For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has gained noticeable traction recently and large publishers continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been monopolized by the two giants. Enter Immens, a startup founded by three industry stalwarts—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a new way of building games.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they aim to challenge the status quo.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the landscape has changed in ways that didn’t exist a few years ago.” He points to AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that can let developers start from a clean slate and assemble functional systems much more quickly than before. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the company’s use of AI is not about “prompt‑and‑receive” magic. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “When the codebase is designed with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system, a bespoke animation pipeline, or any other feature without being limited to a narrow scripting layer,” he says.
The goal is to let creators harness AI to accelerate extensions rather than replace the creative process. The motivation behind this venture is rooted in the current economic pressures of the games market. Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” noting that development budgets keep climbing, making it harder for small studios to survive.
He asks whether the industry can discover new, more efficient workflows that reduce costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten time‑to‑market, thereby lowering the financial risk for creators. De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now needs genuine innovation, not just incremental improvements. He criticizes the “monolithic approach” of existing engines, which force developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, he envisions an engine that bends to the developer’s needs, allowing interchangeable components, custom tools, and personalized interfaces tailored to each project. Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. “If you don’t keep an eye on it, the system can go off the rails quickly,” he warns. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, track its decision history, and reproduce results reliably.
This level of oversight makes it possible to create throw‑away tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a unique trait in minutes instead of weeks—without sacrificing repeatability. Flexibility is a core design principle for Immens.
De Jong stresses that the framework does not impose a single workflow; developers decide how much AI to integrate and where. The architecture is deliberately open, supporting industry‑standard, text‑based file formats that any tool can read. Brussee points out that this openness enables seamless interoperability with software such as Blender, Maya, or other generative pipelines, because “everything can talk to each other at a level where the AI can understand and manipulate the data.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators hype “click‑to‑game” promises, suggesting that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’ team tempers such expectations, insisting that AI should be viewed as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. Valient believes AI will make developers better, not obsolete, while De Jong stresses the responsibility to use the technology ethically, just as with any other tool. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with fears of a valuation bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet persisted and grew stronger. He argues that Immens is focused on building a genuinely useful engine; AI simply accelerates their ability to dream bigger and deliver faster. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is committed to creating lasting value. Funding is still in its early stages.
Immens has secured “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused team can make decisive architectural choices without the overhead of a massive staff.
Balancing speed and resources is a delicate act. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, long‑term effort that cannot be rushed by simply adding more people. At the same time, there is a limited window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry.
The team aims to hit that sweet spot, securing enough funding to seize the moment while maintaining a scrappy, innovative culture. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. Brussee notes that the project, which began in April, is already progressing twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the productivity gains they anticipate from AI integration.
Regarding the business model, Brussee mentions admiration for Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it is too early to define a concrete revenue strategy. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art, encouraging risk‑taking and artistic experimentation.
As Brussee puts it, “We love games, we love complex expressions of the medium, and we want to see more creativity and innovation built on this kind of technology. That would be amazing."