Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70 % of all Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market. Enter Immens, a fledgling studio founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry, with stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they believe there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the current offerings. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A few years ago the idea of building a modern engine from the ground up seemed unrealistic,” he said.
“Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and deliver full‑featured tools much faster.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that their use of AI is not about generating assets with a single prompt. “We’re not trying to conjure whole games out of thin air,” he noted.
“Our AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. Because AI can analyze large codebases and data sets, we can design the core in a way that lets small teams or solo developers plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle engine—without wrestling with opaque scripting layers.” The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from the current economic pressures facing developers.
Brussee described the market as “rough.” Game budgets are ballooning, and the risk of failure is mounting. “We need new ways of working that cut costs and shrink team sizes while still delivering high‑quality experiences,” he argued.
“If we can make development more efficient, studios won’t have to gamble their entire livelihood on a single title.” De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has given developers a solid foundation, it has also stifled innovation. “The industry is at a crossroads,” he said. “Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic engines won’t solve the challenges we face.
We need a paradigm shift—something flexible, modular, and adaptable to each creator’s workflow.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines. Developers are forced to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, offering an engine that molds itself to the user’s needs. “You should be able to swap components, append new modules, or even rewrite parts of the toolchain to match your personal shortcuts and interface preferences,” he explained. “If you’re a level designer who needs a specific terrain editor, you can build it directly into the engine.” Valient acknowledged that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While powerful, it can “go off the rails” if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency in mind: users can see exactly what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This level of control allows developers to create throw‑away tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a unique trait in minutes—without incurring the massive costs traditionally associated with such workflows. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core.
De Jong emphasized that the engine does not enforce a single workflow. “You decide how much AI you want to leverage and where you apply it,” he said.
“Our architecture is deliberately open so you can integrate it with existing pipelines or keep it entirely self‑contained.” Interoperability is another cornerstone. By adopting open, text‑based standards, Immens ensures that files can be read and manipulated by any compatible software. “If the data is in a human‑readable format, the AI can parse it, and tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative system can plug in seamlessly,” Brussee noted. This contrasts with many current engines that act as closed ecosystems, hindering smooth data exchange.
The conversation around AI in game development is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” engines that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑level experiences from a single prompt. Immens’s team is more measured. While they acknowledge that such a future might eventually be possible, they view AI primarily as an accelerator for human creativity, not a replacement.
“AI will make everyone better, but it remains a tool,” Valient asserted. “The negative perception stems from its disruptive scale, but responsible use can unlock unprecedented innovation.” Economic concerns also loom.
Critics warn that the AI boom could be a bubble with inflated valuations. Valient compared it to the dot‑com era, arguing that while many startups will fail, the underlying technology will endure. “AI isn’t going away,” he said.
“The internet survived its bubble, and so will AI. Our goal is to build a solid engine that leverages AI to speed up development and expand creative horizons, regardless of market hype.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments,” though the exact amount is undisclosed and described as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑capitalization, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed.
“Too much money can make you lazy.” The team is intentionally lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This small size allows rapid decision‑making and focused iteration. De Jong explained the delicate balance: “Building an engine is complex; you can’t throw a million engineers at it.
Yet you need enough talent and resources to hit the market window created by AI’s rise. It’s a trade‑off we’re navigating carefully.” 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 estimate; what they thought would take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time.
Regarding the business model, Brussee hinted that Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing approach but admitted it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more artistic risk‑taking,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology can help bring more innovative, daring experiences to players, that would be amazing."