For many years, the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, by 2025 roughly 70 % of all titles launched on Steam were built with one of those platforms. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have made noticeable strides, most large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example. Consequently, the market has seemed locked into a duopoly.
Enter Immens, the brainchild of three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of game‑tech pedigree: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that there is still room for a fresh engine, and more importantly, room for a fundamentally different approach to building games. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform because "the tools that existed a couple of years ago simply aren’t sufficient any more." He believes AI‑assisted programming can revive the notion of building a game from the ground up, offering developers a higher degree of guidance while still preserving creative control.
"With AI‑supported coding you can start from scratch again and get full‑featured systems up quickly," he said. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is careful to distinguish their vision of AI from the hype that surrounds generative text‑to‑image or text‑to‑code tools.
"We’re not talking about prompting a whole game into existence," he clarified. "Our AI is woven into the engine’s architecture so that the codebase becomes highly extensible. The AI can reason over large amounts of data and source code, making it easier for solo developers or small teams to add custom features—say, a bespoke particle system—without wrestling with opaque scripting layers." The motivation behind this AI‑centric engine is rooted in the current economic climate of the games industry.
Brussee describes the environment as "rough" and notes that development costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for studios to stay viable. "We need new ways of working that lower expenses, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued.
"If we can break the cycle of ever‑growing budgets, we protect studios, creators, and ultimately the diversity of games that reach players." De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced solid foundations, it also stifles innovation. "The industry is facing a host of challenges, and simply repeating the same processes won’t solve them," he said.
"What we need now is genuine innovation, not more of the same." One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the "monolithic" nature of current engines. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, limiting flexibility. With AI, Immens aims to flip that script: the engine should adapt to the developer’s workflow, not the other way around. "Flexibility means you can swap components, append new modules, or build entirely custom tools that match your personal workflow," he explained.
"Imagine a designer who can craft a UI that mirrors their exact shortcuts, feature set, and interface preferences—everything tailored to the project at hand." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it can dramatically speed up tasks, it can also produce unexpected results if left unchecked. "We’re designing Immens so that users remain in the driver’s seat," he said.
"You always know what the engine is doing, you can trace its decisions, and you can reproduce them reliably. This transparency lets you create throw‑away tools for specific problems—like generating five characters with a unique trait in minutes instead of weeks—without sacrificing control." Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy. The engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it provides a modular architecture that lets teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
"You choose the level of AI assistance that fits your pipeline," De Jong added. "The key is ensuring the AI understands the context correctly, so it becomes a reliable partner rather than a black box." Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’ design.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can seamlessly communicate with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. "When files are human‑readable, any system can parse them," Brussee noted. "That means the AI can ingest assets, modify them, and hand them back to the engine without losing fidelity. Open standards break down the silos that have historically isolated engines from the broader creative ecosystem." The broader conversation around AI in game development is charged with both excitement and backlash.
Some commentators on LinkedIn predict a future where a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fears of a "click‑to‑game" era. Immens’ founders temper those expectations, positioning AI as a powerful tool rather than a magic wand. "AI will make everyone better, but it won’t replace the craft of game design," Valient asserted. "It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also opens doors to creativity we haven’t seen before." Economic concerns also linger, especially given the recent surge of AI‑focused startups and the specter of a valuation bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet—persisted and flourished. "AI isn’t going away. Some companies will fail, but the good ones that solve real problems will survive. Our goal is simply to build a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development and inspire bigger dreams.
Whether we’re in a bubble is unknown, but history shows bubbles burst only after they’ve already reshaped the landscape." Funding for Immens remains modest at this stage. The founders have secured "first commitments" but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy; too much money can make you lazy," he laughed.
The team itself remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional size allows for rapid decision‑making and focused development.
De Jong explains the trade‑off: "Building an engine is complex, but you don’t need a thousand engineers to get it right. A small, dedicated group can iterate faster and keep the vision coherent.
At the same time, we must time our effort to capture the window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise." Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee says is already twice as fast as originally projected. "We started in April and aimed for year‑end; now we’re ahead of schedule," he reported, underscoring the speed gains they attribute to AI‑enhanced development.
Business‑model discussions are still in early stages. While Immens admires Epic Games’ revenue‑share philosophy—"we succeed when you succeed"—they have not committed to any specific arrangement yet.
The founders remain focused on delivering a compelling product before finalizing monetization strategies. Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will empower creators to push the artistic and technical boundaries of games. "We love games and want to see more daring, innovative experiences," Brussee concluded.
"If our engine can lower the barriers and inspire risk‑taking, that would be amazing for the whole industry."