For years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70 % of Steam releases projected for 2025. While open‑source options like Godot have gained traction and some studios cling to proprietary tools such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely settled into a duopoly. Yet three seasoned veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—believe there is still space for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings of today’s dominant platforms.
The trio’s résumé reads like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their new venture, Immens, aims to leverage artificial intelligence not as a gimmick but as a structural advantage in engine design. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that “the opportunity now is to build something that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.” He envisions AI‑assisted programming enabling developers to start from a clean slate while still retaining tight guidance and control, accelerating the delivery of fully‑functional features. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that their AI integration is fundamentally different from the “prompt‑to‑asset” hype circulating on social media.
Instead of using AI to generate content on demand, Immens embeds AI into the engine’s architecture so that the codebase becomes highly extensible. “AI can reason about massive amounts of data and source code,” he explains.
“If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers.” This approach, he says, empowers creators to extend the engine quickly and safely, turning AI into a productivity partner rather than a black‑box. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the grim economics of modern game development.
Brussee describes the current climate as “rough,” noting that production budgets keep inflating while the risk of failure grows. “We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up timelines,” he says. The goal is to break the cycle that forces studios to gamble their livelihoods on ever‑larger projects. De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation has delivered a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t solve them,” he asserts. “We need genuine innovation, not just more of the same.” One pain point he highlights is the monolithic nature of existing engines: developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI‑driven flexibility, Immens aims to let the engine adapt to the developer’s workflow, not the other way around. Flexibility, according to De Jong, means interchangeable modules, appendable features, and the ability to craft personal tools that match a creator’s exact needs—down to shortcuts, UI layout, and workflow quirks. “If I need a tool that reflects my background and the specific demands of my project, I can build it directly into the engine,” he says.
This level of customization is intended to reduce the overhead that currently forces teams to spend weeks on repetitive tasks. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is “really powerful,” it can also “go off the rails” if left unchecked. Immens therefore builds transparency into its system: users can see what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes.
This auditability allows developers to create throw‑away tools for one‑off tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait—in minutes rather than weeks, dramatically lowering production costs. The engine’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is open‑ended, letting teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. Moreover, Immens embraces open standards for asset interchange.
“When files are text‑based, any tool can read them,” Brussee notes. This openness means that popular software such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI suite can plug directly into the engine, fostering a seamless ecosystem rather than the isolated silos typical of many commercial engines.
Public sentiment toward AI in game development is mixed, with some commentators warning of a “click‑to‑game” future where entire experiences are conjured by a single prompt. Immens’s founders view AI as a catalyst for better tools, not a replacement for human creativity.
“Big games and everything in between will be made better because AI elevates everyone’s capabilities,” Valient says. He adds that the technology’s current negative perception stems from its disruptive scale, but stresses that responsible use can yield productive outcomes. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with fears of an over‑inflated bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many startups vanished, the underlying internet persisted and flourished. “We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply helps us iterate faster and dream bigger,” he explains. Whether the AI market is a bubble remains uncertain, but the team believes that quality products will survive regardless of hype.
Funding for Immens is still in its early stages. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the target amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against excessive capital, which can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughs, emphasizing that lean teams are better suited to make thoughtful architectural decisions. Currently, Immens consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
They are deliberately keeping the operation small to maintain agility while they develop a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases AI‑driven editing workflows. The demo is slated for release within the month, already arriving ahead of the original schedule that projected a year‑long development timeline.
Regarding business models, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the team hopes their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and inject fresh innovation into the medium.
“We love games and want to see more creativity and daring,” Brussee concludes. “If Immens can help bring that vision to life, that would be amazing."