For years, the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines—Unity and Unreal—responsible for roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have enjoyed a surge in popularity, and a handful of large publishers cling to proprietary solutions like Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely remained a duopoly. Enter Immens, a fresh effort spearheaded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. The trio believes there is still room for a new engine that not only competes on features but also addresses the escalating costs that are squeezing smaller studios. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels “right” because the technological landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. "With AI‑augmented programming, we can start building from the ground up again," he said.
"With the right guidance and control, we can deliver a fully functional engine in a fraction of the time it used to take." Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they are integrating is not the typical "prompt‑to‑content" model that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI serves as a scaffolding that makes the engine inherently extensible. "The AI can reason about massive codebases and data sets," he noted. "If we architect the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers." The motivation behind Immens is also a reaction to the current economic climate of the games sector.
Brussee described the environment as "rough," pointing out that development budgets are swelling while the risk of failure looms larger than ever. "We need new workflows that lower costs, let smaller teams ship faster, and reduce the financial gamble that comes with making a game," he argued.
De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, observed that the engine market has become increasingly standardized and consolidated. While that standardization provides a reliable foundation, he believes it also breeds complacency. "The industry faces a suite of challenges, and merely iterating on existing engines won’t solve them," he said.
"We need genuine innovation, not more of the same." One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the monolithic nature of current engines. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can stifle creativity. With AI, Immens aims to flip that paradigm: the engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around.
"Flexibility is key," he explained. "You should be able to swap modules, append new tools, or reshape the UI to match your personal workflow. If I need a shortcut for a specific animation rig, I can build it directly into the engine." Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can also behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
To counter this, Immens is built with transparency at its core. Users will have full visibility into the AI’s decision‑making process, a complete history of changes, and the ability to roll back or fine‑tune outcomes.
"You should know exactly what the engine is doing and why," he said. "That reproducibility turns a risky experiment into a reliable tool." The flexibility promise extends to workflow choices as well.
De Jong emphasized that Immers does not impose a single development approach. "Whether you want to rely heavily on AI for asset generation or keep it to a peripheral role, the architecture lets you decide," he noted. "The only requirement is that the AI understands the context correctly, which is why we’re investing heavily in robust training data and open standards." Speaking of open standards, the team is deliberately avoiding proprietary lock‑ins.
By using text‑based, human‑readable file formats, Immens can interoperate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI suite. "If a file is plain text, any AI or external program can read and manipulate it," Brussee explained. "That opens the door for smarter integrations and eliminates the awkward translation layers that many engines still impose." The broader AI conversation in game development is not without controversy. Some pundits on LinkedIn sensationalize the idea that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, igniting fear and backlash.
The Immens team, however, envisions AI as a catalyst that makes developers more capable, not a replacement for human creativity. Valient summed it up: "AI will make big games and indie projects alike better, but it remains a tool, not a magic button." Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with critics labeling the sector a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, asserting that while many AI startups may fade, the underlying technology will endure. "The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst, and AI won’t either. Good products will survive because they solve real problems. Immens is focused on building a solid engine; AI just accelerates our vision." Funding remains modest at this stage.
Immens has secured "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital they seek as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy; otherwise you lose the edge that comes from solving problems with limited resources," he said. The company’s lean structure—three founders plus a handful of helpers—reflects a deliberate choice to remain agile.
De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex undertaking that doesn’t benefit from a massive headcount. "You need a focused team that can make thoughtful decisions, not a thousand‑person assembly line," he remarked. At the same time, they recognize a narrow window of opportunity as AI matures and the industry seeks new solutions. Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing flow.
The goal is to release the demo within the month, a timeline that has already outpaced their original schedule. "We thought we’d need until the end of the year, but we’re two‑times faster than expected," Brussee admitted.
Business‑model discussions are still nascent. While the team admires Epic’s revenue‑sharing philosophy—"we succeed when you succeed"—they admit it’s too early to lock in a definitive approach.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions," Brussee concluded. "If our engine can lower barriers and inspire risk‑taking, that would be amazing."