For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, powering roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction, most large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example. This duopoly has left the market feeling almost locked in. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that the engine landscape is ripe for a fresh entrant that can address the shortcomings of today’s monolithic tools. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the possibilities that didn’t exist a couple of years ago are now within reach.” He points to AI‑assisted programming as the catalyst that could let developers start from a clean slate again, delivering full‑featured functionality without the massive overhead that traditionally accompanies engine development.
Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they envision isn’t the “prompt‑to‑image” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. "AI can reason over large codebases and data sets," he says.
"If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke animation pipeline without wrestling with opaque scripting layers." The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a productivity multiplier rather than a magical shortcut. The motivation behind Immens is also deeply economic. Brussee describes the current market as “rough” and warns that game production costs are spiralling upward, making it harder for small teams to survive. He asks: can we discover new, more efficient ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines?
The answer, according to the Immens team, lies in rethinking the development workflow and leveraging AI to automate repetitive tasks, thereby reducing financial risk for studios. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine space has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While this has given developers a solid foundation, it has also stifled innovation.
He argues that the industry now faces a series of challenges—rising costs, talent shortages, and a demand for ever‑more realistic experiences—that cannot be solved by merely iterating on existing tools. "We need innovation, not more standardisation," he insists. One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the monolithic nature of current engines. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can be a barrier to creativity.
With AI, Immens aims to flip this model on its head: the engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around. He envisions a system where users can swap modules, append new functionality, and craft bespoke tools that match their personal workflows.
For instance, a designer could build an interface with shortcuts and features tailored to their team’s specific needs, all without waiting for the engine vendor to roll out an update. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it is “really powerful,” it can also “go off the rails quickly if you don’t pay attention.” To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency at its core. Users will have full visibility into what the AI is doing, a complete history of changes, and the ability to reproduce results reliably. This level of control is intended to keep the creative process grounded and prevent the black‑box pitfalls that have plagued other AI‑first tools.
The team also stresses flexibility in workflow. Immens does not force a single development paradigm on its users; instead, it provides a modular architecture that lets teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. Whether a studio wants AI to generate level geometry, assist with shader tweaking, or simply automate asset import, the engine will accommodate those choices while ensuring the underlying AI understands the context correctly. Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens’ design philosophy.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with popular tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. Brussee explains that when files are human‑readable, any AI can parse and manipulate them, opening the door to smarter, cross‑tool workflows that have been missing from proprietary engines for years. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, with some commentators sensationalising the idea that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’ founders acknowledge the hype but view AI as a “tool” rather than a replacement for human creativity.
Valient believes AI will make developers better, not obsolete, and that responsible use will ultimately elevate the quality of games across the spectrum. Economic anxieties also swirl around the AI boom, with fears of a bubble and inflated valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fall, the underlying technology—just like the internet—will endure. Immens is focused on building a solid engine first; AI is the accelerator that lets them iterate faster and dream bigger.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is confident that a well‑engineered product will survive any downturn. Funding is still in its early stages. Immens has secured “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency.
The company remains intentionally lean, consisting of the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This small, scrappy team allows for rapid decision‑making and avoids the pitfalls of scaling too quickly. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, long‑term endeavour that cannot be rushed by simply throwing more people at it.
Yet there is a limited window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. The founders are therefore focused on hitting that sweet spot: enough resources to deliver a compelling product, but not so many that the project loses its agility. Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee says is already twice as fast as initially projected when they launched in April. This rapid progress underscores the team’s belief that AI can dramatically compress development cycles. The business model remains under discussion. While Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing approach, they consider it premature to make definitive statements.
The founders are still exploring how best to monetize an engine that aims to be both flexible and AI‑centric. Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will empower creators to push the artistic and technical boundaries of games.
"We love games and want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity," Brussee concludes. "If our technology can help bring that vision to life, that would be amazing."