For Americans, following European news can be like trying to follow a soccer game on your neighbor’s television while in your own living room there are two simultaneous shootings, a nu-metal concert, and someone speeding up a van for no reason. But it’s worth keeping an eye on Europe right now, because in areas like technology and defense, a trend has emerged where Europeans have gotten over our nonsense and are moving on; that’s the vibe anyway. Last month, for example, the French government a transition from Windows to Linux began.
And now, the Dutch co-creator of the legendary ’90s game Jazz Jackrabbit has a vision of a Europe liberated from the Unreal Engine, a loading pillar of the video game world that is also used in other media, and he may have the skills and experience to achieve it. It probably warrants caution, though, because it sounds well and truly full of AI.
As noted by Video Games ChronicleArjan Brussee, co-founder of Horizon: Zero Dawn studio Guerrilla Games, appeared on the Dutch tech podcast The technologist earlier this week to talk about his project, “Immense Engine,” an alternative piece of general-purpose software that would, in theory, provide a true alternative to Unreal Engine.
Unreal Engine is the basis of the most famous Fortnite software, but also classics such as Gears of War, Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect and Batman Arkham City. It is also used in Hollywood productions like The Mandalorian and is even used to popularize Children‘ youtube content. There are European game engines, notably Germany-based CryEngine, which is associated with the Far Cry games, but is primarily a first-person shooter engine, and has long struggled with adoption.
If anyone has the credibility to build Unreal-Engine-but-for-people-who-eat-muesli, it’s probably Brussee. He is a successful gaming entrepreneur in his own right and has worked over several decades at Unreal Engine’s parent company, Epic Games.
Some translated statements about their plans for the Immense Engine come from Video Games Chronicle (a UK-based blog, so it’s unclear who or what actually translated them). Brussee reportedly said: “No one is currently making a fully European-housed engine, built by Europeans and compliant with European standards and guidelines.” He also hinted at a generalization goal similar to Unreal, saying: “Creating usable 3D worlds is becoming increasingly important, certainly for purposes other than gaming.”
But he also apparently claimed: “The rise of AI means we need to approach the development of this kind of crucial software differently” and “if you’re smart and know how to get a good AI agent framework up and running, you can do the work of ten or fifteen people.” So, it looks like the code base for this project will be heavily assisted by AI. Maybe Brussee uses MistralModels, just to keep things European.
