For many years, the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, by 2025 they powered roughly 70 % of all titles released on Steam.
While the open‑source Godot engine has enjoyed a surge in popularity, most large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal with a near‑monopoly on the market. Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the status quo. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech leadership, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together, they aim to challenge the entrenched giants with a platform built around artificial intelligence and extreme flexibility. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine. “A few years ago this idea wouldn’t have been feasible,” he said.
“Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch and get functional features up much faster, while still retaining tight control over the development process.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the kind that simply generates assets from prompts. “Our AI is woven into the engine’s architecture so it can reason about large codebases and data sets,” he noted.
“That means smaller teams—or even solo developers—can extend the engine beyond simple scripting. Want a custom particle system?
You can add it directly into the core without fighting against a monolithic framework.” This extensibility is a core pillar of Immens’s vision: AI should accelerate the creation of new tools, not replace the developer’s agency. The motivation behind the project is also economic. Brussee described the current market as “rough.” Game development costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for independent studios to survive.
“We need new ways of working that reduce budgets and timelines,” he argued. “If we can make games with fewer people, faster, and at lower risk, we give creators a real chance to stay afloat.” De Jong, the chief product officer, warned that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced reliable foundations, it also stifles innovation. “The industry is at a crossroads,” he said.
“Continuing to do the same thing won’t solve the challenges we face. We need breakthrough ideas, not just incremental updates.” One specific criticism De Jong has of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can hinder creativity.
By contrast, an AI‑aware engine could adapt to the developer’s workflow. “Flexibility is essential,” he emphasized. “You should be able to swap modules, append new functionality, or build bespoke tools that match your exact workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you need for a particular project.” Valient also cautioned that AI, while powerful, can “go off the rails” if left unchecked. Immens therefore places the user in full control of the AI’s actions, preserving a transparent history of changes so that results are repeatable and auditable.
This approach, he says, enables rapid prototyping: “Imagine needing five characters with a specific trait. Previously that could take weeks; now you could sketch the idea over coffee, generate the assets, and have a reusable tool that you discard after the job is done. That kind of speed used to be prohibitively expensive.” Immens’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow.
De Jong stressed that developers can decide how much AI to involve and where to apply it. “Our framework is open‑ended; you choose the balance between manual control and AI assistance,” he explained.
“The key is ensuring the AI understands the context correctly, which is why we’ve built it on open standards.” Open standards are another cornerstone of Immens’s strategy. By using text‑based file formats, the engine can interoperate with a wide range of tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
“When files are readable as plain text, any system can parse them,” Brussee said. “That means the AI can manipulate assets directly, and we can plug in third‑party software without fighting proprietary barriers.
It’s a big step toward a truly modular ecosystem.” The broader AI debate in game development is heated. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” engines that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt.
Immens’s founders acknowledge the hype but view AI primarily as a tool, not a replacement for human creativity. “AI will make everyone better, not replace them,” Valient asserted.
“It’s disruptive, which is why it has a negative stigma now, but responsible use can drive the industry forward.” Economic concerns also loom large. Critics warn that the AI boom may be a bubble with inflated valuations. Valient compared it to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; many companies failed, but the technology endured.
We’re building a solid engine first; AI just makes us faster and lets us dream bigger.” Funding for Immens remains modest. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Too much money can make you lazy.” The team itself is lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional minimalism allows rapid decision‑making while avoiding the pitfalls of a massive, unwieldy development crew.
De Jong explained the trade‑off: “Building an engine is complex; you can’t throw a million engineers at it and expect miracles. You need a small, focused group to iterate, make hard choices, and learn from failures.” At the same time, they recognize a narrow window of opportunity created by AI’s rise and aim to seize it before the market shifts again.
Immens is currently working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, demonstrating how developers can edit assets and code in real time with AI assistance. Brussee noted that the project, which began in April, is already moving twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the acceleration AI can provide. Business‑model discussions are still early.
While Immens admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” revenue sharing, they have not committed to any specific approach yet. “It’s too soon to make definitive statements,” Brussee said.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will enable 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 concluded. “If our technology can lower barriers and inspire innovation, that would be amazing for the whole industry."