For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, powering roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has carved out a modest niche and some large studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Yet three seasoned industry veterans, Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, have founded Immens with the belief that there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine.
The founders’ résumés read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their collective background gives them a unique perspective on the shortcomings of existing tools and the potential for a new approach. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because the technological landscape has shifted dramatically in the past few years.
"With AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again," he said. "Guided by intelligent systems, developers can achieve full‑featured prototypes much faster than before." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, stressed that the AI they are integrating is not the kind that merely generates assets from prompts.
Instead, it is designed to make the engine itself highly extensible. "AI can understand large codebases and data sets," he explained. "If we architect 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.
The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of the games industry, which Brussee describes as "rough." Development costs are soaring, and smaller studios face increasing financial risk. "We need new ways of working that lower budgets and reduce team sizes without sacrificing quality," he argued. "AI can help us break the cycle of ever‑higher expenses." De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation provides a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation.
"The industry is at a crossroads," he said. "Continuing with the same monolithic engines won’t solve the emerging challenges. We need a flexible, modular solution that can evolve with creators’ needs." Current engines often force developers into a "monolithic approach" with proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong envisions an engine that adapts to the user rather than the other way around.
"You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and tailor the interface to your workflow," he noted. "Imagine a designer who can craft a custom toolbar with shortcuts that match their personal process, then share that setup with the whole team." Valient acknowledges that AI is powerful but can also behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is being built with transparency and control at its core. "When you use the engine, you always know what it’s doing and why," he said. "Every action is logged, making the process repeatable and auditable. This gives developers confidence to experiment, such as generating five unique characters in minutes instead of weeks, then discarding the temporary tool once the job is done." Flexibility is a cornerstone of Immens’ philosophy.
The architecture does not dictate a single workflow; instead, it offers a scaffold that developers can shape. "You decide how much AI you want to incorporate and where," De Jong emphasized. "Our job is to ensure the AI interprets instructions correctly, but the creative decisions remain yours." Interoperability is another priority. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens aims to play nicely with existing tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative pipelines.
"If a file is readable as plain text, any AI can process it," Brussee explained. "Open standards let us build smarter interfaces that communicate seamlessly across the ecosystem, something proprietary engines have struggled with." There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
Immens’ team acknowledges the hype but frames AI as a tool rather than a magic button. "One day we might see "click‑to‑game" engines, but for now AI’s role is to augment human creativity, not replace it," Valient said.
"It’s a disruptive technology, and disruption always invites skepticism." Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many fearing a bubble of over‑valued startups. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, but many companies did. "We’re focused on building a genuinely useful engine. If the technology is solid, it will survive any market correction," he argued.
"AI isn’t a fad; it’s a foundational capability that will shape how we build software for years to come." Immens has not disclosed specific funding amounts but mentions having secured its "first commitments" and keeping the capital raise modest. Brussee warns against excessive cash, noting that too much money can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed.
"A lean team forces disciplined decision‑making." The company remains tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—but this is intentional. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, iterative process that benefits from a small, focused group rather than a massive workforce.
"We have a limited window to capture the AI‑driven opportunity," he said. "Balancing sufficient resources with a tight, agile team is the key challenge." Immens is currently targeting 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 was projected to take until year‑end is now on track for early delivery. "We’re moving twice as fast as we thought we could," Brussee remarked, underscoring the speed gains AI can deliver.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific structure. The ultimate aim, however, is clear: to empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and the artistic expression they enable," Brussee concluded.
"We want to see more risk‑taking, more innovation, and more diverse experiences. If Immens can help developers bring bold new ideas to life, that would be amazing."