Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70 % of Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some studios cling to proprietary tools—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been dominated by the two giants.
Yet three industry veterans, Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, see a gap they believe they can fill with their startup Immens. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of modern gaming: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that the status quo is ripe for disruption. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee pointed out that the timing is now right for a fresh engine, one that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.
He highlighted the role of AI‑augmented programming in making it feasible to “start making things from scratch again” while still retaining tight oversight. According to Brussee, AI can accelerate the delivery of full‑featured functionality without sacrificing control.
Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ isn’t the flashy “prompt‑to‑asset” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, it is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. He explains that AI excels at reasoning over large code collections, so if the engine is designed with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—be it a bespoke particle effect or a unique animation pipeline—without wrestling with restrictive scripting layers.
In short, AI becomes a catalyst for rapid extension rather than a black‑box creator. The motivation behind this AI‑centric engine stems from the current economic climate of game development.
Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” noting that production costs keep climbing and studios are forced into ever‑larger budgets to stay competitive. He asks whether there are alternative workflows that can cut expenses, shorten timelines, and reduce the risk to developers’ livelihoods. The answer, according to the Immens team, lies in smarter, AI‑enabled processes that let smaller teams achieve more with less. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become increasingly standardized and consolidated.
While this has given developers a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. He argues that the industry now faces a suite of challenges—rising costs, talent shortages, and market saturation—that cannot be solved by merely iterating on existing monolithic engines. Instead, a paradigm shift toward flexibility and modularity is required.
Current engines often force developers into a “one‑size‑fits‑all” workflow, complete with proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the user’s needs, allowing developers to swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their project’s exact specifications. He gives an example of building a custom interface with shortcuts and features that match his personal workflow, underscoring the importance of adaptability.
Valient also warns that AI, while powerful, can quickly veer off course if left unchecked. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency: users will always know what the engine is doing, see its decision history, and retain full control over repeatable processes. This level of insight enables developers to create throw‑away tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait in minutes instead of weeks—without sacrificing reliability. Flexibility is baked into Immens’ design philosophy.
De Jong stresses that the engine does not impose a single workflow; developers decide how much AI to employ and where. The architecture is deliberately open, supporting a range of AI integrations while ensuring the system understands the developer’s intent. Interoperability is another cornerstone.
By adopting open, text‑based standards, Immens can seamlessly exchange data with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. Brussee notes that when files are human‑readable, AI can parse and manipulate them, breaking down the silos that traditionally isolate game engines from the broader creative ecosystem. The broader community remains divided on AI’s role in game creation.
Some pundits on platforms like LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” scenarios where a simple prompt yields a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’ founders acknowledge the hype but treat AI primarily as an enhancer, not a replacement.
Valient believes AI will make every developer better, even if the technology currently carries negative connotations due to its disruptive scale. Economic concerns also linger.
Critics question whether AI‑focused startups are part of a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, arguing that while many companies will fall, the underlying technology—like the internet—will endure. Immens aims to build a genuinely useful engine; AI merely accelerates its development and expands creative possibilities.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency and erode the scrappy mindset essential for a startup. The team is intentionally lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex endeavor that doesn’t benefit from a massive headcount; a focused group can make critical decisions more efficiently. Yet they also recognize a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, and they must balance resources to capitalize on it.
Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original expectations: what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy. Ultimately, the goal is to empower creators to push the medium forward. As Brussee puts it, “We love games, we love the complex artistic expression they enable, and we want to see more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation built on technology like this.”