For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for game creators, powering roughly 70 % of all Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the market has largely been monopolized by the two giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens, a fresh AI‑enhanced game engine that they believe can carve out a meaningful niche and push the status quo forward. The founders’ résumés read like a who‑is‑who of modern game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Their collective background gives them a unique perspective on the strengths and blind spots of existing tools, and they are eager to put that insight to work. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because the technological landscape has shifted dramatically in the past few years. “With AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from scratch again,” he said.
“Guided by intelligent assistance, developers can achieve full‑featured functionality much faster than before.” Valient, who serves as Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI component is not about generating content through vague prompts. Instead, the engine is designed to be highly extensible, leveraging AI’s ability to understand large codebases and data structures. “If we architect the engine with AI in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can extend it beyond simple scripting,” Valient noted. “Imagine a developer who wants a custom particle system; they can add it directly, and AI can help streamline that addition.” This approach aims to empower creators to iterate quickly while retaining full control over the underlying systems.
The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current challenges facing the games market. Brussee described the environment as “rough,” pointing out that development costs are spiralling and the risk of failure is high. “We need new ways of working that lower budgets and shrink team sizes without sacrificing quality,” he argued.
The goal is to break the cycle of ever‑increasing expenses that threaten the viability of many studios. De Jong, Immens’s chief product officer, highlighted a broader industry trend: a move toward standardisation and consolidation that, while providing a solid foundation, has also stifled innovation. “The engine space has become monolithic,” he said. “Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
With AI, we envision an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs, not the other way around.” He envisions a system where tools can be swapped, extended, or completely re‑engineered to match a team’s specific workflow, complete with custom shortcuts, interfaces, and features. Valient also warned that AI, despite its power, can misbehave if left unchecked.
Immens is therefore built with transparency and reproducibility at its core. Users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and create bespoke tools that fit precise creative problems. For example, generating five characters with a particular trait that might have taken weeks can now be prototyped over a coffee break, then refined and discarded as needed—dramatically reducing cost and time.
Flexibility is a cornerstone of Immens’s philosophy. De Jong emphasized that the engine does not force a single workflow on its users. “You decide how much AI you want to incorporate and where,” he explained.
“Our architecture is deliberately open so that you can pick and choose the level of automation that suits your project.” Interoperability is another priority. By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens can communicate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. Brussee illustrated the advantage: “When files are human‑readable, any AI can parse and manipulate them. This eliminates the isolation that many proprietary engines create and enables smarter, more fluid pipelines across the entire development stack.” The conversation around AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators predict a future where a single prompt can spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑style world, sparking fears of a “click‑to‑game” era that could diminish craftsmanship. Immens’s team acknowledges these concerns but frames AI as a tool rather than a replacement. Valient believes AI will elevate creators: “Big games and indie titles alike will benefit because AI makes everyone more capable.” De Jong added that responsible usage is essential; like any technology, AI can be misused, but the industry must steer it toward productive outcomes.
Economic anxieties also surface, with critics labeling the AI boom a speculative bubble. Valient compared it to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology persists and continues to drive value.
“We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our ability to dream bigger and iterate faster,” he said. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens is betting on long‑term relevance.
Funding details remain scarce. Immens has secured its first round of commitments but has not disclosed amounts, describing the needed capital as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, suggesting that excess cash can breed complacency. The company remains deliberately lean, consisting of the three founders and a handful of helpers, to maintain agility and focus.
Currently, Immens is working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases AI‑driven editing workflows, slated for release later this month. The team originally projected a year‑long timeline but has already accelerated to roughly half that, underscoring the speed gains they attribute to AI integration.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing approach but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will enable more daring, creative games that push the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more risk‑taking and artistic expression,” Brussee concluded.
“If our technology can help bring that vision to life, that would be amazing."