: Free for personal or commercial projects (attribution required)
Designed by Font End Dev, Enter Command is a square sans-serif font that pays homage to the early days of graphic adventures.
Its pixelated aesthetic makes it perfect for retro-style games, text adventures, or any title looking to evoke nostalgia for the early era of computer gaming. The font's multiple styles offer flexibility for different in-game uses, from dialogue to user interfaces.
Enter Command is particularly well-suited for indie developers working on games that celebrate or reimagine classic gaming experiences. Its distinctive look can help create an immediate connection with players who have fond memories of early computer games.
VT323, created by Peter Hull, is a font that replicates the look of text from the DEC VT320, a computer terminal from the 1980s, which was used for interacting with minicomputers and mainframes. This monospaced font is ideal for games that feature hacking elements, sci-fi themes, or retro-futuristic aesthetics.
Its crisp, pixelated appearance makes it perfect for creating authentic-looking computer terminal interfaces within games. VT323 is particularly well-suited for cyberpunk-themed games, puzzle games involving code-breaking, or any title that wants to evoke the feel of early computing.
Developers working on games with a strong emphasis on technology or those set in dystopian futures could find VT323 useful for creating immersive, period-appropriate text elements.
Designed by codeman38, Press Start 2P is a bitmap font based on the typefaces used in 1980s Namco arcade games.
This font is perfect for retro-style games, particularly those inspired by classic 8-bit and 16-bit titles. Its pixelated design makes it ideal for creating authentic-looking title screens, menu items, and in-game text for games that aim to capture the essence of the golden age of arcade gaming.
Press Start 2P's wide character set, including Greek and Cyrillic support, makes it versatile for international releases. Developers working on retro-inspired platformers, shoot 'em ups, or any game looking to tap into gaming nostalgia could make good use of Press Start 2P in their projects.
Mark Simonson's Eightbit Atari is a collection of fonts based on the original bitmaps from Atari 8-Bit computers, a series of home computers released by Atari, Inc. in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This font family is thus perfect for games that want to recreate the look and feel of classic Atari titles, or just more generally pay homage to the early days of home computing.
With multiple weights and styles, Eightbit Atari offers flexibility for different in-game uses, from menu text to dialogue boxes. The font's authentic pixelated appearance makes it ideal for retro-style games, particularly those set in the 1980s or inspired by the aesthetic of that era.
Anyone working on projects that celebrate gaming history or aim to create a strong nostalgic connection with players will find Eightbit Atari a useful go-to.
For more resource, see our explanation of variable fonts.
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Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects.
