Glossary Entry: Open Source

Quick Definition

When software is said to be "open source", it means that the source code for the program has been made publicly available by the developers. This allows anyone with the right tools to edit the code and produce their own altered copy of the program, or alternatively, use some of the source code for their own projects.

A side effect of this is that open source programs are free for anyone to use.

See What licenses are games sold under? for more information.


Back to the list of technical terms

Back to the Glossary's Table of Contents