// the catalog in numbers
State of programming games 2026
Every number on this page comes from the 364 live listings on Breakpoint, each played by a person before it went live and link-checked every 12 hours. Updated 26 Oct 2026.
67%
are free to play
67%
play in the browser
55%
need no account
93%
passed their last link check
What kind of game
Coding games are the biggest group, followed by CTFs and wargames.
- Coding games167 · 46%
- CTFs and wargames73 · 20%
- Challenge platforms38 · 10%
- Bot arenas30 · 8%
- Competitive programming27 · 7%
- Seasonal events13 · 4%
- Interview prep11 · 3%
- Typing games5 · 1%
What they teach
The main skill of each listing, top fifteen.
- Security63 · 17%
- Algorithms55 · 15%
- JavaScript26 · 7%
- CSS21 · 6%
- Multi-language17 · 5%
- AI13 · 4%
- Assembly13 · 4%
- SQL13 · 4%
- Visual13 · 4%
- Python12 · 3%
- Regex11 · 3%
- Shell11 · 3%
- Cloud8 · 2%
- Hardware8 · 2%
- Beginner7 · 2%
Where you play
- Browser243 · 67%
- PC (desktop)73 · 20%
- Terminal23 · 6%
- Your own server13 · 4%
- SSH7 · 2%
- API5 · 1%
What they cost
- Free245 · 67%
- Paid76 · 21%
- Freemium34 · 9%
- Not known9 · 2%
Do you need an account?
- No account needed201 · 55%
- Account needed101 · 28%
- Not known62 · 17%
How hard they start
- Intermediate152 · 42%
- Beginner133 · 37%
- Not rated yet45 · 12%
- Advanced34 · 9%
How they're played
- Levels152 · 42%
- Challenges70 · 19%
- Multiplayer30 · 8%
- Contest22 · 6%
- Course19 · 5%
- Timed event15 · 4%
- Daily14 · 4%
- Sandbox13 · 4%
- Ctf10 · 3%
- Golf8 · 2%
- Timed7 · 2%
- Endless4 · 1%
The graveyard
17 programming games on Breakpoint have shut down; the ones with known dates lasted 4 years at the median. Each has a page saying what to play instead, in the graveyard.
- Contest ended for good8 · 47%
- Domain lapsed5 · 29%
- Shut down by its makers3 · 18%
- Servers turned off1 · 6%
Link checks
1,407 checks since 23 Oct 2026, of which 116 failed; the median response took 259 ms. A failing game stays listed with a warning until it passes again or is moved to the graveyard. How it works: link checks.
Use these numbers
Free to quote with a link. Cite as: Breakpoint, “State of programming games 2026”, breakpoint.games/stats. The raw counts are in stats.json.