For years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of all Steam releases projected for 2025. While open‑source options like Godot have gained traction, most major studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely monopolised by the two giants.
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 development, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine that not only competes with the status quo but also addresses its systemic inefficiencies. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform because "the tools that existed a couple of years ago simply don’t meet today’s needs." He argues that AI‑assisted programming can revive the possibility of building a game engine from the ground up, offering developers a more guided yet highly controllable environment that can deliver full‑featured capabilities quickly. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, stresses that their use of artificial intelligence differs from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” narrative that dominates many discussions. Instead, 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 gameplay mechanic without being confined to a limited scripting layer," he says. This approach aims to let creators extend the engine faster, turning AI into a productivity multiplier rather than a magic wand.
The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development. Brussee describes the market as "rough" and notes that production budgets are ballooning, making it increasingly difficult for small teams to survive. "We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argues. The goal is to break the cycle where rising expenses force studios to gamble their entire livelihood on a single title.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid technical foundation, he believes the industry now requires genuine innovation. "Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic engines won’t solve the challenges we face," he asserts. "We need a flexible, modular system that adapts to each developer’s workflow." Current engines often impose a monolithic approach: developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, delivering an engine that learns from the user and reshapes itself accordingly. De Jong envisions a workflow where creators can swap components, append new features, and build bespoke tools tailored to their personal preferences—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set required for a specific project. Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. "If you don’t keep an eye on it, the system can go off the rails," he warns.
Immens therefore places control firmly in the hands of the user: the engine logs its actions, provides a transparent history, and ensures repeatability. This transparency enables developers to craft one‑off tools—like a rapid character generator that could be built over a coffee break—and discard them after use, a process that previously would have cost weeks of labor. Flexibility is a core tenet of Immens’ design philosophy.
De Jong stresses that the engine does not dictate a single workflow; instead, it offers a scaffold that can be customized to any level of AI integration a team desires. The architecture is deliberately open, allowing developers to decide where AI adds value and where traditional coding remains preferable. Interoperability is another priority.
By adopting open, text‑based standards, Immens ensures that files can be read and manipulated by a wide range of tools—from Blender and Maya to emerging generative pipelines. Brussee notes that many engines act as closed ecosystems, hindering seamless data exchange. "When everything speaks a common language, you can plug in any tool and let the AI orchestrate the communication," he explains.
The conversation around AI in game development is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalise the notion that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, stoking fear of a "click‑to‑game" future.
Immens’ team, however, views AI as an empowering assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. Valient believes AI will elevate the craft, making developers more capable, while De Jong stresses the ethical responsibility to wield the technology responsibly. Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are part of a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, arguing that while some companies will inevitably fail, the underlying technology will persist and mature. "Our focus is on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our ability to dream bigger and iterate faster," he says.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its first commitments but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital raise as "reasonable". Brussee cautions against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. The company deliberately remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—to maintain agility and focus.
Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act. De Jong explains that developing a sophisticated engine cannot be achieved by simply throwing a large workforce at the problem; it requires a small, dedicated group making thoughtful decisions over time. Yet the window of opportunity created by AI’s rise is limited, so Immens must scale judiciously to capture market momentum without sacrificing its scrappy ethos. The team is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month.
Brussee notes that development has progressed twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the efficiency gains they aim to deliver to users. Regarding monetisation, Immens looks to models like Epic Games’ "we succeed when you succeed" approach but admits it is too early for concrete plans. Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will enable creators to push artistic boundaries, take greater risks, and inject fresh innovation into the industry. "We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences.
If our technology helps make that possible, that would be amazing," he concludes.