Guerrilla Games co-founder Arjan Brussee says he is developing a European alternative Unreal Engine through a new startup based in the Netherlands. In addition to offering competition for the Unreal Engine, this ambitious project could potentially help push the boundaries in certain technology segments, particularly modular, agent-based AI software architecture.
Arjan Brussee started his journey in the game industry in the 1990s when he worked as a programmer at Epic's Jazz Jackrabbit platform game series. In 2003, he co-founded Guerrilla Games, where he spent nine years as executive producer and COO. 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, a now defunct developer LawBreakersin 2014 before joining Epic Games in 2017. He spent eight and a half years at the company, holding the roles of head of mobile, director of product management, and chief technology officer, respectively.
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Brussee Works on AI-Native European Rival to Unreal Engine
Brussee outlined his latest career chapter during the May 2026 episode of Dutch podcast De Technoloog, stating that he was working on a startup behind a new graphics rendering engine called Immense Engine. He described the project as a fully European platform to compete with similar solutions from the United States and China.
Agent AI modules billed as the building blocks of a huge engine
Immense's main idea seems to be architecture as much as geography. Brussee said the technology is designed with “full integration of AI” and argued that the rise of this technology category creates an opportunity to rethink core 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 technology evolves, rather than redesigning one monolithic stack.
The Immense Engine could push the boundaries of gaming
Like most modern AI tools, Immense Engine will rely on cloud resources. Brussee said the platform will be hosted exclusively in Europe, making it suitable for non-gaming applications that require regional data compatibility. He mentioned logistics and 3D simulation for defense agencies as potential markets where an EU compliance approach could be relevant. European game developers will likely still represent a significant proportion of early adopters of this engine.
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The gaming industry's growing focus on AI-assisted development suggests that the Immense Engine may have a significant pool of potential customers, provided it can be shipped quickly enough. However, there is no word on its planned release timeline at the moment. Modern game engines are highly complex frameworks built on years and often decades of accumulated development work. The European focus of the current Brussee project also suggests that it could potentially benefit from EU funding, although there is currently no indication that it will take that route. Immense Engine may fill the gap left by Unity Engine in 2009, when Unity Technologies moved from Copenhagen to San Francisco to gain access to government venture funding and development talent.
Source: VGC
