For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces shaping game development, accounting for roughly 70% of all Steam releases in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction, most large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market seemingly locked into a duopoly. Enter Immens, a startup founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together, they believe there is still room for a fresh engine that not only competes with the incumbents but also addresses the systemic issues that are driving development costs sky‑high.
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 don’t exist any more.” He argues that AI‑assisted programming now makes it possible to rebuild core systems from the ground up while keeping a tight grip on direction and quality. “With a lot of guidance and control, you can create something that delivers full functionality quickly,” he said. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they are integrating is not the kind that generates content from a single prompt. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
“AI can reason over large amounts of data and code,” he noted. “If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke animation pipeline without being limited to a handful of scripting hooks.” This approach aims to let developers extend the engine as fast as they can imagine, using AI as a catalyst rather than a crutch. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Production budgets keep inflating, and the risk of a project failing can jeopardize an entire studio.
He asks, “Can we find new ways of working? Can we make games with smaller teams, tighter schedules, and lower budgets?” The answer, according to the founders, lies in leveraging AI to streamline repetitive tasks and accelerate iteration, thereby breaking the costly cycle that has become the norm.
De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While this has provided a stable foundation, it also means the industry is stuck with monolithic tools that force developers to adapt to rigid file formats and workflows. He envisions an engine that bends to the user’s needs: “It needs to be very flexible.
You can interchange, append, modify, and even build your own tools exactly the way you need them.” For De Jong, this flexibility is not a luxury but a necessity for fostering innovation. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
It is “really powerful,” yet it can “go off the rails quickly if you don’t pay attention.” To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency at its core. Users will always see what the engine is doing, have access to its decision history, and be able to reproduce results reliably. This level of control is crucial when, for example, generating five characters with specific traits that would previously have taken weeks; with AI‑assisted tools, a developer could prototype them over a coffee break and discard the temporary workflow once the job is done.
Flexibility extends to the engine’s openness. Immens plans to rely on text‑based, open standards so that any compatible software—Blender, Maya, or future generative tools—can communicate seamlessly. Brussee explains, “When files are text‑based, anything can read them.
The AI can ingest those files, manipulate them, and output results that other tools understand.” This interoperability aims to solve a long‑standing pain point where proprietary engines act as isolated islands, hindering collaboration across the broader development ecosystem. The conversation around AI in games is often polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” engines that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt.
Immens’s team tempers such hype, emphasizing that AI is a tool, not a magic wand. Valient says, “Big games will still be made because AI makes everyone better. The current negative perception stems from the disruption AI causes at an unprecedented scale.” De Jong adds that responsible use of AI is a collective duty, much like any powerful technology throughout history.
Economic concerns also surface, 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 fail, the underlying technology—here, AI—will endure and evolve. “We are focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our ability to dream bigger and ship faster,” he asserts.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital raise as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. The company intentionally remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—to stay agile and make deliberate, high‑impact decisions. 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 twice as fast as anticipated. While the exact business model is still being refined, Brussee appreciates Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early for concrete commitments. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the boundaries of what games can be.
“We love games and want to see more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation,” says Brussee. “If our technology can help bring that vision to life, that would be amazing.”