# Hammer level editor

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/hammer/

6 people recommended Hammer level editor in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Hammer as one of the few level-design editors still maintained, and it is free for making game maps. It is often described as a newer successor to Worldcraft.

Summary written by Claude from 9 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 8 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Used to build game maps (1 comment in the sample): "Hammer is one of the few editors with actual level-design tools still maintained" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46068334))
- Seen as improved Worldcraft successor (1 comment in the sample): "I still see Hammer as a newfangled update to Worldcraft" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50219569))

## What people recommend instead

- [TrenchBroom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/trenchbroom/): 9 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Hammer level editor", https://hackerapproved.com/p/hammer/ (6 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.