For many years the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In 2025 those platforms powered roughly 70 % of the titles launched on Steam, and while open‑source alternatives such as Godot have made notable strides, the bulk of commercial projects still lean on the proprietary solutions of major publishers—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example. The market, therefore, appears tightly sealed.
Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech pedigree, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they argue that despite the apparent monopoly, there remains ample room for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings of today’s dominant tools. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform.
“A few years ago the idea of building a modern engine from the ground up seemed unrealistic,” he said. “Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and still deliver full‑featured capabilities quickly, while keeping tight control over the development process.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that their use of artificial intelligence is not about the flashy “prompt‑to‑asset” hype that circulates on social media. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “The AI can analyse large codebases and data sets, allowing us to design a system where even solo developers or small teams can plug in custom modules—say, a bespoke particle system—without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he explained.
This approach is intended to accelerate iteration and empower creators to extend the engine in ways that suit their unique pipelines. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑centric design stems from the broader economic pressures facing developers. Brussee described the current climate as “rough,” noting that production budgets continue to swell while profit margins shrink.
“Making games is becoming increasingly expensive,” he warned. “We need new workflows that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery so studios aren’t forced into existential risk.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine market has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While this has given developers a stable foundation, it also means the industry is less inclined to experiment. “We’re at a crossroads where the old ways no longer solve emerging challenges,” he said. “What the market needs now is genuine innovation, not more of the same.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines.
Developers must conform to rigid file formats and toolchains, which can stifle creativity. By contrast, Immens aims to be a chameleon‑like platform that adapts to the user’s workflow. “Flexibility is key,” he asserted. “Our engine lets you swap components, append new functionality, and craft bespoke tools that match your personal shortcuts, UI preferences, and project‑specific requirements.” Valient also cautioned that AI, while powerful, can behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency in mind: every AI‑driven action is logged, reproducible, and fully auditable. “You always know what the engine is doing and why,” he said. “That level of control lets you create one‑off tools—like a script that generates five characters with a particular trait—in minutes instead of weeks, then discard them when they’ve served their purpose.” The architecture of Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow on its users.
De Jong emphasized that the framework is modular, allowing developers to decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. “Our goal is to give creators the freedom to shape their pipeline, while ensuring the underlying AI understands the context correctly.” Interoperability is another pillar of the project.
By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens can communicate seamlessly with popular third‑party tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑art system. “When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them,” Brussee noted. “That means the AI can read, modify, and exchange assets across the entire toolchain without the proprietary bottlenecks that plague many current engines.” The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized.
Some pundits on LinkedIn predict a future where a single prompt can spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale experience, fueling fears of a “click‑to‑game” apocalypse. Immens’s team acknowledges the hype but positions AI as a complementary instrument rather than a replacement for human craftsmanship.
“AI will make everyone better, not replace them,” Valient asserted. “It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also opens doors to creativity we haven’t seen before.” Economic anxieties also surface, with critics labeling the AI boom a speculative bubble. Valient drew a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many startups vanished, the underlying internet persisted and flourished. “AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving.
Some companies will fail, but those that build genuinely valuable products will survive. Our focus is on delivering a solid engine that leverages AI to speed development and expand creative horizons.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments,” though the exact amount is undisclosed and described as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against over‑capitalisation, saying too much money can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Excess cash can make you lazy, and we want to retain the lean, inventive spirit that drives this project.” The team itself is tiny—essentially the three founders plus a handful of helpers. They believe a small, focused group is essential for building a complex engine without the coordination overhead of a massive staff. De Jong explained the balancing act: “You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect it to work.
You need a tight core to make critical decisions, but you also need enough resources to hit the market window created by the AI wave.” Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this prototype within the month, a timeline that Brussee says is already twice as fast as originally projected.
“We started in April and expected to be ready by year‑end; now we’re ahead of schedule, which makes any timeline estimate tricky.” As for the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of “we succeed when you succeed,” but admits it’s too early to lock in a definitive revenue strategy. The founders remain open to various licensing or revenue‑share arrangements that align with the goal of fostering a vibrant ecosystem. Ultimately, the trio hopes their engine will rekindle the spirit of risk‑taking and artistic ambition that first defined the medium.
“We love games and want to see more daring, expressive experiences,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology can lower barriers and inspire creators to push boundaries, that would be amazing.”