For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, responsible for roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made noticeable strides, and a handful of studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly controlled by the two giants.
Enter Immens, a startup founded by three seasoned industry veterans – Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient – who believe there is still space for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a better way to build games. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of modern game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they aim to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because "the tools that existed a couple of years ago simply aren’t enough anymore." He sees AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that can let developers start from a clean slate again, offering “full functionality fast” under a framework that still gives creators a high degree of control.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that the AI they are integrating is not the kind of "prompt‑to‑content" hype that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
"When the codebase is designed with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without being confined to a limited scripting layer," he says. The goal is to let teams leverage AI to accelerate extensions, not to replace human creativity.
The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the current climate of the games market, which Brussee describes as "rough." Development costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for small studios to survive. "We need new ways of working that reduce expenses, shrink team size, and speed up production," he argues.
The hope is that a more efficient pipeline will lower the financial risk for developers and keep studios from being wiped out by a single failed title. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While this has given developers a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry is facing a host of challenges, and simply repeating the old methods won’t solve them. We need genuine innovation, not more of the same," he asserts. One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the "monolithic" nature of existing engines.
Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and workflows, which can be restrictive. With AI, Immens aims to create an engine that adapts to the user rather than forcing users to adapt to it.
"Flexibility is key," he explains. "You should be able to swap components, append new ones, and build tools that match your exact workflow, down to the shortcuts and interface layout you prefer." Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can be unpredictable if left unchecked. Immens therefore builds in transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
This level of oversight allows developers to craft bespoke tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait—in a matter of minutes rather than weeks. "What used to cost a small fortune can now be done over coffee," he notes. The architecture of Immens is deliberately agnostic.
It does not impose a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular framework where developers decide how much AI to employ and where. De Jong adds that the engine will rely on open standards, making it easy to exchange data with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or other generative pipelines. "When files are text‑based, any program can read them, and the AI can manipulate them directly.
This openness solves a long‑standing interoperability problem that many proprietary engines ignore," Brussee says. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’s team tempers such expectations, viewing AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magic button. Valient believes that AI will ultimately make developers better, not replace them, and that the industry must adopt the technology responsibly.
Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many questioning whether the current hype is a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, but many over‑valued companies fell away, leaving only the truly valuable ones. "We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our vision. Whether the market is a bubble is unknown, but good technology tends to survive," he says.
Funding for Immens remains modest. The founders have secured "first commitments" but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused team can make sharper decisions and iterate faster. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team expected this to take until the end of the year, but they are already two‑fold ahead of schedule and plan to release the demo within the month. Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic Games’ philosophy of succeeding when its partners succeed, but he admits it is too early to lock in a definitive approach. Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more artistic risk‑taking and innovation. "We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences.
If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing," Brussee concludes.