DayZ creator releases BRUTAL development software
Ahwoo and RocketWerkz publish a software foundation that lets game developers build their own technology.
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Ahwoo and RocketWerkz made BRUTAL’s source code public on 15 October. The development framework from the companies associated with DayZ creator Dean Hall is free to use, including for commercial games. Developers can build a game directly on it or use it to develop their own game engine.
The release gives other studios access to technology already used in game projects. Ahwoo and RocketWerkz present BRUTAL as a way to gain greater control over a game’s technical foundations. The announcement appeared on Thursday; GameDev.net also reported on the release that day. The source code is available in a public repository on GitHub.
An important distinction is that BRUTAL is a framework: a collection of technical building blocks. A complete game engine provides more of the environment in which a developer puts a game together. BRUTAL instead leaves many of those choices to the user. According to the project documentation, it lacks, among other things, a built-in editor and a renderer, the component that generates images. Anyone using it must therefore choose or create additional systems themselves.
The software is written for C# and connects that programming language to underlying software libraries and interfaces. This includes support for Vulkan, an interface for graphics applications. The supplied components handle tasks including mathematical operations, memory management and the distribution of computing tasks. The aim is to let developers use these basic facilities without rewriting them all.
According to the announcement, BRUTAL is used in six game projects at three studios. RocketWerkz uses it for Kitten Space Agency. Ludeon Studios built Waylith, its own engine for RimWorld, on it. These are different applications: one project builds directly on the framework, while the other uses it as a foundation for its own engine. The figures and examples come from the creators.
The providers charge no royalties or percentage of game revenue for commercial use. However, attribution and copyright notices are required. The GitHub documentation describes the licence as based on the MIT licence. Public availability here therefore means that the code can be viewed and modified within the published terms; it does not mean that all obligations disappear.
Hall links the release to a broader desire to make developers less dependent on the companies behind their tools. According to the explanation accompanying the project, the available source code allows users to continue developing their own version. That reasoning explains the decision to make it public. It does not in itself prove that switching is more economical for every studio or that maintaining a studio’s own technical foundation requires less work.
The creators themselves warn that BRUTAL is harder to use in some respects than Unity, Unreal or Godot. It requires a clear technical approach of the user’s own. The release therefore primarily offers an additional option for teams that want to make such choices themselves. Independent comparisons of development time, total costs and performance are not available in the sources consulted; general gains in these areas therefore cannot be established.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The release on 15 October is documented in the announcement and confirmed in industry reporting. Technical characteristics were checked against the project documentation; unproven benefits were excluded from the factual conclusions.
- confirmed Ahwoo and RocketWerkz made BRUTAL public on 15 October 2026. — The announcement states this date and names both organisations. source
- confirmed Dean Hall, known for DayZ, is involved in the release. — Confirmed in industry reporting on the release. source
- confirmed BRUTAL offers C# building blocks and Vulkan support, but no complete editor or renderer. — Described in the technical documentation. source
- confirmed According to the creators, six projects at three studios use the framework, including Kitten Space Agency and Waylith for RimWorld. — Checked as an attributed statement, not as an independent survey. source
- confirmed Commercial use is royalty-free, with an attribution requirement. — Both the project documentation and industry reporting describe these terms. source
Editor's note
The publication date and availability were checked with the creators and against publicly available industry reporting. Use by studios is presented as information supplied by the creators. The code was not run; performance and cost benefits are not presented as proven.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „brutal rocketwerkz”
- FD — „brutal rocketwerkz”
- Trouw — „brutal rocketwerkz”