For many years the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In 2025 those platforms were responsible for roughly 70% of the titles launched on Steam, while open‑source alternatives like Godot have only begun to carve out a modest share.
Even large publishers continue to rely on proprietary solutions – Capcom still builds its blockbuster titles on the in‑house RE Engine – leaving Unity and Unreal with a near‑monopoly on the market. Enter Immens, a fledgling studio founded by three industry veterans – Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong and Michal Valient – who believe there is still room for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings of the current generation.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, Apple and more. Together they are setting out to challenge the entrenched status quo.
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 sufficient anymore." He points to the rapid progress of AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that makes it possible to start building a full‑featured engine from scratch without the massive overhead that used to be required. "With the right amount of guidance and control, you can assemble something functional very quickly," he said. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is careful to clarify that the role of AI in their project is not the typical "prompt‑to‑output" gimmick that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. "AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," he noted. "If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system, a bespoke animation pipeline, or any other feature they need, without being limited to a tiny scripting layer. The AI simply accelerates the extension process." The motivation behind Immens’ AI‑centric approach is the increasingly bleak economics of game development.
Brussee described the current climate as "rough" and warned that production costs keep climbing, making it harder for smaller studios to survive. "We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery," he argued. "If we can make the development process more efficient, creators won’t have to risk everything on a single title." De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, echoed this sentiment, noting that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation has produced stable foundations, it has also stifled innovation. "The industry is at a crossroads," he said. "Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic tools won’t solve the emerging challenges.
We need a fresh wave of innovation, not just more of the same." One of the key criticisms De Jong has of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can be a barrier to creativity.
By contrast, Immens aims to create an engine that flexes to the developer’s needs. "You should be able to swap components, append new modules, or rewrite parts of the workflow to suit your project," he explained. "Imagine a toolset that mirrors exactly the shortcuts, interfaces, and features you personally require – that’s the level of customization we’re targeting." Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is being built with transparency and control at its core. Users will always be able to see what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and reproduce results reliably.
This auditability is crucial for a creative pipeline where a developer might need to generate five characters with a specific trait in minutes rather than weeks. "What used to cost thousands of man‑hours can now be prototyped over a coffee break," Valient said, emphasizing that such rapid iteration is the engine’s true value proposition. Flexibility is baked into Immens’ architecture.
De Jong stressed that the framework does not impose a single workflow; instead, it lets developers decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. The engine also embraces open standards, making it interoperable with common tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative‑AI suites. "When files are stored as plain text, any system can read and manipulate them," Brussee noted.
"That openness allows the AI to parse assets, modify them, and hand them off to other software without the usual proprietary bottlenecks." The broader industry reaction to AI in game development is mixed. Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalize the technology, claiming that a simple prompt could soon spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’ founders acknowledge that a "click‑to‑game" future might eventually be possible, but they view AI primarily as a tool that augments human creativity rather than replaces it.
"AI makes everyone better, not the sole creator," Valient said. "The current backlash stems from the disruptive scale of AI, which is unprecedented." Economic anxieties also loom large. Critics argue that AI‑driven startups are riding a bubble, with inflated valuations that may not be sustainable.
Valient countered that, like the dot‑com boom, the technology itself will endure even if many companies fade away. "We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination. Whether the market is a bubble is irrelevant – the internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst, and AI won’t either." Funding for Immens remains modest.
The team has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target 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, and we want to retain that lean, problem‑solving mindset." The company is deliberately small – just the three founders plus a handful of helpers – to maintain agility. De Jong explained the trade‑off: a massive team doesn’t automatically translate to faster engine development; instead, a focused group can make critical decisions and iterate more quickly.
Timing is also crucial. The team believes there is a narrow window in the next few years where AI’s momentum can be harnessed to reshape the industry, and they aim to position Immens to capture that opportunity without over‑extending resources.
Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release the demo within the month, demonstrating how a developer can modify assets and logic in real time using AI assistance. Brussee revealed that the project, which began in April, is already progressing at twice the speed originally projected, underscoring the productivity gains the team expects from their AI‑first design. Business‑model discussions are still in early stages.
While Immens admires Epic Games’ "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy, the founders admit it’s too soon to commit to a specific revenue structure. Their primary focus remains on delivering a functional, flexible engine that empowers creators.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will catalyze a new wave of daring, artistic games. "We love games and want to see more risk‑taking and creativity in the medium," Brussee concluded. "If our technology can help developers push boundaries and experiment without prohibitive costs, that would be amazing for the whole industry."