RocketWerkz and Ahwoo release BRUTAL, an open source C# game framework

RocketWerkz, developer of Kitten Space Agency and Icarus, and game platform operator Ahwoo have announced the open source release of BRUTAL, a C#-based game development framework. Both companies were founded by Dean Hall. The framework is pitched as an alternative to third-party engines such as Unity, Unreal Engine and Godot.

BRUTAL combines C# and .NET with C++ libraries and low-level graphics access. It is meant as a base for developers who want to build and maintain their own development tools. RocketWerkz uses it in the development of Kitten Space Agency.

Commercial use is free and carries no royalty. The open source license does require attribution and a logo displayed before gameplay when players load your game. Check those terms before you commit.

Game Developer notes that this is not as simple as picking up Godot. BRUTAL can underpin a proprietary engine or be used to make a game from scratch, and either route means working with the nuts and bolts of C#.

For an outside case study, Game Developer points to Ludeon Studios. It reports that the studio announced last week that it ported Rimworld from Unity to a new engine called Waylith, which it says gives better performance and faster start-up. Game Developer describes that engine as a custom one powered by BRUTAL.

Hall framed the release around independence. "You are only as independent as your tools are," he said in a statement. He added that not every developer should have to build an engine, but every developer should have the option. He also told Game Developer last year that he would rather see others create their own simpler frameworks along similar lines than see BRUTAL become an industry standard.

Hall and Kerbal Space Program creator Felipe Falanghe told Game Developer in 2025 that large language models (LLMs) made BRUTAL easier to work with. They used the tools to ask questions about C# libraries and Vulkan documentation. They said this was not the same as vibe-coding.