For years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for game developers, powering roughly seventy percent of all Steam releases slated for 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has enjoyed a surge in popularity, the market remains dominated by these two giants, with a handful of studios still clinging to proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine.
In this landscape, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—believe there is still space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the status quo. The trio’s résumé reads like a roll call of the most influential studios in recent memory: Epic Games, the creator of Unreal; Guerrilla Games, known for the Horizon series; the mobile hit‑maker Boss Key; and even Apple’s internal development teams.
Together they have launched Immens, a new AI‑enhanced game engine that promises to give small teams the power to iterate faster, spend less, and avoid the financial pitfalls that have made game development increasingly risky. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained why the timing feels right. "A few years ago, building a brand‑new engine from the ground up seemed impossible," he said.
"Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and get a fully functional system up much more quickly than before." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI in their platform is not the kind that merely generates assets from a prompt. "Our AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible," he noted. "Because AI can reason over large codebases, we can design the engine so that even solo developers or tiny studios can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle effect—without wrestling with opaque scripting layers.
The AI acts as a catalyst for extension, not a replacement for thoughtful engineering." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the harsh economic reality of modern game production. Brussee described the current climate as "rough," pointing out that development budgets are ballooning and the risk of failure is higher than ever. "We need new ways of working that reduce cost and time‑to‑market," he argued.
"If we can enable teams to create high‑quality experiences with fewer people and smaller budgets, we protect studios from existential threats." De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, echoed this sentiment, observing that the engine market has entered a phase of "standardisation and consolidation." While this has given developers a solid foundation, it has also stifled innovation. "Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic tools won’t solve the challenges we face," he said.
"We need a flexible, adaptable engine that lets creators shape their workflow rather than being forced to fit into a one‑size‑fits‑all pipeline." One of the biggest pain points with existing engines is their monolithic nature and reliance on proprietary file formats. De Jong argues that Immens will flip this model on its head by allowing the engine to adapt to the developer’s needs, not the other way around.
"You should be able to swap components, append new modules, or build entirely custom tools that match your personal workflow," he explained. "Imagine a designer who wants a specific shortcut layout or a unique UI for a particular project—our engine lets you create that without fighting the underlying system." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it can accelerate development dramatically, it can also produce unexpected results if left unchecked. "We’re building Immens so that developers stay in full control," he said.
"You always see what the engine is doing, you have a complete history of actions, and you can reproduce any step. This transparency is crucial for reliable, repeatable workflows." The team envisions a future where repetitive tasks—like generating a set of characters with specific traits—can be handled in minutes rather than weeks.
"What used to cost thousands of dollars in labor can now be prototyped over coffee," Valient remarked. "You run the tool, get five variations, and discard it when you’re done.
That kind of on‑demand flexibility was previously unaffordable for most studios." Immens is deliberately built without imposing a single prescribed workflow. De Jong emphasized that developers can decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it.
"Our architecture is modular, so you can choose to rely heavily on AI for certain pipelines while keeping others fully manual. The key is that the AI must understand the context correctly, and we’re investing heavily in that reliability." Interoperability is another cornerstone of the platform. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens aims to play nicely with tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative software.
"When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them," Brussee explained. "That means the AI can manipulate assets directly, and you can plug in third‑party tools without fighting proprietary barriers. This openness is something many existing engines have neglected." The broader industry conversation about AI in game development is often polarized.
Some hype it as a magic wand that will let anyone conjure a Grand Theft Auto‑style world with a single prompt, while others fear it will erode craftsmanship. Immens’ founders see AI as a powerful tool, not a replacement for human creativity.
"AI will make everyone better, not replace them," Valient said. "The negative perception stems from its disruptive scale, but responsible use can unlock unprecedented creativity." Economic concerns also loom large.
Critics warn that AI‑centric startups could be part of a speculative bubble. Valient counters that, like the dot‑com era, the underlying technology will endure even if some companies fall.
"The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; the successful services survived and grew. We’re focusing on building a solid engine first, with AI as an accelerator, not a gimmick." Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against over‑capitalisation, noting that excessive cash can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed. "Too much money can make you lazy, and that’s the opposite of what we need when building something as complex as a game engine." The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders and a handful of helpers. This intentional size allows rapid decision‑making and focused development.
De Jong explains the trade‑off: "You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect it to work. You need a small, dedicated team to iterate, learn, and make hard choices. At the same time, you must have enough resources to hit the market window created by AI’s rise.
Balancing those factors is our current challenge." Immens is already working on a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a full editing workflow powered by generative AI, slated for release later this month. The team originally anticipated a year‑long timeline, but they have already accelerated to roughly half that schedule, demonstrating the very speed gains they preach. Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic Games’ revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific plan.
The ultimate goal, he says, is to empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games as an art form and want to see more risk‑taking and innovation. If our technology can help developers bring daring, creative projects to life, that would be amazing."