The developer of Rogue Legacy released its source code in the pursuit of knowledge sharing.

Rogue Legacy is one of the best-named games ever. It has been around for more than 10 years. The 2D roguelite-metroidvania, with its incremental progress over countless generations, was so influential in the modern indie-roguelite boom, that our article on its release in 2013 had to define the term "rogue-lite". Rogue Legacy developer Cellar Door Games has now secured its legacy by releasing the source code.

Cellar Door announced yesterday the source code release on X. Cellar Door announced that it had been more than 10 years since Rogue Legacy 1 was released. This caused a small panic among readers who were forced acknowledge the dire and dauntless marching of time. "And, in pursuit of sharing knowledge with the public, we have officially released the source code."

Ethan Lee is the Linux porter and FNA developer who manages and maintains the Rogue Legacy 1 repository on github. He has previously contributed to source code releases for VVVVVV, Flotilla and VVVVVV. The code is released under a custom licence and can be downloaded and compiled for personal and non-commercial purposes.

Indie developers can be commended for releasing the source code of their games. At times, game development is described as a "black box"; at other times, it's likened to witchcraft. It's a wonder that any game has ever been made. Uncovering the arcane techniques involved in making it playable is a great gift for both fellow practitioners and hopeful novices alike.

A public source code release can also be a great benefit to game archivists. Cellar Door makes Rogue Legacy's source code available for free, ensuring that the game will remain accessible no matter what digital stores close or if its IP changes hands in the future.

The source code release only includes code. It does not include any Rogue Legacy art or music assets. You'll need to purchase a copy of the game to play it. If we're fortunate, we might see a Rogue Legacy 2 release after another decade.