For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases projected for 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and large studios continue to rely on proprietary tools—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been monopolized by these two giants.
Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have founded Immens with the conviction that there is still space for a fresh engine that can address the shortcomings of the status quo. The founders bring a résumé that reads like a who's‑who of game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is now right for a new platform, noting that "a few years ago the kind of engine we envision simply didn’t exist." He believes that advances in AI‑assisted programming make it possible to rebuild core tooling from the ground up, delivering full‑featured capabilities much more quickly than traditional, heavily‑engineered pipelines.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that their use of AI differs from the hype‑driven "prompt‑to‑asset" narrative that dominates many discussions today. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
"AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," he explains. "If we design the engine with that in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.
The AI helps them extend the engine faster and more reliably." A key driver behind Immens is the increasingly hostile economics of game production. Brussee describes the current climate as "rough," pointing out that development costs are spiraling upward, making it harder for creators to achieve commercial success without massive budgets. "We need new ways of working that lower risk, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he says. The trio believes AI‑enhanced workflows can break the cycle of ever‑rising expenses, enabling studios to deliver polished experiences without jeopardising their financial stability.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply iterating on existing solutions isn’t enough," he asserts. "We need genuine innovation, not more of the same." One of De Jong’s criticisms of current engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers are forced to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can hinder creativity. By contrast, Immens aims to be a malleable platform that adapts to the user’s workflow.
"Flexibility is essential," he says. "You should be able to swap components, append new features, and build tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you need for your project." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is "really powerful," it can also produce unexpected results if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency and control at its core. Users can trace the engine’s decisions, understand its history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This level of oversight allows developers to craft bespoke tools for specific tasks—such as generating a set of characters with particular traits—in a fraction of the time previously required, turning what used to be weeks of work into a coffee‑break exercise.
Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. The architecture is designed so that developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where to apply it.
"It’s up to you," De Jong notes. "We provide a framework that supports any approach, as long as the AI interprets the data correctly." Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens.
By embracing open, text‑based standards, the engine can seamlessly exchange data with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative system. "When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them," Brussee explains.
"This opens the door for smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain, something proprietary engines have historically resisted." The conversation around AI in game development is polarized. Some pundits on LinkedIn claim that future engines will let anyone conjure a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world with a single prompt. Immens’s team tempers such expectations, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magic button. Valient believes that AI will elevate the overall skill level of creators, even if the notion of "click‑to‑game" remains speculative.
Economic concerns also surface, with critics warning of an AI bubble inflated by lofty valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology persists.
"AI isn’t disappearing; it’s becoming a catalyst for faster, bigger dreaming. Whether we’re in a bubble is unknown, but great products survive regardless of market hype." Funding for Immens remains modest.
The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused team can make more decisive progress than a bloated organization. Balancing resources and timelines is a delicate act. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, long‑term endeavor that cannot be rushed by sheer manpower.
Yet there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. Immens aims to hit that sweet spot with a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases AI‑driven editing workflows, slated for release later this month. "We expected to take until year‑end, but we’re already twice as fast as anticipated," Brussee says. The business model is still evolving.
While Immens appreciates Epic’s philosophy of sharing success with developers, they consider it premature to make definitive statements about pricing or revenue sharing. Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver innovative experiences. "We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking. If our technology helps spark that innovation, it would be amazing," he concludes.