For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces shaping the video‑game development landscape, accounting for roughly 70 % of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have gained traction, and a handful of large publishers continue to rely on proprietary solutions like Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. Enter Immens, a startup founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the status quo. 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 aim to challenge the entrenched players with a platform that leverages artificial intelligence not as a gimmick, but as a core architectural principle. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because "the tools that existed a couple of years ago simply don’t exist any more." He argues that AI‑assisted programming now makes it feasible to start building a game engine from the ground up while still maintaining tight guidance and control.
"You can get full‑featured functionality up quickly when AI helps you reason about the code base," he said. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the kind of prompt‑driven content generator that dominates headlines. Instead, their AI is designed to make the engine itself highly extensible. "If we construct the codebase with AI in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle system—without being limited to a narrow scripting layer," he explained.
This approach aims to empower creators to extend the engine rapidly, turning AI into a productivity catalyst rather than a black‑box creator. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the harsh economic realities facing developers today. Brussee described the current climate as "rough," noting that production budgets are ballooning and the risk of failure is climbing.
"We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery," he said. The goal is to break the cycle where escalating expenses force studios to gamble everything on a single title. De Jong, the chief product officer, highlighted a broader industry trend: while standardisation and consolidation have given developers a solid foundation, they have also led to a stagnant environment.
"We’re at a point where continuing to do things the same way won’t cut it," he asserted. "Innovation, not more standardisation, is what the market needs." One of the pain points De Jong identified in existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens envisions an engine that adapts to the user’s needs rather than forcing users to adapt to it.
"Flexibility is key," he said. "You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and craft interfaces that match your personal workflow—complete with custom shortcuts and layouts." Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can veer off course if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep developers in the driver’s seat. The engine logs its actions, provides transparent histories, and allows users to create bespoke tools that solve specific problems—like generating five characters with a unique trait in minutes instead of weeks. This level of control transforms formerly expensive, time‑consuming tasks into quick, repeatable workflows. Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow on its users.
De Jong emphasized that the framework is designed so developers can decide how much AI to incorporate and where to apply it. The architecture is modular, enabling teams to pick and choose AI‑enhanced features while preserving the ability to fall back on manual processes when needed. Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens’s design philosophy.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, and other generative pipelines. "When files are text‑based, any program can read them," Brussee noted. "That openness lets AI parse and manipulate assets across the entire toolchain, something closed‑source engines have struggled to achieve." The broader conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some critics predict a future where a simple prompt can spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fears of a "click‑to‑game" era.
Immens’s founders acknowledge the hype but view AI as a supportive instrument rather than a replacement for human creativity. "AI will make everyone better, not replace them," Valient said.
"It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also opens up possibilities we haven’t imagined." Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether the AI boom is a bubble. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology persists. "AI isn’t going away, just like the internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst," he argued. Immens’s focus remains on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates development and expands creative horizons.
Funding for Immens is still in its early stages. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, saying it can breed complacency.
"Startups need to stay scrappy; too much cash can make you lazy," he laughed. The team remains intentionally small—just the three founders and a handful of helpers. De Jong explained that a lean crew allows for careful decision‑making and rapid iteration, which is essential given the narrow window of opportunity presented by the current AI wave. "You can’t throw a million people at an engine and expect it to work," he said.
"You need a focused group to build it thoughtfully while still moving fast enough to capture the market moment." Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original expectations; what they thought would take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. Regarding monetisation, Brussee expressed admiration for Epic’s model, where the engine succeeds when its users succeed, but admitted it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will enable a new wave of artistic risk‑taking in games. "We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences," Brussee concluded. "If our technology can help developers push boundaries, that would be amazing."