For years, Unity and Unreal have been the de‑facto platforms for video‑game creation, together accounting for roughly seventy percent of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While open‑source options like Godot have enjoyed a surge in popularity, the majority of large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely dominated by the two giants.
Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of modern game development, featuring stints 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 that not only competes with the incumbents but also addresses the systemic problems that have begun to choke creativity and profitability. 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 enough anymore." He believes AI‑augmented programming can restore the ability to start projects from a clean slate, offering developers a way to assemble functional prototypes quickly while retaining deep control over the final product. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they are integrating is not the "prompt‑to‑art" variety that dominates headlines.
Instead, the artificial intelligence is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. "AI can reason about massive amounts of data and source code," he says.
"If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system, a bespoke animation pipeline, or any other feature without being limited to a narrow scripting layer. The goal is to let creators extend the engine as naturally as they would extend a library in a traditional programming environment." The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the current economic climate of game development, which Brussee describes as "rough." Production budgets continue to balloon, making it increasingly difficult for small teams to survive. "We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he asserts. "If we can achieve that, we reduce the existential risk for studios and independent creators alike." De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, points out that the engine market has entered a phase of "standardisation and consolidation." While this has produced reliable foundations, it has also led to a monolithic approach where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
He argues that the next evolution must be innovation, not merely iteration. "We need an engine that bends to the developer’s needs, not the other way around," he says.
Flexibility is a recurring theme in Immens’ design philosophy. De Jong envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their personal workflows. "Imagine being able to build an interface that mirrors exactly how you think, with shortcuts, panels, and features arranged just the way your team operates," he explains.
This level of customisation, he believes, will empower creators to focus on gameplay and narrative rather than wrestling with the engine itself. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While its analytical power can dramatically speed up repetitive tasks, it can also produce erratic results if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built around transparency: developers will always see what the AI is doing, retain a full history of changes, and be able to reproduce any outcome reliably. "You could, for instance, generate five unique characters with specific traits in the time it takes to drink a coffee," he notes. "That kind of rapid iteration used to cost thousands of dollars; now it becomes a routine part of the creative process." The engine’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow.
De Jong stresses that teams can decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. "The framework is open enough that you can integrate AI where it makes sense, and ignore it where you prefer manual control," he says. This modularity extends to file formats as well; Immens plans to adopt open, text‑based standards so that assets can be read and manipulated by any compatible tool, from Blender to Maya to custom pipelines. "When everything speaks a common language, interoperability becomes trivial," Brussee adds.
Public sentiment toward AI in game development is mixed. Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalise the idea that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level world, fueling fears of a "click‑to‑game" future.
Immens’ leadership acknowledges that such extremes may one day be possible, but they view AI primarily as an accelerator rather than a replacement for human creativity. "AI makes everyone better, not a substitute for talent," Valient states. "It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also has the power to unlock ideas that were previously out of reach." Economic concerns also swirl around the AI hype cycle, with many questioning whether the current valuations constitute a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet— persisted and flourished.
"We’re not betting on a bubble; we’re building a solid engine that happens to leverage AI to be faster and more ambitious," he says. "If the market corrects, the good products will survive." Funding for Immens remains modest and undisclosed. The founders have secured initial commitments but deliberately keep the amount vague, describing it as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑capitalisation, noting that excess cash can breed complacency.
"Startups need to stay scrappy; otherwise you lose the edge that drives innovation," he laughs. The team itself is intentionally lean: the three founders plus a handful of helpers. De Jong explains that creating a sophisticated engine does not require a thousand‑person army; a small, focused group can make more coherent decisions and iterate faster. Yet they also recognise a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry.
Balancing sufficient resources with a compact team is a strategic challenge they continue to navigate. Immens is currently aiming to deliver a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a full editing workflow powered by generative AI. The target is to release this demo within the month, a milestone that Brussee says is already being met ahead of schedule— "we’re roughly twice as fast as we originally projected," he notes. Timelines remain fluid, but the early progress suggests the approach is viable.
Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ revenue‑sharing philosophy—"we succeed when you succeed"—but admits it is too early to commit to a specific pricing structure. The company remains open to experimenting with licensing, subscription, or hybrid models as the product matures. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will catalyse a renaissance in game design. "We love games and we love the artistic expression they enable," Brussee concludes.
"We want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity, and more groundbreaking experiences. If Immens can provide the tools that make those dreams achievable, that would be amazing."