For years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game makers, accounting for roughly 70 % of all Steam releases in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has gained traction, most large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely dominated by the two giants. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture 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 argue that there is still room for a fresh engine, one that learns from the shortcomings of the status quo and leverages modern AI to reshape how games are built. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right: “A few years ago, the idea of an AI‑enhanced engine didn’t exist. Now, with AI‑supported programming, we can start from scratch again and deliver full‑featured tools much faster.” He emphasizes that the goal isn’t to replace developers with a magic button, but to give them a framework that accelerates iteration while keeping them in control.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI component is not about prompting the engine to conjure assets out of thin air. Instead, it focuses on making the engine’s architecture highly extensible. “AI can reason over large codebases and data sets,” he says. “If we design 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.” This extensibility, he argues, is the key to letting smaller teams tailor the engine to their unique visions.
The motivation behind Immens is also economic. Brussee describes the current climate as “rough”: development costs keep climbing, and the risk of a project failing threatens studios’ very survival. “We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery,” he asserts. The trio believes AI can help break the costly cycle that has become endemic in the industry.
De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces many challenges, and simply repeating old methods won’t solve them,” he says.
“We need a different approach—one that embraces flexibility rather than imposing a monolithic workflow.” Current engines often force developers into proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong envisions an engine that adapts to the creator, not the other way around. “You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and modify existing ones to fit your workflow,” he explains. “Imagine a toolset that matches my personal shortcuts, interface preferences, and the exact needs of my project—everything customized for maximum efficiency." Valient acknowledges that AI is powerful but can also misbehave if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep developers fully aware of what the AI is doing, preserving a transparent history of changes. “When you use the engine, you know exactly how a result was produced, making the process repeatable and reliable,” he notes.
This transparency allows creators to generate quick prototypes—like five unique characters with specific traits—in the time it would previously have taken weeks, then discard the temporary tools once the job is done. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core design.
De Jong stresses that the engine does not dictate a single workflow; teams can decide how much AI to incorporate and where. “The architecture is modular so you can pick and choose the AI features that make sense for you, while ensuring the AI understands the context correctly.” Interoperability is another pillar of Immens. By adopting open, text‑based standards, the engine can seamlessly communicate with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. “If the files are readable text, any system can parse them,” Brussee says.
“Open standards let us plug in external software without the usual friction that proprietary engines create.” This openness aims to solve a long‑standing pain point where engines act as isolated islands, hindering smooth asset exchange. The broader conversation around AI in game development is charged with both excitement and fear. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of “click‑to‑game” experiences, suggesting that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world.
Immens’s team tempers such hype, framing AI as a powerful tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. “AI will make everyone better, not replace them,” Valient asserts, acknowledging the current negative perception due to rapid disruption. Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are riding a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the technology endured.
We’re building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination.” He admits no one can predict a bubble’s burst, but stresses that a quality product will survive regardless of market hype. Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its “first commitments,” though the exact amount is undisclosed and described as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, noting that too much money can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy; excess funding can make you lazy.” The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design.
De Jong explains the balance: “Building an engine is complex; you can’t throw a million developers at it. A small, focused team makes deliberate decisions and iterates wisely, which is crucial given the narrow 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, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original estimate: “We thought we’d need until year‑end; we’re already twice as fast,” Brussee remarks, highlighting the speed gains they aim to deliver to users. 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 strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more risk‑taking, artistic expression, and innovation. “We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences,” Brussee concludes. “If our technology helps make that happen, it would be amazing."