For years, Unity and Unreal have been the de‑facto platforms for game creation, accounting for roughly seventy percent of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and some studios still rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the market has largely been dominated by the two giants. Yet three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—believe there is still space for a fresh contender that addresses the shortcomings of existing tools. Their startup, Immens, is set to deliver an AI‑enhanced engine that aims to lower barriers for small teams and foster a more flexible development workflow.
The founders bring a résumé that reads like a who’s‑who of modern game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because "a couple of years ago the technology simply didn’t exist." He argues that AI‑assisted programming now makes it possible to start building from a clean slate, offering developers rapid access to full‑featured functionality while retaining granular control. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI component is not about generating assets through vague prompts. Instead, it 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 capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being confined to a limited scripting layer." This approach, according to Valient, empowers creators to iterate faster by using AI as a productivity amplifier rather than a replacement for human ingenuity.
One of the driving forces behind Immens is the increasingly hostile economics of game development. Brussee describes the current climate as "rough," noting that production budgets are spiralling and the risk of failure is higher than ever.
"We need new ways of working that shrink costs and timelines," he asserts. "If a small studio can deliver a polished experience with fewer people and less money, the whole industry benefits." De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced stable foundations, it also stifles innovation.
"The industry is facing a suite of challenges, and simply repeating the old methods isn’t enough," he says. "We need a paradigm shift—flexibility over monoliths." Current engines often force developers into a rigid, monolithic workflow, complete with proprietary file formats and fixed pipelines.
De Jong envisions an engine that adapts to the user rather than the other way around. "You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft tools that match your personal workflow," he explains.
"Imagine a designer who can build a custom interface with shortcuts and features tailored exactly to their project’s needs—this is the freedom we aim to provide." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is "really powerful," it can also veer off course if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency at its core: developers will always see what the AI is doing, retain a full history of changes, and be able to reproduce results reliably.
This level of control, he argues, turns AI into a dependable assistant that can, for example, generate a set of five characters with specific traits in minutes—a task that previously might have taken weeks. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s architecture.
De Jong stresses that the engine does not impose a singular workflow; teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The system also embraces open standards, allowing seamless interaction with common tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑art pipeline. "When files are text‑based, any software can read them," Brussee notes. "Our AI can parse those files, manipulate them, and communicate across platforms because we rely on open, interoperable formats.
This solves a long‑standing pain point where proprietary engines acted as closed ecosystems." The broader conversation about AI in game development is fraught with hype and fear. Some commentators on LinkedIn predict a future where a single prompt can spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
Immens’s team tempers such expectations, framing AI as a "tool" rather than a magic button. Valient believes that AI will ultimately make creators better, even if the technology currently carries negative connotations due to its disruptive potential. Economic anxieties also loom large. Critics warn that AI‑focused startups could be part of a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, asserting that while many companies will fall, the underlying technology endures. "AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving," he says. "Our goal is to build a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development and expand creative horizons.
Whether the market is in a bubble is uncertain, but we’re focused on delivering real value." Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital raise as "reasonable". Brussee cautions against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency.
The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex undertaking that does not benefit from a massive headcount; a small, focused team can make deliberate decisions and iterate efficiently. Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases AI‑driven editing workflows, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original estimate: what was expected to take until year‑end is now arriving roughly twice as fast.
While the business model is still taking shape, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" philosophy and hints that a similar revenue‑share approach could be on the table, though it remains premature to commit. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward.
"We love games and the complex artistic expression they enable," Brussee concludes. "We want to see more risk‑taking, more innovation, and more creativity. If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing."