For many years the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, by 2025 roughly seventy percent of all titles released on Steam were built with one of those platforms. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have begun to make noticeable strides, and a handful of major studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market share of Unity and Unreal remains overwhelming.
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, more adaptable engine. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they see an opportunity to challenge the status quo and address the shortcomings they perceive in today’s dominant tools.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the technology that didn’t exist a couple of years ago is now within reach.” He points to AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that could let developers start from a clean slate while still maintaining strong guidance and control. “You can build something that delivers full functionality quickly,” he said, emphasizing speed and flexibility. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the company’s use of AI is not about generating assets with a single prompt. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“If we design the codebase with AI in mind, even small teams or solo creators can extend the engine beyond simple scripting,” he explained. “Imagine a developer who wants a custom particle system—AI can help them add it directly into the engine without waiting for a core update.” This approach aims to let users harness AI to accelerate iteration while retaining full ownership of the underlying code. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of the games market.
Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” noting that development costs continue to climb and that many studios struggle to stay viable. “We need new ways of working that reduce risk, lower budgets, and let smaller teams ship faster,” he said. The trio believes that AI‑enhanced tooling can break the cycle of ever‑increasing expenditure and enable creators to bring ambitious projects to life without jeopardizing their livelihoods. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become increasingly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation has produced a solid foundation, it has also stifled innovation. “The industry faces a range of challenges, and simply repeating old methods isn’t enough,” he argued. “We need innovation, not more standardisation.” He criticizes the monolithic nature of existing engines, which force developers to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the user’s needs, allowing interchangeable components, custom tools, and personalized interfaces that match each developer’s workflow.
Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. Though powerful, it can “go off the rails quickly” if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in the driver’s seat: the engine logs its actions, provides a clear history, and ensures repeatable results.
This transparency lets developers create bespoke tools for specific problems—such as generating five unique characters with particular traits—in minutes rather than weeks. What once required costly, labor‑intensive pipelines can now be prototyped over a cup of coffee and discarded when no longer needed, dramatically lowering development overhead. Flexibility is a core design principle for Immens. De Jong stresses that the engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it offers a framework that users can shape.
“You decide how much AI you want to incorporate and where,” he says. “The architecture is open enough to let you build the process that works best for you.” To further promote interoperability, Immens adopts open standards and text‑based file formats, allowing seamless integration with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, and other generative software. “When files are readable as plain text, any system can parse them,” Brussee notes. “That openness enables smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is heated.
Some commentators on platforms like LinkedIn hype the idea of “click‑to‑game” engines that could conjure Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt. Immens’ team acknowledges that such visions may eventually materialize, but they stress that AI should be viewed as a powerful assistant rather than a magical shortcut. Valient says, “AI will make everyone better, but it remains a tool.” De Jong adds that the industry bears responsibility to use AI responsibly, just as any technology can be misused. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with many questioning whether the current hype constitutes a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many unsustainable companies fell, but the underlying technology persisted. “We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination,” he explains. Whether the AI market is a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens aims to survive regardless of broader market fluctuations. Funding for Immens is still in its early stages.
The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughs. The company remains tiny—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains the balancing act: a game engine is a complex undertaking that cannot be solved by throwing a million developers at it, yet timing is crucial.
“We need enough resources to hit the window of opportunity created by AI’s rise, without diluting focus,” he says. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team aims to release the demo within the month, having accelerated their timeline dramatically. “We expected to be finished by year‑end, but we’re already twice as fast,” Brussee reports, underscoring the speed gains they attribute to AI integration.
The business model is still being refined. While Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of succeeding when its partners succeed, they consider it premature to make definitive statements about pricing or revenue sharing. Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity,” he says.
“If our technology can help bring innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing.”