Guerrilla Games co-founder Arjan Brussee says he is developing a European alternative to Unreal Engine through a new startup based in the Netherlands. Apart from offering competition for the Unreal Engine, the ambitious project could potentially help push the envelope in certain technology segments, particularly modular, agentic AI software architecture.
Arjan Brussee started his gaming industry journey in the 1990s, when he worked as a programmer on Epic’s Jazz Jackrabbit platformer series. In 2003, he co-founded Guerrilla Games, where he spent nine years as executive producer and chief operating officer. Sony Computer Entertainment acquired the studio for an undisclosed sum in 2005. Brussee later spent 30 months as an executive producer at Electronic Arts, working on Battlefield Hardline and DLC for Battlefield 3. He went on to found Boss Key Productions, the now-defunct developer of LawBreakers, in 2014 before joining Epic Games in 2017. He spent eight and a half years at the company, holding roles of head of mobile, director of product management, and technical director, in that order.
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Brussee Working on AI-Native European Rival to Unreal Engine
Brussee outlined his latest career chapter during a May 2026 episode of the Dutch podcast De Technoloog, saying he was working on a startup behind a new graphics rendering engine called the Immense Engine. He described the project as a fully European-built platform meant to rival similar solutions from the United States and China.
AI Agent Modules Billed as the Building Blocks of the Immense Engine
The core idea behind Immense appears to be as much about architecture as geography. Brussee said the technology is being designed with “full integration of AI,” arguing that the rise of this tech category creates an opportunity to rethink foundational software such as game engines. Unlike traditional frameworks that rely on manual tool navigation, The Immense Engine will use AI agents as modular components, making it easier to add new systems as the technology evolves rather than rework a single monolithic stack.
The Immense Engine Could Extend Beyond Games
Like most modern AI tools, the Immense Engine will rely on cloud resources. Brussee said the platform will be hosted entirely in Europe, making it suitable for applications beyond gaming that require regional data compliance. He cited logistics and 3D simulations for defense agencies as potential markets where that EU compliance-focused approach could be relevant. European game developers are still likely to account for a significant share of the engine’s early adopters.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
The gaming industry’s growing focus on AI-assisted development indicates that the Immense Engine may have a sizable pool of potential customers, provided it can ship quickly enough. For now, however, there is no word on its prospective release timeline. Modern game engines are highly complex frameworks built on years, and often decades, of accumulated development work. The European focus of Brussee’s current project also suggests it could potentially benefit from EU funding, though there is currently no indication that he is pursuing that route. The Immense Engine may fill the hole left by Unity Engine in 2009, when Unity Technologies relocated from Copenhagen to San Francisco in order to access stateside venture funding and developer talent.
Source: VGC
