For many years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases projected for 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some large studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market. Enter Immens, the brainchild of three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the makers of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that there is still space for a fresh engine, and that the next generation of tools can be fundamentally better.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee noted that “the opportunity to build a new engine didn’t exist a couple of years ago.” He believes that advances in AI‑assisted programming now make it feasible to start from a clean slate and still deliver a fully‑featured product quickly, under tight guidance and control. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑and‑receive” gimmick that has become common talk. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “AI can reason about massive amounts of data and source code,” he explains.
“If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or any other feature without being limited to a tiny scripting layer.” This approach aims to let developers harness AI to accelerate extensions rather than replace the creative process. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current market climate, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Game development costs keep climbing, making it increasingly difficult for small studios to survive.
He asks, “Can we discover new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines, so creators aren’t risking their livelihoods?” De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now needs genuine innovation, not more of the same. He criticizes the “monolithic approach” of existing engines, where developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
With AI, Immens intends to give users an engine that molds itself to their needs, offering interchangeable modules, appendable components, and the ability to craft bespoke tools tailored to specific projects. Flexibility is a core tenet. De Jong says he can build tools that match his personal workflow—exact shortcuts, interfaces, and features—so his team can work exactly the way they want.
Valient acknowledges AI’s power but warns that it can “go off the rails” without careful oversight. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency: users can see what the engine is doing, trace its decision history, and ensure repeatable results. This level of control enables rapid prototyping, such as generating five uniquely‑traited characters over a coffee break, a task that previously might have taken weeks. Immens does not force a single workflow on its users.
The architecture is deliberately open, allowing developers to decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The engine also embraces open standards, meaning assets stored as text can be read and manipulated by any compatible tool. Brussee points out that this interoperability lets developers plug in software like Blender, Maya, or generative‑AI pipelines without fighting proprietary barriers, a problem that has long plagued traditional engines. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, with some pundits claiming that a simple prompt could soon spawn Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level experiences.
While Immens’s team concedes that “click‑to‑game” engines might emerge someday, they stress that AI should be viewed as a tool that amplifies human creativity, not a replacement for it. Valient notes that AI is disrupting the industry at an unprecedented scale, which fuels negative perceptions, but ultimately it makes developers better. Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with fears of a bubble inflated by lofty valuations. Valient likens the situation to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, but many over‑hyped companies fell away, leaving behind solid technologies and products.
Immens aims to be one of those lasting successes by focusing on building a high‑quality engine first, using AI to speed development and enable bigger dreams. Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing them as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against excessive capital, which can breed complacency.
The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains that engine development is complex and cannot be rushed by throwing a massive team at it; instead, a small, focused group can make deliberate decisions and iterate effectively, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by the AI wave.
The team is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month. Brussee reveals that they originally expected the prototype to take until year‑end, yet they are already moving at double that speed, making timeline predictions difficult. Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach.
Ultimately, Brussee hopes the 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 creativity,” he says. “If our technology can help bring that to life, that would be amazing."