For years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game creators, accounting for roughly 70 % of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While Godot has been gaining traction and some studios cling to proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly. Into this landscape step three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine. The trio’s résumés read like a highlight reel of modern game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Their new venture, Immens, is set to challenge the status quo by building an engine 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 for a new platform.
“A few years ago this kind of engine didn’t exist,” he said. “With AI‑assisted programming we can start from a clean slate and get full‑featured tools up and running much faster than before.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI component is not about generating assets from a single prompt. Instead, it is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “AI can reason over large 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 animation pipeline without being limited to a handful of scripts.” This approach aims to give developers the freedom to extend the engine quickly, using AI as a productivity accelerator rather than a replacement for human creativity. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development.
Brussee described the market as “rough,” pointing out that production budgets keep inflating while the risk of failure grows. “We need new ways of working that lower costs and let smaller teams ship games faster,” he argued. The goal is to break the cycle where escalating expenses force studios into unsustainable business models.
De Jong, the chief product officer, warned that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced solid foundations, he believes the industry now requires genuine innovation.
“Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done isn’t enough,” he said. “We need a different approach that embraces flexibility.” One of the pain points he highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines.
Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens intends to flip that dynamic, allowing the engine to adapt to the developer’s needs. “You should be able to swap components, add new tools, and tailor the interface to your exact workflow,” De Jong explained. “If I need a shortcut that mirrors my background, I can build it directly into the engine.” Valient also cautioned that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked.
Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure reproducibility. This level of oversight is crucial for creative pipelines where a developer might need to generate five unique characters in a morning, a task that previously could take weeks. With AI‑assisted tools, the same outcome could be achieved over coffee, dramatically reducing cost and time. Flexibility is baked into Immens’ design philosophy.
De Jong stressed that the engine does not force a single workflow; instead, it provides a modular framework where developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where. “The architecture is open‑ended so you can pick and choose the AI components that make sense for your project,” he said.
Interoperability is another cornerstone. By relying on open, text‑based standards, Immens can communicate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI system. “When files are plain text, any program can read them,” Brussee noted. “That means the AI can parse project assets and integrate them without the friction that proprietary engines often introduce.” This openness could solve a long‑standing issue where engines act as closed ecosystems, hindering collaboration across different software.
The broader AI debate in game development is far from settled. Some critics warn of a future where a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, sparking fears of “click‑to‑game” shortcuts. Immens acknowledges these concerns but frames AI as a tool rather than a replacement. “AI will make everyone better, not eliminate the craft,” Valient asserted.
“It’s a disruptive technology, but like any tool, its impact depends on how responsibly we use it.” Economic anxieties also surface, with many questioning whether the AI boom is a bubble. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, arguing that while some companies will fail, the underlying technology will endure.
“AI isn’t disappearing; it’s becoming the backbone of new workflows,” he said. “Our focus is on building a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development, not on chasing hype.” Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its first round of commitments, though the founders have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed.
“Being lean forces you to make smart decisions.” The team itself is tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This lean structure is intentional, allowing rapid iteration while avoiding the pitfalls of a massive, unwieldy organization. De Jong explained the balancing act: “You can’t throw a million developers at an engine and expect it to work. You need a focused group that can make critical decisions and iterate quickly.” Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a full editing workflow powered by generative AI, slated for release later this month.
The timeline has already outpaced original expectations; what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. As for the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue strategy.
The ultimate ambition, however, is clear: to empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions,” Brussee concluded.
“If our technology can help studios take bigger creative risks and deliver innovative experiences, that would be amazing."