For more than a decade, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for game developers, accounting for roughly seventy percent of the titles that landed on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have enjoyed notable growth, most large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—and the market has seemed firmly locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still space for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings of the current offerings. Their résumés read like a hall of fame: 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 because "the tools that existed a couple of years ago simply aren’t enough any more." He points to advances in AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that lets developers start from a clean slate again. "With the right guidance and control, you can build something that delivers full functionality quickly," he said.
Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they are integrating is not the kind of "prompt‑to‑image" magic that dominates headlines. Instead, their AI is designed to make the engine itself highly extensible.
"AI can reason over large codebases and data sets," he noted. "If we architect the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle system—without being limited to a handful of scripts.
The AI helps them extend the engine faster and more reliably." The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the harsh economic realities facing game creators today. Brussee describes the market as "rough," emphasizing that development costs keep climbing, making it harder for studios to stay afloat.
"We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued. "Otherwise you risk your livelihood and the future of your studio." De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that stability provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation.
"The industry is confronting a range of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it," he said. "What we need now is genuine innovation, not more standardization." A key criticism De Jong levels at existing engines is their "monolithic approach." Developers are forced to conform to proprietary file formats and workflows, which can be inflexible. By contrast, Immens aims to let the engine adapt to the developer’s needs.
"Flexibility is essential," he explained. "You should be able to swap components, append new features, modify existing tools, and even build entirely custom interfaces that match your team’s habits and project requirements." Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can also misbehave if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built around transparency and user control. "When you use the engine, you always know what it’s doing, why it made a particular decision, and you can reproduce that behavior later," he said. This auditability is crucial for creative pipelines where a developer might need to generate five characters with specific traits in minutes—a task that previously could take weeks of manual work. With AI‑assisted tools, the same output can be achieved over a coffee break, dramatically reducing cost.
The architecture of Immens is deliberately agnostic about workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework does not dictate a single way of working; instead, it provides a scaffold that developers can shape. "You decide how much AI you want to employ and where it fits into your pipeline," he noted.
"The challenge is ensuring the AI interprets your intent correctly, which is why we focus on robust, open‑standard interfaces." Open standards are another cornerstone of Immens’ philosophy. By using text‑based file formats, the engine can interoperate with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI system.
"If the files are readable as plain text, any AI can parse and manipulate them," Brussee explained. This openness contrasts with many proprietary engines that act as closed ecosystems, making cross‑tool integration a nightmare.
Immens wants to enable seamless communication between all parts of the development stack, fostering a more collaborative environment. The AI debate in game development is polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn hype "click‑to‑game" engines that could conjure a Grand Theft Auto‑style experience from a single prompt. Immens’ team acknowledges that such extremes may eventually be possible, but they view AI primarily as a productivity enhancer, not a replacement for human creativity. "AI will make every developer better, not eliminate the need for skilled artisans," Valient asserted.
He also warned that AI’s disruptive nature has generated negative perceptions, but emphasized responsible usage. Economic concerns also swirl around the AI boom, with many questioning whether the sector is a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies simply vanished, while the underlying technology endured.
"We’re focused on building a solid engine that stands on its own merits. AI accelerates us, but the core product must be valuable regardless of market hype," he said. Funding for Immens remains modest and undisclosed. The founders have secured "first commitments" but have deliberately kept the exact amount vague, describing it as "reasonable." Brussee cautioned against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
"Startups need to stay scrappy; otherwise you lose the edge that drives innovation." The team itself is lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This small size is intentional, as De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, iterative process that benefits from tight coordination rather than a massive workforce. "You need a focused group to make critical decisions and iterate quickly," he said.
At the same time, they recognize a narrow window of opportunity created by the convergence of AI advances and industry upheaval, and they are balancing resources to hit that sweet spot. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, demonstrating how developers can manipulate assets and code with AI assistance.
Brussee noted that the project, which began in April, is already moving twice as fast as originally projected, underscoring the speed gains they hope AI can deliver. Business‑model discussions are still in their infancy. While Immens admires Epic Games’ revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—they admit it’s too early to commit to a specific monetisation strategy. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver more innovative experiences to players worldwide.
"We love games and want to see more daring, creative work," Brussee concluded. "If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing."