Add pyxel

[kitao]

Project

pyxel

I am Pyxel's creator. This proposes one entry in Game Development → Game Frameworks for Python developers making small retro games with an integrated graphics and audio toolset.

Checklist

• I read CONTRIBUTING.md - awesome-python is a shortlist, not a catalog
• One project per PR
• PR title format: Add project-name
• Entry format: - [pypi-name](https://github.com/owner/repo) - Description ending with period.
• Display name is the PyPI package name
• Placed in an existing use case (new sections and subcategories are maintainer-only)
• Meets all Quality Requirements: active, stable, documented, at least 1 month old

Which Tier

• Obvious choice
• Challenger

Pyxel is a focused alternative to assembling a small retro game with pygame or Arcade: pixel art, tilemaps, sound effects, and music editors ship with the engine, alongside its Python API. Games can be developed on Windows, macOS, and Linux and distributed in a browser. The user guide documents the workflow and examples.

The case for a challenger slot is adoption beyond the project itself:

• Integration into French public education infrastructure: Capytale’s official documentation describes it as a platform developed by the French Ministry of Education and available through all regional school digital learning environments (ENTs). Its official activity catalog includes Pyxel Studio for computing and arts activities. This is institutional integration of a Pyxel-based development environment, not a claim that Pyxel is compulsory in the national curriculum.
• Sustained educational use: Nuit du Code's official Python selections show Pyxel games in 2022 and again in 2026. These are actual student projects, with Pyxel launch instructions, rather than endorsements. The event also has Scratch tracks; its overall participation is not a Pyxel user count.
• Commercial use since the previous submission: the developer of Dungeon Antiqua reported 10,000 Steam sales in November 2024 and explains how Pyxel's constraints reduced the graphics and audio production workload (Japanese article).
• Current downloads: PyPI Stats reports 9,394 downloads in the last month as checked on 2026-09-25 JST. Its daily series, excluding mirrors totals 23,540 in April, 27,384 in May, 27,685 in June, 29,306 in July, and 14,872 in August 2026. These are downloads, not unique users; the recent decline is not evidence of accelerating adoption. The independent education and commercial examples above are the stronger evidence of sustained use.

This is a proposal for the subset of game-framework users who benefit from a constrained, integrated toolset; it is not a claim that Pyxel replaces general-purpose frameworks for every game.

PyPI metadata identifies the package as pyxel, classifies it Production/Stable, and lists version 2.9.9 released on 2026-08-12. The repository dates from 2018, remains active, and provides documentation, examples, and an MIT license.

Displacement

Game Frameworks currently contains four entries; this would be the fifth. No existing entry or category is changed. Pyxel is appended as a proposed challenger, below Arcade, whose current last-month download count is 31,681. I understand the cap is a ceiling, not an entitlement to inclusion.

Previous submissions

This is a request for reconsideration with updated adoption evidence, not an attempt to hide a duplicate. #1104 was closed by the stale bot in 2019. #2262 was closed in January 2026 after remaining open since 2022; I could not find a maintainer explanation of a Pyxel-specific admission issue in that discussion. This submission uses the current shortlist template and supplies the dated evidence above for a fresh editorial assessment.

Validation

uv sync --group build --locked, make test (128 passed), make build, and git diff --check passed. The generated Game Frameworks page includes the Pyxel entry and repository link. Only one README entry is changed.