Ex-Epic Games Dev Creates New Game Engine

Breaking the Mold

The gaming industry has seen significant growth in recent years, with advancements in technology and the rise of new platforms. However, this growth has also led to a sense of stagnation, with many developers feeling constrained by the dominance of established game engines like Epic Games' Unreal Engine and Unity.

This is where Sjoerd De Jong, the former 'Unreal evangelist' at Epic Games, comes in. After leaving the company last month, De Jong has set out to create his own game engine, with the goal of shaking up the industry and providing developers with more freedom and flexibility.

A New Approach

De Jong's new game engine is still in the early stages of development, but he has already outlined some of the key features and principles that will guide its creation. According to De Jong, the engine will be designed to be more modular and open than existing engines, allowing developers to easily customize and extend its functionality.

This approach is in contrast to the more closed-off nature of Unreal Engine and Unity, which can make it difficult for developers to make significant changes or additions to the engine itself. By providing a more open and modular architecture, De Jong hopes to encourage innovation and experimentation among developers, and to help break down the barriers that can prevent new ideas and technologies from emerging.

As De Jong explained in an interview with Gamasutra, his goal is to create an engine that is more like a "toolbox" than a "swiss army knife". This means providing developers with a set of flexible and interchangeable tools that can be used to build a wide range of different games and applications, rather than trying to create a single, all-encompassing engine that can handle every possible use case.

The Challenges Ahead

Of course, creating a new game engine is a complex and challenging task, and De Jong faces significant competition from established players like Epic Games and Unity. However, he is undeterred, and believes that his experience and expertise in the field will serve him well as he navigates the process of building and launching his new engine.

As the gaming industry continues to evolve and grow, it will be interesting to see how De Jong's new engine fares, and whether it will be able to make a significant impact on the market. With its focus on modularity, openness, and flexibility, it has the potential to provide developers with a powerful new tool for building innovative and engaging games, and to help shake up the stagnation that has emerged in the industry.

For more information on the latest developments in the gaming industry, be sure to check out GamesIndustry.biz and Polygon.