For many years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in game development, accounting for roughly seventy percent of Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and some studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been monopolized by the two giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens, a startup intent on shaking up the status quo with an AI‑enhanced game engine. The founders bring a heavyweight résumé to the table.
Brussee and De Jong have spent time at Epic Games, the creators of Unreal, while Valient’s background includes stints at Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and Apple. Their combined experience spans the full spectrum of engine development, from low‑level rendering pipelines to high‑level tooling, and they believe there is still room for a fresh approach. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because "a few years ago the technology simply didn’t exist." He points to AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that allows developers to start from a clean slate while still receiving strong guidance and rapid functionality. "With AI‑supported coding, you can rebuild things from the ground up and get a fully‑featured system up and running much faster," he said.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI component is not about generating assets with a single prompt. Instead, it focuses on making the engine itself highly extensible. "AI can reason over massive 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 system—without being limited to simple scripting. The AI helps them extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation behind Immens is also rooted in the current economic climate of game development.
Brussee described the market as "rough," emphasizing that production costs are spiraling upward, making it harder for smaller studios to survive. "We need new workflows that cut expenses, let us ship with fewer people, and reduce risk for studios," he argued. De Jong echoed this sentiment, noting that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated, offering a solid foundation but lacking the innovation required to tackle emerging challenges. One of the core criticisms De Jong has of existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can stifle creativity. By contrast, Immens aims to be a chameleon—an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs. "Flexibility is key," he said. "You should be able to swap components, add new tools, and tailor the interface to match your personal workflow.
Whether you need a shortcut for a specific art style or a custom UI for your team, the engine should accommodate that." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it offers immense power, it can also veer off course if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built around transparency and control. Users can see exactly what the AI is doing, track its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This level of oversight enables developers to create disposable, highly specialized tools—such as a rapid character generator—that can be used a handful of times and then discarded, dramatically lowering the cost of what used to be weeks‑long tasks.
Immens’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is modular, letting teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. "We provide the scaffolding; you decide the construction method," he explained. The engine also embraces open standards, meaning that files are text‑based and easily readable by other software.
This openness facilitates seamless integration with popular tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline, eliminating the interoperability headaches that often plague proprietary engines. The broader conversation around AI in game development is charged with both excitement and skepticism. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of "click‑to‑game" experiences that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale worlds from a single prompt.
Immens’s team tempers those expectations, viewing AI primarily as a productivity enhancer rather than a magic wand. Valient believes AI will make developers better, not replace them, and stresses the responsibility to wield the technology ethically.
Economic concerns also surface, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are caught in a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology—like the internet—persists. "Our goal is to build a solid engine that stands on its own merits; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination," he said.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its first round of commitments but has not disclosed the exact amount, describing it as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑funding, suggesting that excess capital can breed complacency. The company deliberately remains lean, consisting of the three founders and a handful of helpers, believing that a small, focused team can make more decisive progress than a bloated organization.
Currently, Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team aimed for an end‑of‑year release when they started in April, but they are already moving at double that speed, indicating rapid iteration and a promising trajectory. As for the business model, Brussee admires Epic Games’ philosophy of succeeding when developers succeed, but he admits it is too early to cement a definitive approach.
Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art, fostering risk‑taking and innovation in an industry that increasingly feels constrained by cost and complexity. "We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions," Brussee concluded. "If our technology can help bring that vision to life, it would be amazing."