For many years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in the world of game creation, accounting for roughly seventy percent of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have enjoyed a surge in popularity, most large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the engine market largely monopolised by the two giants. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who‑is‑who of game development, with experience 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, and more importantly, room for a fundamentally different approach. 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 an AI‑enhanced engine simply didn’t exist,” he said.
“Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again, under tight guidance, and deliver full‑featured tools much faster than before.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over large codebases and data sets,” he noted.
“If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can add custom systems—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a narrow scripting layer.” This philosophy aims to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a productivity partner rather than a replacement for thoughtful engineering. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑centric engine stems from the current economic climate of the games sector, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Development costs are spiralling, and the risk of financial ruin for small studios is growing.
“We need new ways of working, more efficient pipelines that let us produce games with fewer people, tighter budgets, and shorter timelines,” he argued. The goal is to break the vicious cycle where each successive title demands more resources, threatening the livelihood of independent creators. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become increasingly standardised and consolidated.
While that stability provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating the old methods won’t solve them,” he said.
“We need genuine innovation, not just another iteration of the same monolithic tools.” One of the key criticisms De Jong levels at existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must often adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. By contrast, Immens envisions an engine that bends to the user’s needs. “Flexibility is essential,” he explained.
“You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and build custom tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you require.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency and control at its core. “When you use the engine, you always know what it’s doing and why,” he said.
“You can trace its actions, reproduce them, and even create throw‑away tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait in minutes instead of weeks.” This level of oversight aims to keep the creative process predictable and repeatable. Immens’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow on its users.
De Jong emphasised that the framework is modular, allowing developers to decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. “The AI must understand the context correctly, but the choice of integration is entirely up to the developer,” he added.
Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’s design. By adopting open, text‑based standards, the engine can communicate seamlessly with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. “If a file is readable as plain text, any system can parse it,” Brussee noted. “That means you can plug in your favourite art or animation software without wrestling with proprietary barriers.
Open standards have been emerging, and we want to embrace them so that everything talks to each other naturally.” The broader AI debate in game development is not without controversy. Some commentators on platforms like LinkedIn hype the notion that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fears of a “click‑to‑game” future. Immens’s team acknowledges that such a vision might eventually be possible, but they stress that AI should be viewed as a tool, not a replacement for human creativity. “AI will make everyone better, not eliminate the craft,” Valient asserted.
“It’s disruptive, which is why it carries negative connotations now, but responsible use can drive the industry forward.” Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether the AI boom is a bubble. Valient draws a parallel with the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; the weak companies vanished, but the technology endured.” He believes Immens’s focus on building a genuinely useful engine will help it survive any market turbulence.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments,” though the founders have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Being lean forces you to make smart decisions.” The company currently consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers, a deliberately small team designed to iterate quickly. De Jong explained the balancing act: “Building an engine is complex—you can’t throw a million developers at it and expect instant results. You need a focused group to make critical decisions, yet you also need enough resources to hit the market window created by AI’s rise.” Immens is now targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month.
Brussee revealed that the project, which began in April, is already progressing twice as fast as originally projected. “Timelines are fluid when you’re pioneering new tech,” he said. Regarding the business model, the team admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific pricing strategy. Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will enable developers to push the medium forward, encouraging risk‑taking and artistic expression.
“We love games and want to see more creativity and daring,” he concluded. “If our technology can help bring that vision to life, that would be amazing."