For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction and some studios such as Capcom rely on proprietary solutions like the RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly. Into this landscape step three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who have founded Immens with the ambition to carve out a new niche. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of modern game tech, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple, giving them a unique blend of experience and insight.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a fresh engine, noting, “There’s an opportunity now that didn’t exist a couple of years ago.” He believes that AI‑assisted programming can revive the spirit of building tools from the ground up, allowing developers to achieve full functionality quickly while maintaining tight guidance and control. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that their use of AI differs from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑content” narrative. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“AI can reason about massive codebases and data,” he says. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo creators or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle system—without being limited to superficial scripting.” This philosophy aims to let developers extend the core engine rapidly, leveraging AI as an accelerator rather than a replacement for thoughtful engineering. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑centric approach is the increasingly hostile economics of game production.
Brussee describes the current climate as “rough,” pointing out that development costs are spiralling and success is becoming harder to attain. “We need new ways of working that lower risk, shrink budgets, and let smaller teams deliver high‑quality experiences faster,” he asserts.
De Jong, the chief product officer, echoes this sentiment, arguing that the industry has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation” that, while providing a solid base, no longer fuels innovation. “We need a shift from standardisation to genuine innovation,” he says.
One of De Jong’s criticisms of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows, which hampers creativity. With AI, Immens envisions an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs, offering interchangeable modules, appendable features, and the ability to craft bespoke tools.
“I can build exactly the shortcuts, interfaces, and features my team requires,” he explains, highlighting the importance of flexibility in modern pipelines. Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. He warns that without careful oversight, AI can “go off the rails.” To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep users in the driver’s seat: the engine logs its actions, provides transparent histories, and ensures repeatable results. This control enables rapid prototyping—imagine designing five distinct characters with specific traits over a coffee break, then discarding the temporary tool after use.
Such workflows, once prohibitively expensive, become affordable and repeatable with AI‑enhanced tooling. Immens’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is modular, allowing developers to decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
The engine also embraces open standards, making it interoperable with common tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative platforms. Brussee notes that text‑based file formats enable any AI to read and manipulate assets, fostering smarter interfaces across the ecosystem. This openness contrasts with many proprietary engines that act as isolated islands, resistant to seamless integration.
The broader conversation around AI in game development is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn predict a future where entire Grand Theft Auto‑scale worlds can be generated with a single prompt, fueling fear of a “click‑to‑game” dystopia. Immens’s team tempers these expectations, viewing AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magical creator. Valient believes AI will elevate the craft, saying, “Big games and everything in between will be made better because AI makes everyone more capable.” He acknowledges the technology’s disruptive reputation but frames it as a responsibility: “Any tool can be misused; it’s up to us to guide its application responsibly.” Economic concerns also loom large.
Critics warn that AI‑focused startups may be riding a speculative bubble, with inflated valuations lacking solid fundamentals. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet endured and the survivors thrived because they built genuinely useful products.
“We’re focused on building a great engine; AI simply accelerates our vision,” he says. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens plans to stay grounded by delivering tangible value. Funding for Immens is still in early stages. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the target amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
The company remains deliberately lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—believing that a small, focused team can make decisive, high‑impact choices without the bureaucracy of a large organization. Balancing team size and resources is a strategic challenge.
De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex endeavour that cannot simply be solved by hiring a thousand engineers. “You need a small, dedicated group to iterate, make hard decisions, and understand the technology deeply,” he says.
At the same time, there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, and Immens aims to hit that sweet spot before the momentum fades. Currently, Immens is working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team plans to release this demo within the month, already having accelerated their timeline dramatically—what was originally projected to take until year‑end is now expected in weeks. Brussee admits that predicting exact milestones is difficult given the rapid pace of development.
The business model remains under discussion. While Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of “we succeed when you succeed,” they consider it premature to commit to a specific revenue structure.
The focus, for now, is on delivering a compelling engine that empowers creators. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will inspire a new wave of creativity and risk‑taking in games.
“We love games as an art form and want to see more daring, expressive experiences,” Brussee says. “If our technology can help developers push boundaries and innovate, that would be amazing.”