For many years, the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, estimates suggest that around 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025 were built with one of those platforms.
While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made notable strides, and some large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely settled into a duopoly. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech history: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they are setting out to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine. "A few years ago the idea of building a modern, AI‑enhanced engine from the ground up seemed impossible," he said.
"Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and deliver full‑featured tools much faster than before." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is careful to clarify that the AI component is not about generating assets with a single prompt. "Our AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible," he noted. "Because AI can reason over large codebases, we can design the engine so that even solo developers or tiny teams can add custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.
The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development. Brussee described the market as "rough" and warned that production costs are spiralling. "Making games is getting more expensive every year," he said. "We need new ways to break that cycle—more efficient workflows, smaller teams, shorter timelines, and lower budgets—so studios don’t risk everything on a single title." De Jong, the chief product officer, observed 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. "Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t solve the challenges we face," he said. "We need a different approach, one that embraces flexibility rather than imposing a monolithic framework." Current engines often force developers to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the user’s needs instead.
"It has to be interchangeable, modular, and customizable," he explained. "If I want a tool that matches my workflow—specific shortcuts, UI layout, feature set—I should be able to build it directly into the engine. That level of personalization is what we’re aiming for." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it can accelerate development dramatically, it can also produce erratic results if left unchecked.
"We’re building Immens so that the user remains in full control," he said. "You can see exactly what the AI is doing, review its history, and ensure repeatability. This transparency lets you create throw‑away tools for one‑off tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait—in minutes instead of weeks." Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy.
De Jong stresses that the engine does not dictate a single workflow. "You decide how much AI you want to use and where," he said.
"Our architecture is deliberately open, so you can plug in the amount of automation that fits your project. The challenge is making sure the AI understands the context correctly, which is why we’re designing robust interfaces and clear data contracts." Interoperability is another pillar of the platform.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens aims to play nicely with the broader ecosystem of tools such as Blender, Maya, and various generative‑art pipelines. "When files are human‑readable, any tool can consume them," Brussee noted. "The AI can parse those files, modify them, and feed them back into the engine.
This creates a seamless bridge between different software, something that many proprietary engines still struggle with." The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some critics on LinkedIn warn of a future where a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, sparking fears of "click‑to‑game" solutions. Immens’ team acknowledges the hype but frames AI as a tool, not a replacement for craftsmanship.
"AI will make everyone better, not replace them," Valient said. "It’s a disruptive technology, but like any tool, it can be used responsibly or misused.
Our responsibility is to guide its use in a productive way." Economic concerns also loom large. The AI boom has attracted lofty valuations and speculation about a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: "The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; many companies fell away, but the underlying technology survived and grew. We’re focused on building a solid engine first, using AI to accelerate development and inspire bigger dreams. Whether this is a bubble or not, only time will tell." Funding for Immens remains modest.
The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against over‑capitalization, noting that too much money can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed.
"If you have endless cash, you risk losing the edge that comes from working with limited resources." The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers. This intentional size allows for rapid decision‑making and focused development. De Jong explains the trade‑off: "Building an engine is complex; you can’t throw a million engineers at it and expect miracles.
You need a small, dedicated team to iterate, make hard choices, and keep the vision clear. At the same time, we must scale enough to hit the market window created by AI’s rise. Balancing those forces is the challenge we’re navigating." Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team hopes to release the demo within the month, a timeline that has already outpaced their original expectations. "When we started in April, we thought we’d need until year‑end," Brussee recalled. "We’re now moving twice as fast, which makes it hard to give precise schedule estimates." The business model is still under discussion. While Immens admires Epic Games’ revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—they admit it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and the artistic expression they enable," Brussee concluded.
"We want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity, and more innovation built on technology like ours. That would be amazing."