Supported Engines

Spark bundles multiple Ren’Py engine versions, each compiled as iOS xcframeworks with Python and SDL2.

Spark detects the Ren’Py version that was packaged with the game archive (from engine version files) and suggests the closest available engine.

You can change the engine version in Game Settings. Guidelines:

1. Match the major version — 7.x games should use 7.x engines, 8.x games should use 8.x engines
2. Try the closest version — A game built with 8.1.0 works best with Spark’s 8.1.3
3. Upgrade within family — Using a newer version in the same major family usually works
4. Downgrade as fallback — If a newer engine causes issues, try an older one in the same family

Each engine version includes Spark’s iOS compatibility patches. These patches target very specific games to fix known issues when running on iOS and do not affect other games. They can be toggled via Settings > Ren’Py Engine > Compatibility Patches, but disabling them is only useful in rare cases where a game has been updated and no longer needs a particular patch.

• Ren’Py 7.x uses Python 2.7 — games written with Python 2 syntax
• Ren’Py 8.0–8.3 uses Python 3.9 — games written with Python 3 syntax
• Ren’Py 8.4+ uses Python 3.12 — latest Python 3 runtime

Ren’Py 8 was designed with some degree of forward compatibility for older games. A game built for Ren’Py 7 (Python 2) can sometimes run on a Ren’Py 8 engine (Python 3) without issues. However, the reverse is never true — a game built for Ren’Py 8 will not work on a Ren’Py 7 engine.

If your 7.x game does not work on a 7.x engine, it may be worth trying an 8.x engine as a fallback. Results vary depending on the game’s code, but many 7.x games run fine on 8.x.