For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, responsible for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides and large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been locked into the two big players. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have founded Immens with a bold belief that there is still space for a fresh engine and that the status quo can be improved. The trio’s résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Their combined background gives them a unique perspective on the shortcomings of existing tools and the opportunities that modern technology, especially artificial intelligence, can unlock. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because "the landscape has changed in ways that didn’t exist a few years ago." He believes AI‑augmented programming can let developers start from a clean slate again, offering a high degree of guidance while still delivering full‑featured results quickly. Rather than treating AI as a magic‑wand that conjures assets from prompts, Immens’ CTO, Valient, stresses that the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. "The AI can reason about large codebases and data sets," he said.
"If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo creators or small teams can add custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being limited to superficial scripting." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development. Brussee describes the environment as "rough" and notes that production costs keep climbing, making it harder for studios to stay afloat.
He asks, "How can we break out of that cycle? Can we discover new, more efficient ways of working that lower budgets and shrink team sizes without sacrificing quality?" De Jong, the chief product officer, adds that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that stability has provided a solid foundation, the industry now needs genuine innovation, not merely incremental improvements. One of the main criticisms De Jong has of existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers often have to bend their workflows to fit proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. With AI, Immens aims to flip that relationship: the engine should adapt to the developer. "Flexibility is key," he explains. "You should be able to swap components, extend them, or build entirely new tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you need for a particular project." Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can be unpredictable if left unchecked.
Immens therefore places the user in full control, offering transparency about what the system is doing and a complete history of its actions. This repeatability allows developers to craft bespoke tools for specific problems—such as generating five characters with a unique trait—in a matter of minutes instead of weeks.
What previously required a costly, labor‑intensive pipeline can now be prototyped over coffee, dramatically reducing development overhead. The engine’s design philosophy deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong emphasizes that teams can decide how much AI to incorporate and where it fits into their pipeline, provided the AI correctly understands the context. Immens also embraces open standards, meaning that text‑based assets can be read and manipulated by any compatible software.
Brussee points out that this openness enables seamless integration with tools like Blender, Maya, or other generative platforms, creating a “smarter interface” across the entire toolchain. Historically, many engines have acted as closed ecosystems, hindering interoperability; Immens seeks to reverse that trend. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims on social media that a simple prompt could produce a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
While Immens does not rule out the eventual possibility of “click‑to‑game” solutions, the team frames AI strictly as a tool that amplifies human creativity rather than replaces it. Valient notes that AI’s current negative perception stems from its disruptive scale, but believes that, like any technology, it can be harnessed responsibly. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with many warning of a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, arguing that while some companies will fail, the underlying technology will endure.
"AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving," he says. "Our goal is to build a solid engine that leverages AI to speed up development and enable bigger dreams. Whether the market is in a bubble is uncertain, but great products survive regardless." Immens has not disclosed specific funding amounts, though the founders mention having secured “first commitments” and that the capital they seek is “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑funding, noting that excessive cash can breed complacency and reduce the scrappy mindset essential for a startup. The company remains a lean operation: the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, long‑term endeavor that cannot be rushed by throwing a massive team at it. Instead, a small, focused group can make thoughtful decisions and iterate efficiently, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by rapid AI advances. The team is currently working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. Brussee notes that the project, which began in April, is already moving at double the speed originally projected, underscoring the productivity gains the AI integration promises.
Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of sharing success with developers but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more artistic expression, risk‑taking, and innovation.
"We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences," he says. "If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing."