For many years, the game‑development landscape has been dominated by a duopoly of engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, by 2025 roughly seventy percent of all titles launched on Steam were built with one of those two tools. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have enjoyed a surge in popularity, and large publishers continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market share of the two giants remains overwhelming.
Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of modern game development, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that, despite the apparent saturation, there is still room for a fresh engine—one that not only competes on features but also re‑thinks how developers build games. 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 an AI‑augmented engine didn’t really exist," he said. "Now, with AI‑supported programming, we can start from a clean slate and assemble functional tools much faster than before." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is careful to distinguish their approach from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” narrative that many AI projects chase. He stresses that the AI in Immens is not about magically conjuring content, but about constructing an engine architecture that is inherently extensible.
"AI excels at reasoning over large codebases and data sets," he noted. "If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers. The AI becomes a productivity partner, not a replacement for thoughtful engineering." The motivation behind this ambitious undertaking is the increasingly hostile economics of game production. Brussee describes the current climate as "rough" and unsustainable.
Development costs are ballooning, making it harder for small studios to survive. "We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued. "If we can harness AI to streamline repetitive tasks, we can lower the financial barrier and keep creative studios alive." De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observes that the engine market has entered a phase of "standardisation and consolidation." While that has given developers a reliable foundation, it has also produced a monolithic set of tools that force creators to adapt to the engine rather than the engine adapting to them.
He envisions a future where developers can swap modules, append new features, and craft tailor‑made interfaces that reflect their personal workflows. "Imagine being able to build a toolset that mirrors your own shortcuts, UI preferences, and project‑specific needs," he said.
"That level of flexibility is what we aim to deliver." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. Its power can be spectacular, but it can also veer off course if left unchecked.
Immens therefore places a strong emphasis on transparency and control. Users will be able to trace every AI‑driven decision, review its history, and ensure reproducibility. This auditability, according to Valient, is crucial for maintaining artistic intent while leveraging automation.
"Creating five characters with a unique trait used to take weeks of manual work," he explained. "Now you can sketch the idea over coffee, let the AI generate the assets, and iterate in minutes. The tool can be discarded after use, saving enormous resources." Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy. The platform does not prescribe a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular architecture that lets teams decide how much AI to employ and where.
De Jong adds that the engine will support open standards, ensuring seamless interoperability with existing pipelines such as Blender, Maya, or other generative tools. "When files are text‑based, any program can read them," Brussee remarked. "Our AI can ingest those files, manipulate them, and output results that other software can immediately understand. Open standards break the isolation that many proprietary engines enforce." The broader industry is divided on AI’s role in game creation.
Some pundits on LinkedIn predict a future where a single prompt can spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale world, fueling both excitement and fear. Immens’ founders temper that optimism with realism. They acknowledge that a "click‑to‑game" scenario might someday exist, but for now they view AI strictly as a tool that amplifies human creativity. "AI is making everyone better," Valient said.
"The negative perception stems from the disruption it causes at an unprecedented scale." Economic concerns also loom large. Critics warn that the AI boom could be a bubble, inflating valuations without solid fundamentals.
Valient draws a parallel with the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet—persisted and flourished. "We’re building a solid engine first; AI merely accelerates our development and expands our imagination," he asserted. "Whether the market is a bubble is unknown, but history shows that useful technology endures beyond the hype." Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against overcapitalisation, warning that excessive cash can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed.
"Too much money can make you lazy." The team itself is intentionally lean: the three founders plus a handful of helpers. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, iterative process that does not benefit from a massive workforce. "You need a small, focused group to make critical decisions and iterate quickly," he said.
"At the same time, we must time our effort to capture the current window of opportunity presented by AI advancements. It's a delicate balance between resources and speed." Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The goal is to release the 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 reported. The business model is still being refined. While Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of sharing success with developers, it remains too early to commit to a specific revenue structure.
Brussee hints that a partnership‑oriented approach may be on the horizon, but details are still under discussion. Ultimately, the trio hopes their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and the complex artistic expression they enable," Brussee concluded. "We want to see more risk‑taking, more innovation, and more creativity.
If our technology can serve as a catalyst for that, it would be amazing."