For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces shaping the video‑game development landscape. In fact, by 2025 they powered roughly seventy percent of all titles released on Steam.
While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have begun to gain traction, the majority of large studios still rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s in‑house RE Engine being a prime example. This concentration has left the market feeling almost locked in, with the two giants seemingly holding all the cards.
Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑engine history, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they believe there is still room for a fresh engine, and more importantly, for a new way of building games that addresses the pain points that have accumulated over the past decade. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A couple of years ago the idea of an AI‑augmented engine didn’t really exist,” he said. “Now, with AI‑supported programming, we can start from scratch again and get full‑featured tools up and running much faster.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the sort of “prompt‑to‑image” magic that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “If we design the engine with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without rewriting large sections of code,” he explained.
The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a productivity partner rather than a replacement for thoughtful design. The motivation behind this ambitious project is the increasingly hostile economic climate for developers. Brussee described the current market as “rough.” Game budgets continue to balloon, making it harder for small teams to survive. “We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued.
“If we can break that cycle, we protect studios and the people who depend on them.” De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, pointed out that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that standardization has provided a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it,” he said. “We need a different approach—one that embraces flexibility and encourages experimentation.” One of the key criticisms of existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers are forced to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong believes AI can turn that model on its head by delivering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s workflow. “It has to be interchangeable, modular, and adaptable,” he noted. “I want to be able to build tools that match my own habits—exact shortcuts, interfaces, and features—so my team can work exactly the way we need to.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see the engine’s decision history, ensuring repeatable results and preventing the “black‑box” syndrome that scares many developers. This visibility enables rapid prototyping—imagine designing five distinct characters with specific traits over a coffee break, then discarding the temporary tool once the job is done. What once cost weeks of labor can now be accomplished in hours, dramatically reducing development expense.
Flexibility is baked into Immens from the ground up. The framework does not impose a single workflow; instead, it lets teams decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. De Jong stressed that the architecture is deliberately open, allowing creators to plug in external software such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI tool via open standards. Text‑based file formats mean the AI can read and manipulate assets directly, fostering smoother interoperability—a problem that many proprietary engines still struggle with.
The broader industry conversation around AI is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” scenarios where a single prompt could generate a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens acknowledges that such extreme visions may one day be feasible, but for now they view AI strictly as a tool that enhances human creativity rather than replaces it.
“AI is making everyone better,” Valient said. “It has negative connotations now because it’s disrupting at an unprecedented scale, but responsible use can drive the medium forward.” Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with fears of a bubble and inflated valuations. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the underlying technology endured.
Immens aims to build a solid engine first, using AI to accelerate development and enable bigger dreams. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team believes the technology itself is here to stay. Funding for Immens is still in its early stages. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Too much money can make you lazy.” The company remains intentionally lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
De Jong explained that building a sophisticated engine does not require a massive workforce; a small, focused team can make better decisions and iterate faster. Yet they must balance this with the need to seize a narrow window of opportunity created by AI’s rise and the industry’s shifting needs. Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team expected this to take them until the end of the year, but they are already two‑times ahead of schedule and plan to release the demo within the month. Timelines remain fluid, but the rapid progress underscores the potential speed gains AI can deliver. Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue strategy.
The focus remains on delivering a robust, flexible engine that empowers creators to push artistic and technical boundaries. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will catalyze a new wave of creativity and risk‑taking in games. “We love games and want to see more complex, expressive works,” Brussee concluded.
“If our technology can help developers innovate and bring fresh experiences to players, that would be amazing.”