Guerrilla Games co-founder developing European game engine to rival Unreal and Unity

Arjan Brussee, co-founder of Guerrilla Games and former technical director at Epic Games, is developing a new game engine positioned as a European alternative to Unreal Engine and Unity. The move represents a direct challenge to the US-dominated engine market that has controlled game development infrastructure for over a decade.

Brussee brings substantial pedigree to the project. His work at Guerrilla Games shaped the technical backbone of the Killzone franchise, while his tenure at Epic positioned him at the center of modern engine development. His departure signals serious intent behind this European venture, not merely a side project.

The timing reflects growing frustration within the European development community. Unity's 2023 pricing controversy and its subsequent reputation damage opened space for competitors. Unreal Engine, while technically superior, remains tied to US corporate interests and policy decisions. A European engine could offer developers sovereignty over their toolchain and pricing structures.

Building a competitive game engine requires years of development and billions in funding. Brassbee's team faces the monumental task of achieving feature parity with engines that spent decades accumulating tools, optimizations, and plugin ecosystems. Unreal Engine 5 and Unity both benefit from massive installed bases of developers familiar with their workflows.

However, the European gaming industry possesses the talent pool and capital to make this viable. Studios like Remedy, Frontier, and others have demonstrated technical excellence. Government support for digital infrastructure projects across the EU could provide funding advantages unavailable to purely private ventures.

Success depends on two factors. First, the engine must deliver measurable advantages over existing solutions, whether through pricing, performance, or developer experience. Second, studios must adopt it, which requires overcoming the network effects that keep developers locked into established engines.

This project reflects a broader European tech sovereignty movement. Building domestic alternatives to American platforms spans gaming, AI, and cloud infrastructure. Whether Bruss