For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made notable strides, the market is still heavily weighted toward proprietary solutions, with major studios often relying on in‑house engines such as Capcom’s RE Engine.
In this landscape, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have decided that there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine. Their startup, Immens, is built around the idea that artificial intelligence can fundamentally reshape how game engines are constructed and extended. The founders bring an impressive résumé: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. 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 believes AI‑assisted programming can return developers to a state where they can start projects from a clean slate, while still retaining enough guidance to deliver full‑featured results quickly.
Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the company’s use of AI is not about generating assets from vague prompts, a narrative that has become common in the broader AI‑creative community. Instead, their AI is designed to make the engine itself highly extensible. "When the codebase is built with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without having to rewrite large sections of the engine," he says.
The goal is to let creators harness AI to speed up extension work, rather than to replace the creative process entirely. The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the current economic pressures on game studios.
Brussee describes the market as "rough," noting that development costs keep rising and that many studios struggle to stay afloat. "We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argues. By reducing the financial barrier, Immens hopes to give smaller teams a realistic chance to bring their visions to life without jeopardizing their livelihoods.
De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry is facing a series of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it," he says.
He criticises the "monolithic approach" of existing engines, where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens aims to deliver a system that adapts to the user, allowing developers to swap components, append new functionality, and craft tools tailored to their specific project needs.
Flexibility is a recurring theme. De Jong envisions a scenario where a developer can build a custom editor with the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set required for their team, all without fighting against a predetermined engine structure. Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is designed to keep users in full control of the engine’s actions, providing transparent histories and repeatable processes. This oversight ensures that AI‑generated tools remain reliable and that developers can trust the outcomes. One practical example illustrates the potential impact: creating five characters with a unique trait that would traditionally take weeks can now be prototyped over a coffee break using AI‑assisted tooling. The resulting workflow can be reused multiple times and discarded when no longer needed, dramatically cutting costs and development time.
Immens also embraces open standards to improve interoperability with the broader ecosystem of game‑development software. "When files are text‑based, any tool can read them," Brussee notes. This openness means that assets from Blender, Maya, or other generative platforms can be plugged directly into the engine, fostering a smoother pipeline.
The team believes that many existing engines act as closed off outliers, whereas Immens will act as a connective tissue that speaks the same language as other tools. The conversation around AI in games is often polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalise the idea that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, feeding a backlash against AI. Immens’ founders temper these expectations, describing AI as a powerful "tool" rather than a magic button. Valient stresses that AI will make developers better, not replace them, and that the industry must adopt the technology responsibly.
Economic anxieties also surface, with critics warning of an AI bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many startups will fail, the underlying technology—much like the internet—will endure. Immens is focused on building a solid engine first; AI merely accelerates the process and expands creative horizons.
Funding remains modest. The company has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital sought as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑funding, which can breed complacency.
The team intentionally remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—to stay agile and scrappy. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced initial expectations; what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving roughly twice as fast.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" philosophy but admits it is too early to commit to a specific revenue structure. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will enable more daring, artistic games. "We love games as an expressive medium and want to see more risk‑taking and creativity," Brussee says.
"If Immens can help push the industry forward, that would be amazing."