For many years, the game development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, by 2025 they were responsible for roughly 70% of the titles launched on Steam. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have begun to attract attention, and a handful of large publishers cling to proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly.
Into this entrenched environment step three seasoned veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who have founded a startup called Immens with a bold ambition: to create a fresh, AI‑enhanced engine that can break the cycle of ever‑rising costs and shrinking margins that many small studios now face. The founders’ résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry. Brussee cut his teeth at Epic Games, the creator of Unreal, before moving on to Guerrilla Games and other high‑profile projects.
De Jong has spent time at Apple and Boss Key, while Valient’s background spans multiple AAA studios and deep technical leadership roles. Their combined experience gives them a rare perspective on why the current engine ecosystem feels both stagnant and monolithic.
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 enough anymore.” He believes that AI‑assisted programming now makes it possible to start building a game from a near‑blank slate, while still retaining the control and guidance that professional developers demand. "You can get full‑featured functionality up quickly when the engine itself is designed to be extended by intelligent code generation," he said. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the kind of prompt‑to‑image generator that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is woven 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 animation pipeline without having to rewrite large sections of core code," he explained.
This approach aims to give creators the freedom to augment the engine with specialized tools, rather than being forced to work within a rigid, pre‑defined workflow. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the harsh economic reality of modern game production. Brussee described the current climate as "rough" and warned that development budgets are spiraling upward, putting studios of all sizes at risk. "We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued.
The trio sees AI as a lever to achieve those goals, allowing developers to iterate faster and allocate resources more efficiently. De Jong, the chief product officer, added that the engine market has entered a phase of "standardisation and consolidation." While this has provided a stable foundation, he believes it also stifles innovation. "The industry is facing a slew of challenges—from hardware limitations to talent shortages—and simply polishing the same old tools won’t solve them. We need a fundamentally different approach," he said.
One of the biggest pain points with existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can be a barrier to creativity. De Jong envisions an engine that adapts to the user, not the other way around. "Flexibility is key.
You should be able to swap modules, append new features, and craft bespoke tools that match your personal workflow. Imagine having an interface that mirrors your own shortcuts, preferences, and project‑specific needs," he described. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is "really powerful," it can also produce unexpected results if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is being built with transparency and control at its core. "When you use the engine, you always know what it’s doing, why it made a particular decision, and you can reproduce the same outcome later," he said.
This auditability is intended to keep the creative process reliable, even when AI automates repetitive tasks. The flexibility of Immens extends to its workflow philosophy.
De Jong emphasized that the engine does not impose a single way of working. "You decide how much AI you want to incorporate and where it fits into your pipeline. The architecture is deliberately modular so you can tailor it to your project’s needs," he noted. This openness also includes a commitment to open standards.
By relying on text‑based file formats and widely adopted interchange protocols, Immens aims to play nicely with tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative software. "If everything speaks a common language, you can plug in any tool without fighting against a closed ecosystem," Brussee explained. The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalize the technology, claiming that a single prompt could generate a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’s team takes a more measured stance. While they acknowledge that a future "click‑to‑game" engine is conceivable, they view AI primarily as an accelerator for human creators, not a replacement. "AI will make everyone better, but the heart of a great game will always be human imagination," Valient asserted.
Economic concerns also swirl around the AI boom, with many warning of a bubble that could burst. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet persisted and thrived.
"We’re not betting on hype; we’re building a solid engine that stands on its own merits. AI simply helps us move faster and think bigger," he said. The founders have secured initial funding commitments, though they have not disclosed the exact figures.
Brussee warned against over‑capitalisation, noting that too much money can lead to complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed. Immens remains a very lean operation—just the three founders and a handful of helpers. This small size is intentional, allowing rapid decision‑making and a focused development cadence.
De Jong explained the delicate balance: "You can’t throw a million developers at an engine and expect it to magically work. You need a tight team that iterates, learns, and makes hard choices. At the same time, you must be big enough to seize the market window opened by AI and industry shifts. It’s a tightrope we’re walking." The team is currently working on a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
They aim to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee says is already twice as fast as originally projected. "Our initial estimate was end‑of‑year, but we’re on track for a much sooner launch," he noted.
Regarding the business model, Brussee mentioned that Immens admires Epic’s revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—but it is still too early to commit to a specific pricing structure. The focus right now is on delivering a compelling product that proves the concept. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward.
"We love games and we love the artistic complexity they can embody. We want to see more risk‑taking, more innovation, more daring experiences," Brussee concluded. "If Immens can be the foundation for that next wave of creativity, it would be amazing."