For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game creators, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has enjoyed notable growth, most major studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—and the market has largely been dominated by the two giants. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by 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 creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the current landscape and introduces meaningful improvements. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform.
“A few years ago the idea of building a modern engine from the ground up didn’t make sense,” he said. “Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and get functional features up quickly while maintaining tight control.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI component is not about magical prompts that conjure entire games. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over large codebases and data sets,” he noted.
“If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being limited to a handful of scripts.” This extensibility is intended to accelerate the creation of new tools and features, allowing developers to iterate faster than ever before. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑centric approach stems from the current economic pressures in game development.
Brussee described the market as “rough,” pointing out that production costs are soaring and the risk of failure is higher than ever. “We need new ways of working that reduce budgets, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery,” he argued. “If we can cut the development cycle, studios can protect their livelihoods and take more creative risks.” De Jong, the chief product officer, highlighted a broader industry trend: a wave of standardisation and consolidation around a few dominant engines.
While this has provided a solid technical foundation, it has also stifled innovation. “The industry is at a crossroads,” he said.
“Continuing to do things the same way won’t solve the emerging challenges. We need genuine innovation, not just more of the same.” One of the pain points De Jong identified with existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. By contrast, Immens aims to be a chameleon‑like platform that molds itself to the developer’s needs.
“Flexibility is key,” he explained. “You should be able to swap components, add new ones, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you prefer.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it offers powerful capabilities, it can also behave unpredictably if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency and control at its core. “When you use the engine, you always know what it’s doing and why,” he said. “You can trace the history of any operation, ensuring repeatability and allowing you to create bespoke tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a unique trait in minutes instead of weeks.” The platform’s design philosophy deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow on users.
De Jong emphasized that the engine provides a framework, not a prescription. “You decide how much AI you want to incorporate and where,” he said. “Our job is to make sure the AI understands the context correctly, but the creative decisions remain in the developer’s hands.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can seamlessly communicate with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
“If the data is readable, the AI can manipulate it,” Brussee noted. “Open standards break down the walls that proprietary engines have built, enabling smoother pipelines and smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain.” The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized.
Some critics warn of a future where a simple prompt could generate a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, sparking fears of a “click‑to‑game” era. Immens’s team sees AI more modestly—as an enhancer rather than a replacement. Valient believes AI will make developers better, not obsolete.
“It’s a tool, like any other technology,” he asserted. “It can be misused, but it also has the potential to elevate the quality of games across the board.” Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are caught in a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com boom, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet—persisted and flourished.
“We’re focused on building a solid engine first,” he said. “AI helps us iterate faster and dream bigger, but the core product must stand on its own merits.” Funding for Immens remains modest at this stage. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑capitalisation, warning that excess cash can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Too much money can make you lazy.” The company remains a lean operation, consisting of the three founders and a handful of auxiliary contributors. This intentional small size allows rapid decision‑making and focused development. De Jong explains the delicate balance: “Building an engine is complex—you can’t throw a million engineers at it and expect miracles.
You need a tight, skilled team to make thoughtful choices, especially as we chase a narrow window of opportunity created by AI’s rise.” Immens is currently racing toward 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.
“When we started in April, we thought we’d be ready by year‑end,” Brussee recalled. “We’re already twice as fast as expected, which makes it hard to predict exact milestones.” The business model is still taking shape. While Immens admires Epic Games’ revenue‑share approach—where the engine succeeds when its users succeed—they admit it’s too early to lock in a definitive plan. “We’re exploring options,” Brussee said.
“The right model will emerge as we learn more about our community and their needs.” Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and the artistic expression they enable,” Brussee concluded. “We want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity, and more innovation built on technology like ours. If we can help make that happen, it would be amazing."