For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, powering roughly 70% of Steam releases slated for 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction, most large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market seemingly locked in a duopoly. Enter Immens, a fledgling studio founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine, one that not only competes with the incumbents but also addresses the shortcomings that have begun to frustrate developers of all sizes. 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 would have been science‑fiction,” he said. “Now, with AI‑augmented programming, we can lay down functional foundations much more quickly while still retaining full control.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑to‑art” variety that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “If we design the engine with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke physics module without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he explained.
“The AI helps you extend the engine faster, not replace the developer.” The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from the harsh economic realities of modern game production. Brussee describes the current climate as “rough,” noting that development budgets are inflating while the risk of failure grows.
“We need new workflows that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate delivery,” he said. “If we can shave months off the pipeline, studios can protect their livelihoods and take more creative risks.” De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation.
“The industry is at a crossroads,” he warned. “Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic tools won’t solve the emerging challenges.
We need a paradigm shift toward flexibility and adaptability.” One of the pain points with existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers often must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, limiting how they can tailor tools to their specific needs.
De Jong envisions an engine that behaves more like a modular toolkit: “You should be able to swap components, append new features, and build custom interfaces that match your workflow exactly. Imagine a UI that mirrors your personal shortcuts, your team’s conventions, and the unique demands of your project.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it can dramatically speed up tasks, it can also produce unpredictable results if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is building transparency into the system.
“When you use the engine, you can see exactly what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and reproduce outcomes reliably,” he said. “This level of control is essential for professional production pipelines.” The flexibility promise extends to the engine’s overall design philosophy. De Jong stresses that Immens will not force a single workflow on its users. “You decide how much AI you want to involve and where,” he noted.
“Our architecture is deliberately open so you can integrate the amount of automation that feels comfortable for you.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of the project. By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens aims to play nicely with the broader ecosystem of tools such as Blender, Maya, and various generative‑art platforms.
“If the data is stored in a readable format, the AI can ingest it, manipulate it, and hand it back to any downstream application,” Brussee explained. “That’s a huge step toward breaking the silos that have historically plagued game pipelines.” The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some commentators hype a future where a single prompt can spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, while others warn of a looming “click‑to‑game” dystopia. Immens’s team positions AI as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity.
“AI will make everyone better, not replace them,” Valient asserted. “It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also opens doors to ideas we couldn’t previously afford to explore.” Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many questioning whether the current hype represents a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; the frivolous businesses did. Good technology survives.
We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑capitalization, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Too much money can make you lazy, and we thrive on solving problems with limited resources.” The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
This intentional size allows rapid decision‑making and tight coordination. De Jong explains the trade‑off: “Building an engine is complex; you can’t throw a million developers at it and expect miracles.
You need a small, focused team to iterate, learn, and make hard choices. At the same time, we must time our efforts to capture the window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise.” Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team aims to release this demo within the month, a timeline that already outpaces their original estimate of finishing by year‑end.
“We’re moving twice as fast as we thought we would,” Brussee remarked, underscoring the engine’s rapid development cycle. Regarding the eventual business model, Brussee hints at a partnership philosophy similar to Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach, but admits it’s too early for concrete plans.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will 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 provide the tools that let developers realize those visions, that would be amazing."