For many years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, together powering roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made noticeable strides recently and some large studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Into this entrenched environment step three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who have founded Immens with the belief that there is still space for a fresh engine, and that the existing tools can be fundamentally improved.
All three founders bring a résumé that reads like a who’s‑who of modern game development. Brussee and De Jong have spent years at Epic Games, the creators of Unreal, while Valient’s background includes stints at Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and Apple.
Their combined experience gives them a unique perspective on why the status quo is beginning to show cracks. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that “the moment is right” to launch an engine that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.
He points to the rise of AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that can let developers start from a clean slate again, offering “full functionality quickly under tight guidance and control.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they are embedding is not the kind of generative prompt‑to‑image wizardry that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“AI can reason about massive codebases and data sets,” he explains. “If we design the core with that capability in mind, even solo creators or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This approach, he says, empowers developers to extend the engine at a pace that traditional pipelines simply cannot match. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Production costs keep climbing, and the risk of a project failing has never been higher.
“We need new ways of working, more efficient processes, to lower budgets and shrink teams while still delivering high‑quality experiences,” he says. The goal is to break the cycle that forces studios to gamble everything on ever‑larger budgets. De Jong, the chief product officer, notes that the engine market has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While that has produced solid foundations, it also means the industry is stuck in a comfort zone. “We’re at a point where continuing the same old methods isn’t enough,” he asserts.
“Innovation, not further standardisation, is what the community needs.” One of the biggest pain points with existing engines, according to De Jong, is their monolithic nature. Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows, often spending weeks building tools that should be simple. With AI‑driven flexibility, Immens aims to become an engine that molds itself around the developer’s needs.
“You should be able to swap components, append new ones, and craft bespoke tools that match your personal workflow—exact shortcuts, interfaces, and features tailored to your project,” he says. Valient also warns that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is “really powerful,” it can “go off the rails quickly if you don’t keep an eye on it.” Immens therefore prioritises transparency: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
This level of control, he argues, lets developers create rapid, disposable tools—for example, generating five characters with a specific trait in minutes rather than weeks—without sacrificing reliability. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core design. De Jong emphasizes that the framework does not impose a single workflow; developers decide how much AI to involve and where.
The architecture is deliberately open, supporting industry‑standard, text‑based file formats that any tool can read. “If you’re using Blender, Maya, or any generative system, you can plug it straight into Immens because everything communicates through open standards,” Brussee notes.
This openness contrasts sharply with many engines that act as closed ecosystems, hindering interoperability. The broader conversation about AI in games is fraught with hype and backlash. Some pundits on LinkedIn claim that soon a simple prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level world.
Immens’s team acknowledges that such “click‑to‑game” fantasies might one day 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 replace them,” Valient says, noting the technology’s disruptive reputation is largely due to its unprecedented scale.
Economic concerns also loom large. Critics worry that AI‑centric startups are inflating a bubble with unrealistic valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, pointing out that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet persisted and thrived. “We’re focused on building a genuinely good engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination,” he explains.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team believes that solid products will survive regardless. Funding for Immens is still in its early stages.
The founders have secured “first commitments,” but they have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he jokes.
The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional size allows for rapid decision‑making and avoids the pitfalls of trying to coordinate massive teams on a complex engine project.
De Jong explains the delicate balance: “You can’t throw a million developers at an engine and expect it to work; you need a focused group to iterate, learn, and make key decisions.” At the same time, they must assemble enough talent and capital to seize the emerging window of opportunity created by AI’s rise. Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month.
The timeline has already outpaced their original expectations; what they thought would take until year‑end is now arriving roughly twice as fast. Brussee admits that predicting exact milestones is challenging, given the rapid pace of development.
On the business‑model front, Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy, but it is too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine 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 can help make that happen, it would be amazing."