For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, powering roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction and some studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Against this backdrop, three seasoned developers—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens with the conviction that a fresh engine, built around artificial intelligence, can carve out a meaningful niche.
The founders’ 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. Their collective background gives them a unique perspective on why the status quo may be ripe for disruption. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right: “A few years ago, the idea of a new engine didn’t make sense.
Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch and still deliver full‑featured tools quickly.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑and‑get‑a‑game” fantasy that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “If we design the codebase with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke physics module without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he says.
The goal is to let creators extend the engine as naturally as they would edit a document, using AI as a catalyst rather than a crutch. One of the core motivations for Immens is the increasingly hostile economics of game development. Brussee describes the current climate as “rough,” noting that production budgets keep inflating while the risk of failure grows.
“We need new ways to work—more efficient pipelines that let smaller teams ship high‑quality experiences without jeopardising their studios,” he asserts. De Jong, the chief product officer, adds that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated, providing a solid foundation but stifling innovation.
“We’re at a point where the industry faces multiple challenges, and simply repeating old methods won’t cut it. We need genuine innovation, not just more of the same,” he argues.
According to De Jong, existing engines often enforce a monolithic workflow, locking developers into proprietary file formats and rigid toolsets. By contrast, an AI‑aware engine can adapt to the user’s preferred pipeline. “Flexibility is key,” he explains.
“You should be able to swap components, append new features, or build entirely custom tools that match your personal workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you need for a particular project.” Valient acknowledges that AI is powerful but also unpredictable. “If you don’t keep an eye on it, the system can go off the rails quickly,” he warns. Immens therefore places control firmly in the hands of the developer. Every AI‑driven action is logged, repeatable, and transparent, allowing creators to understand exactly how a tool arrived at a result.
This traceability turns what could be a black‑box into a reliable assistant, enabling rapid prototyping—imagine sketching five unique characters over a coffee break and having the engine generate them instantly, then discarding the temporary tool once the job is done. The architecture of Immens is deliberately agnostic.
It does not impose a single workflow; instead, it offers a framework that developers can shape to their needs, including deciding how much AI to integrate and where. De Jong stresses that the engine must also speak open standards.
“When files are text‑based, any tool can read them. That means Blender, Maya, or any generative system can plug in seamlessly because they all communicate through shared, open formats,” he says. This openness counters the isolation many current engines create, where proprietary pipelines hinder collaboration and tool interoperability. 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.
While Immens’s team concedes that “click‑to‑game” concepts might eventually emerge, they view AI strictly as a tool that amplifies human creativity. “Big games and everything in between will be made better because AI makes everyone more capable,” Valient notes, acknowledging the technology’s disruptive perception but emphasizing responsible use. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with skeptics pointing to inflated valuations and the risk of a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, only the hype‑driven companies did. “We’re focused on building a solid engine. AI helps us move faster and think bigger, but the core product must stand on its own merits,” he says.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens plans to weather any correction by delivering genuine value. Funding for Immens remains modest.
The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy; too much money can make you lazy,” he laughs. The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
This intentional small size allows rapid decision‑making and focused development. De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team doesn’t automatically translate to faster progress on a complex engine; a tight, skilled core can iterate more efficiently while still scaling at the right moment to capture the market window opened by AI advancements. Immens is now targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases an AI‑driven editing flow, slated for release within the month.
Brussee notes that the timeline has already outpaced their original estimate—what was expected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. As for the business model, Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach but admits it’s too early to define a concrete revenue strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the boundaries of the medium. “We love games as complex artistic expressions and want to see more risk‑taking and creativity,” says Brussee.
“If our technology can help bring innovative, daring games to life, that would be amazing.”