For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces shaping video‑game development, accounting for roughly 70 % of Steam releases projected for 2025. While open‑source options like Godot have made notable strides, many major studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely consolidated around the two giants.
Enter Immens, a startup founded by three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still space for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a better way to build games. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they aim to challenge the status quo with a platform that leverages artificial intelligence not as a gimmick but as a structural advantage. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right: "There’s an opportunity now to build a new engine that didn’t exist a couple of years ago.
With AI‑assisted programming, you can start from scratch again while staying under tight guidance and control, delivering full‑featured tools quickly." Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI embedded in their engine is fundamentally different from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑content” tools that dominate headlines. "Our AI is about making the engine itself extensible," he said. "Because AI can reason over large codebases, we design the architecture so that even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being confined to a narrow scripting layer. The goal is to let creators extend the engine faster and more intuitively." The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from a harsh reality in the games market.
Brussee described the current climate as "rough": development costs are soaring, budgets are ballooning, and the risk of failure is higher than ever. "We need new ways of working that lower expenses and let smaller teams deliver high‑quality experiences faster," he argued. The trio sees AI as a lever to break the costly cycle that threatens the livelihood of many studios.
De Jong, Immens’s chief product officer, observed that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation.
"The industry now faces a series of challenges, and merely repeating past practices won’t solve them. We need genuine innovation, not more standardisation," he asserted.
He criticized the "monolithic" nature of existing engines, which force developers to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, he envisions an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs. Flexibility is a core tenet of Immens.
De Jong explained that users should be able to swap components, append new features, and craft personalized tools that match their exact workflow. "Imagine being able to build an interface with the shortcuts, panels, and features that fit your team’s unique process—nothing more, nothing less," he said. Valient warned, however, that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is "really powerful," it can also veer off course if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency in mind: developers can see what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This level of control allows creators to generate bespoke tools for specific tasks—such as generating five characters with a particular trait—in minutes rather than weeks, dramatically reducing cost and time. The platform does not impose a single workflow. De Jong emphasized that the architecture is deliberately open, letting teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
"We want the framework to be adaptable, so you can choose the amount of AI assistance that makes sense for your project," he noted, while also stressing the importance of reliable AI interpretation. Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’s design. By adopting open, text‑based standards, the engine can seamlessly exchange data with popular tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
"When files are plain text, any system can read them," Brussee explained. "The AI can parse those files and act on them, enabling smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain. This is something proprietary engines have historically resisted." The broader industry conversation about AI in game development is polarized.
Some pundits on LinkedIn claim that future engines will let anyone conjure a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world with a single prompt. Immens’s founders acknowledge the hype but view AI primarily as a productivity enhancer, not a replacement for human creativity. Valient said, "Big games and everything in between will be made better because AI lifts everyone's capabilities. The negative perception stems from the scale of disruption we’ve never seen before." De Jong added a note of responsibility: "AI is a tool, like any other technology.
It can be misused, but it’s up to us as an industry to apply it responsibly and productively." Economic concerns also loom large. Critics warn that the AI boom could be a bubble with inflated valuations.
Valient responded calmly, drawing a parallel to the dot‑com era: "AI isn’t disappearing. The internet survived the bubble; many companies vanished, but the technology endured.
We’re focused on building a solid engine. Whether the market is a bubble is uncertain, but good products survive regardless of hype." Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital as "reasonable." Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency: "Too much money makes a startup lazy; you lose the scrappy mindset that drives innovation." The team itself is deliberately lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This small size is intentional, allowing rapid decision‑making while avoiding the pitfalls of a massive, unwieldy organization.
De Jong explained the trade‑off: building an engine is complex and cannot be rushed by throwing a million engineers at it, yet timing is critical to capture the window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise. Immens is currently targeting 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 has already outpaced their original expectation of end‑of‑year delivery. "We’re moving twice as fast as we thought we would," Brussee said, highlighting the speed gains that AI can deliver.
Regarding the business model, Brussee mentioned admiration for Epic Games’ "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy, but admitted it is too early to lock in a definitive approach. The ultimate ambition, however, is clear: to empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and the complex artistic expression they represent.
We want more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation built on technology like ours. That would be amazing," Brussee concluded. In summary, Immens aims to combine AI‑enhanced extensibility, open standards, and a developer‑first philosophy to carve out a new niche in a market dominated by Unity and Unreal. By focusing on flexibility, transparency, and responsible AI use, the trio hopes to lower barriers for indie teams, accelerate production pipelines, and ultimately reinvigorate the industry with fresh, daring experiences.