For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still commands the majority of the market. Enter Immens, a fledgling studio founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. The trio believes there is still space for a fresh engine, and more importantly, for a better way to build games. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is now ideal for a new engine that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.
“With AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again,” he explained. “Guided by intelligent tools, we can deliver full‑featured functionality far more quickly than before.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they are integrating is not the kind that generates art or code from a single prompt. Instead, it is a reasoning engine built into the very architecture of the platform.
“Our AI can understand large codebases and data sets,” he said. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can extend it beyond simple scripting. Want a custom particle system? Just add it.
Want a brand‑new rendering pipeline? The AI helps you stitch it together without breaking the core.” The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from the harsh reality of today’s game market.
Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” noting that development costs keep climbing, making it harder for smaller studios to survive. “We need new workflows that reduce expenses and let teams create high‑quality experiences with fewer people and tighter budgets,” he said.
“Otherwise you risk everything—your studio, your livelihood.” De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that has given developers a solid foundation, it also means the industry is stuck in a comfort zone. “We’re at a point where the challenges are mounting, and simply repeating the old methods won’t cut it,” he warned. “What we need now is innovation, not more standardization.” One of the key criticisms De Jong has of existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can stifle creativity. With AI, Immens aims to flip that model on its head, offering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is essential,” he emphasized. “You should be able to swap modules, append new features, and build bespoke tools that match your exact workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and specific functions your project demands.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it is incredibly powerful, it can also veer off course if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency and control at its core. “When you use our engine, you always know what it’s doing and why,” he said.
“You can trace the history of every change, ensuring repeatability and allowing you to craft custom tools for niche tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait in minutes instead of weeks.” Immens’ architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong explains that the framework is modular, letting users decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
“You might rely heavily on AI for asset generation but prefer manual coding for gameplay logic, or vice versa. The engine should accommodate any blend you choose, provided the AI understands the context correctly.” Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’ design.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI suite. “If a file is readable as plain text, any AI can parse and manipulate it,” Brussee noted.
“This openness eliminates the ‘black‑box’ problem many proprietary engines create, making it easier to plug in third‑party software and keep pipelines fluid.” The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype the idea of “click‑to‑game” experiences where a single prompt spawns a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world.
Immens’ founders temper those expectations, insisting that AI is a tool—not a magic wand. “One day we might see engines that let anyone create a full game with a few clicks, but for now we view AI as an accelerator that makes developers better, not a replacement for human creativity,” Valient said.
Economic concerns also linger. Critics argue that AI‑focused startups are part of a speculative bubble with inflated valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet— persisted.
“AI isn’t disappearing. Some firms will fail, but the good ones that solve real problems will survive. Our goal is to build a solid engine; AI simply helps us iterate faster and dream bigger.” Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its first round of commitments but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, saying excessive cash can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy; too much money can make you lazy.” The team itself is tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. They deliberately keep the operation lean to maintain agility while tackling the complex task of building an engine. De Jong explains the balance: “You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect instant success.
You need a focused group to make thoughtful decisions, yet you also need enough resources to hit the market window created by AI’s rise.” Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee says is already twice as fast as initially projected.
“We aimed for an end‑of‑year milestone when we started in April, and we’re ahead of schedule,” he laughed. Regarding the business model, Brussee mentions admiration for Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue structure.
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 technology can enable risk‑taking and spark new forms of creativity, that would be amazing."