For many years the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In 2025 they powered roughly seventy percent of all titles released on Steam, while the open‑source Godot engine has been gaining traction and a handful of large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine. The market, however, remains heavily concentrated in the hands of the two giants.
Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech history, spanning stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
The trio believes that despite the entrenched positions of Unity and Unreal, there is still ample space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of today’s tools. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is right for a new platform: "A few years ago the idea of building an engine from scratch with AI assistance didn’t exist. Now the technology has matured enough to let us start over and deliver full‑featured capabilities much faster." He emphasizes that AI will not replace developers but will act as a catalyst, offering guided, controllable assistance that accelerates the creation process. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI embedded in their engine is not the kind of generative prompt‑to‑image or prompt‑to‑code that dominates headlines.
Instead, it is designed to make the engine itself highly extensible. "AI can reason over large codebases and data sets," he explains. "If we architect the engine with that in mind, even solo developers or small teams can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle effect—without wrestling with opaque scripting layers. The AI helps you extend the engine quickly, but you remain in the driver’s seat." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development.
Brussee describes the situation as "rough": development costs keep climbing, budgets balloon, and the risk of financial ruin for indie studios is increasing. "We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up production," he says. "If we can leverage AI to streamline repetitive tasks, we can lower the barrier to entry and protect creators’ livelihoods." De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While standardisation has provided a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry faces a suite of challenges—rising prices, talent shortages, and a monolithic approach to tooling," he notes. "Continuing to do things the same way won’t solve those problems. We need an engine that adapts to the developer, not the other way around." A key criticism of existing engines is their monolithic nature: developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
De Jong envisions an engine that is modular and interchangeable. "You should be able to swap components, append new ones, or build entirely custom tools that match your personal workflow," he says.
"Imagine a designer who can craft a UI with the exact shortcuts, features, and layout they prefer, and then hand that tool to the rest of the team. That level of flexibility is what we aim to provide." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it is "really powerful," it can also veer off course if left unchecked. Immens therefore builds transparency into the system: users can see what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure reproducibility.
"If you need to generate five characters with a specific trait, what used to take weeks can now be prototyped over coffee," he says. "You can run the tool, reuse it, and discard it when it’s no longer needed—saving both time and money." Flexibility is baked into Immens’ architecture. The engine does not enforce a single workflow; developers decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. De Jong stresses that the underlying framework must be robust enough to support diverse use cases while still allowing the AI to interpret instructions correctly.
Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’ design philosophy. By adopting open, text‑based standards, the engine can communicate seamlessly with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
"When files are plain text, any program can read and manipulate them," Brussee explains. "That openness lets us plug in third‑party software without the usual friction caused by proprietary engines." The broader conversation about AI in game development is fraught with hype and fear. Some pundits on LinkedIn claim that a single prompt could soon spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling both excitement and backlash. Immens’ team sees a more measured future: while "click‑to‑game" concepts may emerge, AI will remain a powerful tool rather than a magical shortcut.
"AI makes everyone better," Valient says. "It’s disruptive, yes, but that disruption can lead to higher quality, more creative games." Economic concerns also linger, especially the notion that AI‑focused startups are riding a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel with the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology persisted and flourished. "We’re not worried about a bubble bursting; we’re focused on building a solid engine that stands on its own merits," he asserts.
"AI accelerates us, but the core product must be good." Immens has yet to disclose specific funding amounts, though the founders mention having secured "first commitments" and that the capital they seek is "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughs. "Too much money can make you lazy." The company remains tiny—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—but this lean structure is intentional.
De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team doesn’t automatically translate to faster engine development; instead, a focused group can make thoughtful decisions and iterate efficiently. Timing is crucial, he adds, as the industry undergoes rapid AI‑driven change. Currently Immens is working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team aims to release the demo within the month, already having shaved the projected timeline in half. Brussee admits that predicting exact schedules is difficult when progress accelerates unexpectedly. Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of succeeding when its partners succeed, but it remains too early to formalize any revenue strategy. The ultimate goal, according to Brussee, is to empower creators to push the medium forward: "We love games, we love artistic expression, and we want to see more risk‑taking and innovation.
If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing."