For 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 such as Godot have enjoyed a surge in popularity, most major studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example.
In short, the engine market has seemed locked in a duopoly. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three seasoned industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development, 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, and that the next generation of tools should be built with artificial intelligence at its core.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A few years ago this kind of engine didn’t exist,” he said. “Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and get full‑featured functionality much faster, while still keeping tight control over the process.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the “prompt‑to‑output” gimmick that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is designed to make the engine itself more extensible. “If we build the codebase with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system, a bespoke animation pipeline, or any other feature without being confined to a limited scripting layer,” he explained. The goal is to let creators harness AI to accelerate extensions, not to replace the creative work entirely. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of the games sector, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Development budgets are inflating, and the risk of failure is growing for studios of all sizes.
“We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines,” he argued. “If we can make a game with fewer people and less money, we reduce the existential risk for developers and their studios.” De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that standardization provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry is facing a series of challenges, and simply repeating the old formula isn’t enough,” he said.
“We need a different approach—one that prioritises flexibility over monolithic design.” Current engines often force developers into a rigid workflow, complete with proprietary file formats and closed‑source tools. 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 your own toolset exactly the way you need it,” he noted. “Imagine a designer who can build a UI that mirrors his personal shortcuts, features, and interface preferences without fighting the engine’s constraints.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it can dramatically speed up tasks—like generating five uniquely‑traited characters in the time it would previously take weeks—it can also veer off course if left unchecked. “Our engine gives you full visibility into what the AI is doing, the history of its decisions, and guarantees repeatability,” he said.
“You remain in the driver’s seat, creating bespoke tools for specific problems and discarding them when they’re no longer needed.” Flexibility is baked into Immens from the ground up. The architecture does not impose a single workflow or dictate how much AI you must employ. “It’s up to the developer to decide where AI adds value and where traditional coding is preferable,” De Jong emphasized.
“The key is ensuring the AI understands the context correctly.” Interoperability is another pillar of the project. By leveraging open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens aims to play nicely with existing tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑art 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 production stack, breaking the isolation that many current engines enforce.” The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some critics warn of a future where a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, sparking fears of a “click‑to‑game” apocalypse.
Immens’ founders see AI more modestly—as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement. “AI will make everyone better, but it remains a tool,” Valient said. “Like any technology, it can be misused, but it also opens doors to creativity we haven’t seen before.” Economic concerns also loom large. The AI boom has generated lofty valuations and speculation about a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel with the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the underlying technology endured. We’re building a solid engine first, using AI to accelerate development and dream bigger.
Whether the market is in a bubble is uncertain, but the technology itself isn’t going away.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑funding a startup, noting that excess capital can breed complacency.
The team deliberately stays lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—believing that a small, focused group can make decisive architectural choices without the bureaucracy of a massive staff. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act.
De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, long‑term endeavour that cannot simply be outsourced to a thousand engineers. “You need a tight core to iterate, learn, and make hard decisions,” he said.
“At the same time, there’s a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. We must hit that sweet spot of funding, talent, and timing.” Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team expected this milestone by year‑end, but they are already two‑fold ahead of schedule, aiming to release the demo within the month. Brussee admits that predicting timelines is tricky when the technology is moving so quickly. Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it is too early to define a concrete revenue strategy.
The ultimate hope, according to Brussee, is that Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games as an art form and want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity,” he concluded.
“If our engine can help bring bold, innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing."