For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, together accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have made noticeable strides, and a handful of large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions like Capcom’s RE Engine, the market for game engines has largely been a duopoly. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three seasoned veterans – Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient – who believe there is still room for a fresh approach. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they aim to challenge the status quo and give developers an alternative that leverages modern AI techniques. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine. “A few years ago this idea didn’t exist,” he said.
“Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again while keeping tight control over the process. The result can be a fully functional system that ships much faster than traditional pipelines.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, stressed that their use of AI is fundamentally different from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” narratives that dominate the conversation. “We’re not trying to conjure entire games with a single sentence,” he clarified.
“Our AI is embedded in the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. Because AI can parse large amounts of data and understand code relationships, smaller teams – or even solo creators – can add custom features like a bespoke particle system without wrestling with opaque scripting layers.” The motivation behind this AI‑centric engine stems from the current economic pressures on developers. Brussee described the market as “rough,” noting that production costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for studios to stay afloat.
“We need new ways of working that cut costs and allow teams to deliver high‑quality experiences with fewer people and tighter budgets,” he argued. “If we can accelerate iteration and reduce risk, developers won’t have to gamble their livelihoods on a single title.” De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, he believes the industry now requires genuine innovation rather than incremental refinements.
“Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t solve the challenges we face,” he said. “We need a different paradigm – one that embraces flexibility and user‑driven customization.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines.
Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid toolchains. By contrast, Immens aims to be a chameleon that adapts to the developer’s workflow. “The engine should be interchangeable, extensible, and modifiable,” he explained. “I want to be able to build tools that match my own background, with the exact shortcuts, interfaces, and features my team needs.
The engine should never dictate how we work; it should empower us to shape it.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is designed to keep the user in the driver’s seat. “You always know what the engine is doing, you can trace its history, and you can reproduce results reliably,” he said.
“If you need to generate five characters with a specific trait, you used to spend weeks planning and coding. Now you could prototype over a coffee break, reuse the tool a handful of times, and discard it when you’re done. That kind of on‑demand workflow was previously prohibitively expensive.” Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core architecture. De Jong emphasized that the platform does not force a single workflow on its users.
“You decide how much AI you want to involve and where you apply it,” he noted. “Our job is to ensure the AI understands the context correctly, but the creative decisions remain yours.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of the project. By relying on open, text‑based standards, Immens can communicate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
“When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them,” Brussee said. “The AI can read, modify, and generate assets on the fly. This openness is a stark contrast to many proprietary engines that act as closed ecosystems, hindering collaboration across different software.” The broader industry remains divided on AI’s role in game creation.
Some commentators on LinkedIn predict a future where entire open‑world experiences like Grand Theft Auto could be spawned from a single prompt. Immens’ founders acknowledge that such “click‑to‑game” fantasies might one day be possible, but they stress that, for now, AI is a tool—not a replacement for human creativity. “AI makes everyone better, not by taking over, but by amplifying our abilities,” Valient asserted. “It’s disruptive, which is why it feels uncomfortable, but responsible use can drive the medium forward.” Economic concerns also linger, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are part of a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet— persisted and flourished. “AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving,” he said. “Our focus is on building a solid engine that leverages AI to speed development and expand creative horizons.
Whether the market is in a bubble is uncertain, but the technology itself is here to stay.” Funding for Immens remains modest. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑capitalization, noting that too much cash can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed.
“A lean team forces disciplined decision‑making.” Indeed, Immens currently consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers. De Jong explained the delicate balance between team size and project complexity: “You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect miracles. You need a focused group to make thoughtful architectural choices, yet you also need enough resources to hit the market window that AI is opening.” The team is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
They aim to release the demo within the month, already having accelerated their timeline dramatically. “When we started in April, we thought we’d be ready by year‑end,” Brussee recalled. “We’re now roughly twice as fast as anticipated, which makes it hard to predict exact milestones.” As for the business model, Immens is still exploring options. While they admire Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” revenue share, they admit it’s too early to commit to a specific structure.
Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will enable more daring, artistic games. “We love games as an expressive art form,” he said. “We want to see more risk‑taking and innovation.
If our technology can help creators push boundaries, that would be amazing.”