DayZ creator Dean Hall releases open-source ‘Brutal’ framework to challenge industry engine dominance

Dean Hall, the creator of DayZ and head of studio RocketWerkz, has launched a new game-making framework called Brutal, positioning it as an open-source alternative to established engines like Unreal and Unity. As reported by Eurogamer, Hall released the framework publicly, offering it for free for commercial use, provided developers include attribution. The framework does not charge royalties or take a percentage of revenue.

The critique of modern engines

Hall’s decision follows a public critique of major engine providers, citing a focus on “buzzwords” rather than the practical stability and performance needs of developers. In a Reddit post, Hall recounted a specific interaction at GDC 2025 with Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney. Hall expressed dissatisfaction with Sweeney’s response regarding engine accountability and the proliferation of “Unreal slop,” arguing that industry-wide “greed” and a “race to the bottom on price” have forced developers to surrender control over their projects to third-party providers.

While Hall acknowledges that he is not encouraging developers to abandon popular engines—noting that his own game Icarus still runs on Unreal Engine 4—he describes Brutal as a potential “lifeboat” for studios. The framework is designed to function differently than a traditional all-in-one engine, allowing teams to build games directly on top of it or integrate it alongside other existing engine technologies, such as the Waylith engine used by Ludeon for RimWorld.

Why it matters

For the average gamer, this shift is primarily an industry-side concern, but it highlights a broader tension between game creators and the tools they rely on. As developers seek more control over their source code and business models, projects like Brutal represent an effort to decentralize development tools. For players, this could eventually lead to a more diverse ecosystem of games built on varied technical foundations, rather than a singular reliance on a few dominant engines that charge mandatory royalties.

Hall emphasizes that Brutal is not intended to be a universal solution for every developer. Instead, it serves as a proof of concept for maintaining independence in game development. By keeping the source code public and forkable, Hall intends for developers to have a fallback option should tool providers ever act against the interests of those using them. While there is no specific regional impact mentioned in the source material, the move toward open-source frameworks may influence the cost and barrier to entry for smaller independent studios globally.