For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces shaping the video‑game development landscape, accounting for roughly seventy percent of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have enjoyed a surge in popularity and some large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech powerhouses, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they argue that despite the apparent saturation, there remains ample space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee highlighted a timing advantage, noting that “there’s an opportunity now to build a new engine that didn’t exist a couple of years ago.” He believes AI‑assisted programming can revive the notion of building tools from the ground up, providing developers with rapid, full‑featured functionality while retaining tight oversight. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑to‑art” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“AI can reason about massive codebases and data sets,” he explains. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even small teams or solo creators can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle system—without being limited to superficial scripting.” This philosophy aims to give developers the freedom to augment the engine quickly and safely. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑centric approach stems from a bleak industry outlook.
Brussee describes the current climate as “rough,” emphasizing that game development costs are spiralling, making financial success increasingly elusive. He asks whether new workflows can break the cycle of ever‑higher budgets and larger teams, allowing creators to produce quality experiences with fewer resources and less risk. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While this has yielded a stable foundation, he argues that the industry now needs genuine innovation rather than incremental tweaks.
“Continuing to do things the way we always have is not enough,” he says. “We need a different paradigm.” One of the pain points De Jong identifies in existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers must conform to rigid pipelines, proprietary file formats, and inflexible toolsets. With AI, Immens envisions an engine that molds itself to the developer’s workflow. “It needs to be very flexible,” he notes.
“You can swap components, append new features, or build entirely custom tools that match your personal shortcuts, interface preferences, and project requirements.” Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. He stresses that Immens will keep users in the driver’s seat, offering full transparency over the engine’s actions and histories. This repeatable, controllable environment allows creators to craft bespoke solutions—such as generating five distinct characters with specific traits—in a fraction of the time traditionally required, turning what once cost weeks into a coffee‑break exercise.
Flexibility is a core design pillar. De Jong insists that Immens will not impose a singular workflow; instead, it will provide a modular architecture where developers decide how much AI to integrate and where to apply it.
The engine will also embrace open standards, enabling seamless interoperability with tools like Blender, Maya, or other generative pipelines. Brussee points out that text‑based file formats are universally readable, allowing AI to parse and manipulate assets across the ecosystem. This openness counters the “weird outlier” nature of many current engines, which often lock users into closed ecosystems. The broader conversation around AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalize the technology, claiming that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world. Immens’s team tempers such hype, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magical button. Valient envisions a future where AI elevates the entire industry, making both blockbuster and indie projects better, while acknowledging the disruptive perception that accompanies rapid change.
Economic concerns also surface, particularly fears of an AI bubble with inflated valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fade, the underlying technology endures.
“AI isn’t disappearing,” he asserts. “We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our ability to dream bigger and iterate faster.” Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its “first commitments,” but the founders have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against excessive capital, noting that abundant cash can breed complacency and reduce the scrappy mindset essential for early‑stage startups. The company currently consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers, deliberately staying lean to maintain agility. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act. De Jong explains that creating a sophisticated engine cannot be achieved by simply throwing a million developers at the problem; a focused, small team must make strategic decisions over time.
Yet there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, and Immens aims to strike the right balance between resources and speed. The team is already working on a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month. Brussee notes that the project, which began in April, is progressing twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the efficiency gains AI can deliver. Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach.
Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will enable creators to push the artistic and technical boundaries of games, fostering more risk‑taking, creativity, and innovation. “We all love games,” he says. “We want to see more daring, expressive experiences built on technology like this.
That would be amazing.”