For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the de‑facto platforms for game creation, accounting for roughly 70 % of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have begun to gain traction, the market remains largely dominated by proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example.
In this landscape, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—believe there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the status quo. The trio’s résumé reads like a who’s‑who of the gaming world: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Their new venture, Immens, is built around the idea that modern AI tools can revive the possibility of constructing an engine from the ground up, rather than merely layering features on top of legacy code. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right because “the kind of AI‑supported programming that didn’t exist a few years ago is now viable, and it lets you get full‑featured systems up and running quickly while retaining tight guidance and control.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, stresses that the AI they employ is not the generic “prompt‑to‑output” variety that dominates headlines.
Instead, their approach uses AI to make the engine itself highly extensible. He notes that AI excels at reasoning over large codebases and data sets, so if the engine’s architecture is designed with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can add bespoke systems—such as a custom particle renderer—without being confined to a narrow scripting sandbox. This extensibility, he argues, is a core part of Immens’ value proposition: AI becomes a catalyst for rapid, targeted expansion rather than a black‑box creator.
The motivation behind this ambitious project is the increasingly hostile economics of game development. Brussee describes the current climate as “rough,” pointing out that production budgets are ballooning and the risk of failure is higher than ever. He asks whether the industry can discover new, more efficient workflows that reduce costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines, thereby protecting studios from financial ruin. De Jong, the chief product officer, echoes this sentiment, observing that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation provides a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation. De Jong argues that the industry now needs a paradigm shift—moving from incremental improvements to genuine breakthroughs. One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the “monolithic” nature of existing engines.
Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, limiting creativity. With AI‑driven flexibility, Immens aims to let the engine adapt to the developer’s workflow, not the other way around. He envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, or completely redesign tools to match their personal preferences—down to shortcuts, UI layout, and feature sets—thereby creating a truly personalized development environment. Valient is quick to acknowledge AI’s limitations.
While he calls the technology “really powerful,” he warns that it can “go off the rails” if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is designed to keep users in the driver’s seat: the engine logs its actions, provides a clear history, and ensures repeatable results. This transparency lets developers craft specialized tools for niche tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait—in minutes rather than weeks, dramatically lowering the cost of iteration.
Flexibility is baked into Immens’ architecture. De Jong stresses that the framework does not impose a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular backbone that lets teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
The engine also embraces open standards, meaning that assets stored as plain‑text files can be read and manipulated by any compatible software. Brussee points out that this openness enables seamless integration with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline, fostering a “smarter interface” across the entire production chain. The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalize the idea that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fear of a “click‑to‑game” future. Immens’ founders acknowledge that while such a vision might eventually be possible, they view AI primarily as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. Valient believes AI will make developers better, not obsolete, and stresses the responsibility to wield the technology ethically.
Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with critics labeling the sector a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet technology persisted and flourished. He argues that Immens is focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates development and expands creative horizons.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is confident that a well‑crafted product will survive regardless of hype cycles. Funding for Immens is still in its early stages.
The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑capitalization, warning that excess cash can breed complacency and erode the scrappy mindset essential for a startup. The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused team can make decisive architectural choices without the bureaucracy of a larger organization. Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. Originally slated for a year‑long development, the team has already doubled their speed, aiming to release the demo within the month.
While the long‑term business model is still being refined, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing approach but says it’s too early to commit to any specific strategy. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering risk‑taking and artistic expression.
As Brussee puts it, “We love games, we love complex artistic statements, and we want to see more of that. If our technology can help make that happen, that would be amazing.”