For many years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has gained notable traction recently, most major studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal firmly entrenched in the market. Yet three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—believe there is still room for a fresh contender and for meaningful improvement. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech history, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they founded Immens with the ambition to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine: “There’s an opportunity now that didn’t exist a couple of years ago.
With AI‑assisted programming, you can start building from scratch again, under tight guidance and control, and achieve full functionality quickly.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑to‑art” kind that dominates headlines. Instead, it is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “AI can reason about massive amounts of data and source code,” he said.
“If we design the engine with that in mind, even small teams or solo developers can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle system—without being limited to a handful of scripts.” This approach, he argues, enables rapid extension and iteration. The motivation behind Immens stems from the current market climate, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Game development costs keep climbing, making it increasingly difficult for creators to achieve commercial success without massive budgets.
“We need new ways of working, more efficient processes that let smaller teams build games faster and cheaper, so studios aren’t risking everything on a single title,” he warned. De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, the industry now faces a host of challenges that demand innovation rather than more of the same.
“We need a different way,” he asserted. “Continuing to do what we’ve always done won’t solve the emerging problems.” One of De Jong’s critiques of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers often must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. By contrast, Immens aims to be a pliable platform that adapts to the user’s needs.
“You should be able to swap components, append new ones, modify existing tools, and even craft entirely new interfaces that match your personal workflow,” he explained. He gave an example of building a custom toolset with specific shortcuts and UI elements tailored to his team’s project. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is “really powerful,” it can also “go off the rails quickly if you don’t pay attention.” To mitigate this, Immersed has built transparency into the engine: users can see exactly what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
This level of control, he says, empowers creators to generate bespoke solutions on the fly—like generating five uniquely‑traited characters over a coffee break rather than spending weeks on manual iteration. Flexibility is a core design principle for Immens. De Jong emphasizes that the engine does not impose a single workflow or a mandatory level of AI integration.
“It’s up to you how much AI you want to use and where,” he noted, adding that the underlying architecture must guarantee that the AI interprets instructions correctly. Interoperability is another priority. By adopting open, text‑based standards, Immens can communicate seamlessly with tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
“If the files are readable as text, any system can parse them,” Brussee said. “This opens the door for smarter interfaces across the entire development stack, something proprietary engines have historically resisted.” The broader industry conversation around AI is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” scenarios where a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience could be conjured with a single prompt.
Immens’ founders see such visions as distant possibilities, but they firmly regard AI as a tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. “AI will make everyone better, not eliminate the craft,” Valient asserted. “It carries negative connotations now because it’s disrupting at an unprecedented scale, but responsible use can yield powerful results.” Economic concerns also surface, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are riding a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; many companies vanished, but the technology endured. We’re building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination.” Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its first commitments but has not disclosed the exact amount, describing it as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, noting that excess money can breed complacency: “Startups that have too much cash can become lazy; we need to stay scrappy.” The team itself is lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional size allows rapid decision‑making while acknowledging that building a full‑featured engine is a complex, long‑term endeavor. De Jong explains the balance: “You can’t throw a million developers at an engine and expect it to work instantly.
You need a small, focused group to iterate, learn, and make critical choices, especially during this window of opportunity created by AI’s rise.” Immens is currently targeting 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: “When we started in April, we thought we’d need until year‑end. We’re already twice as fast,” Brussee reported.
The business model is still under discussion. While Immens admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” revenue sharing, they consider it premature to lock in a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver innovative experiences.
“We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology can help bring that forward, that would be amazing."