For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have begun to gain traction, and a handful of large studios still rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly controlled by the two giants.
Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a new way of building games. 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 are setting out to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform.
"A couple of years ago this kind of engine didn’t exist," he said. "Thanks to AI‑assisted programming we can start from a clean slate again and deliver full‑featured tools much faster than before." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the sort of generative, prompt‑driven magic that dominates headlines. "Our AI is baked into the architecture of the engine," he noted.
"It lets the codebase be highly extensible, so even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers. The AI helps you extend the engine quickly, not replace your creative decisions." The motivation behind this ambitious project is the increasingly hostile economics of game creation.
Brussee described the current climate as "rough," emphasizing that development costs continue to climb, making it harder for small studios to survive. "We need new, more efficient ways of working," he argued. "If we can cut budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines, developers won’t have to gamble their livelihoods on a single title." De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, added that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that has produced a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply iterating on the same monolithic tools isn’t enough," he said. "We need a different approach—one that embraces flexibility and lets creators shape the engine to their needs." Current engines often force developers into a "monolithic approach," requiring them to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the user’s workflow. "You should be able to swap components, append new features, and build custom tools that match your exact workflow," he explained.
"Imagine a developer who can craft an interface with the exact shortcuts, panels, and shortcuts they need for a particular project—nothing more, nothing less." Valient acknowledged that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked. "It can go off the rails quickly if you don’t monitor it," he warned. To counter this, Immens is designed to keep the user in full control, providing transparent histories of AI actions and ensuring repeatability.
"You always know what the engine is doing and why," he said. "That way you can create disposable tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait in minutes instead of weeks—without losing control over the process." Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy. De Jong emphasized that the engine does not impose a single workflow.
"You decide how much AI you want to use and where you apply it," he said. "Our architecture simply provides a solid scaffold that you can shape however you see fit." Interoperability is another priority. By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens aims to play nicely with existing tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
"When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them," Brussee explained. "That means the AI can read, modify, and exchange data across the entire toolchain.
Open standards are finally catching on, and we want to be part of that ecosystem rather than a closed‑off outlier." The broader AI debate in game development is heated. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype "click‑to‑game" engines that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt.
Immens’ team sees AI as a powerful assistant, not a replacement for human creativity. Valient remarked, "Big games will still be made because AI makes everyone better, not because AI does the whole job." De Jong echoed this sentiment, urging responsible use.
"Any tool can be misused; it’s our duty to ensure AI serves the industry positively," he said. The conversation also touches on economic anxieties about an AI bubble.
Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology will endure. "AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving. Our goal is to build a genuinely good engine that leverages AI to speed up development and inspire bigger dreams," he said.
Funding details remain vague. Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable." Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed. The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders and a handful of helpers.
De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex, long‑term effort that cannot be rushed by hiring a massive team. "You need a focused group to make thoughtful decisions and iterate carefully," he said. At the same time, timing is critical; the team wants to capture the window of opportunity created by AI’s rise without over‑extending resources.
Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. Brussee noted that the project, which began in April, is already progressing twice as fast as originally projected.
"Timelines are fluid, but we’re moving quickly," he said. The business model is still being fleshed out.
While Immens admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" revenue share, they admit it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will enable creators to push the medium forward.
"We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expression. If our technology helps developers take risks and innovate, that would be amazing," he concluded.