For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces behind the majority of titles on platforms like Steam, accounting for roughly seventy percent of releases in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have begun to gain traction, the market still feels largely locked into these two proprietary powerhouses, with only a handful of large studios—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—venturing outside the duopoly. Enter Immens, a fledgling startup 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. The trio believes that despite the entrenched position of Unity and Unreal, there is still ample room for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings they see in today’s workflow. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform.
"A couple of years ago this kind of engine didn’t exist," he said. "Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again, under tight guidance, and get full‑featured functionality much faster." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI component is not about generating assets through simple prompts.
Instead, the technology is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. "AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," he noted.
"If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke AI routine without being limited to a tiny scripting layer. The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from the harsh economic reality of modern game development. Brussee described the current climate as "rough," pointing out that production costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for small teams to break even. "We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued.
"Otherwise studios risk their livelihoods on projects that may never see the light of day." De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, echoed this sentiment, observing that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a stable foundation, it has also stifled innovation.
"The industry now faces a suite of challenges, and simply iterating on the old model isn’t enough," he said. "We need a paradigm shift—flexibility over monoliths." One of the key criticisms De Jong has of existing engines is their "monolithic approach." Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, limiting creativity.
With AI, Immens aims to flip that script: the engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around. "You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and tailor the interface to your exact workflow," he explained.
"Imagine a designer who can craft a custom toolbar with the shortcuts and features they need for a specific project—this level of personalization is what we’re targeting." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is incredibly powerful, it can also produce unpredictable results if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is building transparency into the system: users will always see what the engine is doing, retain a full history of changes, and be able to reproduce results reliably. "You might once have spent weeks designing five characters with a particular trait; now you could prototype that over coffee," he said. "The tool can be used repeatedly and discarded when it’s no longer needed, dramatically reducing cost." Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy. De Jong stresses that the engine does not impose a single workflow; developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
"Our architecture is modular, so you can choose the degree of automation that fits your project," he added. "The AI must understand the context correctly, but the ultimate control stays with the creator." Interoperability is another pillar of the platform. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens aims to play nicely with industry‑standard tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative pipelines.
"When files are human‑readable, any tool can parse them," Brussee explained. "That means the AI can read, modify, and exchange data seamlessly across the ecosystem, something proprietary engines have struggled with." The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of "click‑to‑game" experiences where a single prompt spawns a GTA‑level world. Immens’ team is more measured.
They see AI as an accelerator, not a replacement. "AI will make every developer better, not eliminate the craft," Valient said. "It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also opens doors to creative possibilities we haven’t seen before." Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether the AI boom is a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many startups will fade, the underlying technology endures. "AI isn’t going away; the internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst," he remarked.
"Our focus is on building a solid engine that leverages AI to speed up development and enable bigger dreams. Whether the market is a bubble is uncertain, but the technology’s value is real." Funding for Immens remains modest.
The founders have secured initial 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," he laughed. "Too much money can make you lazy." The company remains tiny—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, iterative process that doesn’t benefit from a massive headcount.
"You need a focused team to make deliberate decisions and iterate quickly," he said. "At the same time, there’s a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, so we must balance resources with speed." Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month.
Brussee noted that the team originally expected to reach this milestone by year‑end, but they are already moving twice as fast as anticipated. "Timelines are fluid in this space, but the early progress is encouraging," he said.
Regarding the business model, Immens is still exploring options. While they admire Epic Games’ philosophy of sharing revenue only when developers succeed, they consider it premature to make definitive statements.
"We’re open to models that align our success with ours users’ success," Brussee said. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art.
"We love games and want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity," Brussee concluded. "If our engine can help bring bold, innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing."