Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a noticeable surge in popularity in recent years and some major studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market. Enter Immens, a new venture 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.
The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine, and they see a chance to improve on the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform.
“There’s an opportunity now to build an engine that simply didn’t exist a couple of years ago,” he said. “With AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again, yet stay under tight guidance and control, delivering full‑featured tools much faster than before.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI component is not about generating content with a single prompt.
“Our AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible,” he noted. “Because AI can reason over large codebases and data sets, we design the engine so that even solo developers or small teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being limited to a tiny scripting layer.” This extensibility is intended to let creators iterate quickly, using AI as a productivity accelerator rather than a magic wand. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development. Brussee described the market as “rough.” Production budgets are inflating, development cycles are lengthening, and the risk of financial ruin for small studios is growing.
“We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery,” he argued. “If we can break that expensive cycle, we give developers a better chance to survive and thrive.” De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, pointed out that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces many challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it,” he said.
“What we need now is genuine innovation, not more of the same.” One of De Jong’s criticisms of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers often have to bend their workflows to fit the engine’s proprietary file formats and rigid toolsets. With AI, Immens aims to flip that dynamic, offering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he explained.
“You should be able to swap components, append new features, and build custom tools that match your exact workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you prefer.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can become unpredictable if left unchecked. “We’re building Immens so that the user remains in full control,” he said.
“You can see exactly what the engine is doing, trace its history, and ensure repeatable results. The AI assists, but it never takes the wheel away from the creator.” He illustrated this with a scenario: instead of spending weeks manually crafting five characters with a specific trait, a developer could describe the requirement to an AI‑augmented tool, generate the assets over a coffee break, use them a handful of times, and discard the helper once the task is complete. This on‑demand workflow dramatically reduces cost and time.
Immens’s design philosophy rejects a one‑size‑fits‑all workflow. De Jong emphasized that the framework and architecture are deliberately open, allowing users to decide how much AI to incorporate and where. “The engine should let you choose the level of AI assistance you need, while still guaranteeing that the AI interprets your instructions correctly,” he said.
Interoperability is another pillar of Immens. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can speak fluently with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
“When files are plain text, any program can read them,” Brussee noted. “That means the AI can parse, modify, and repurpose assets across the entire development stack, creating a seamless ecosystem rather than a closed, proprietary silo.” This openness, he argued, solves a long‑standing pain point where engines act as isolated islands that resist integration.
The broader conversation about AI in games is charged with both excitement and backlash. 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 founders acknowledge that such a vision may someday be feasible, but they stress that AI should be viewed as a tool, not a replacement for human creativity.
“AI will make everyone better, not take over the craft,” Valient asserted. “It’s disruptive, yes, but that disruption can lead to higher quality and more ambitious projects if used responsibly.” De Jong added a note of caution: “Every technology can be misused. It’s our duty to apply AI ethically and productively, just as we have with any other tool in history.” Economic anxieties also swirl around the AI boom, with critics warning of a bubble of over‑valued startups.
Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fade, the underlying technology endures. “AI isn’t disappearing any time soon,” he said. “The internet survived its bubble, and the same will happen with AI.
Our focus is on building a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development, not on chasing hype.” Funding for Immens remains modest at this stage. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against excessive capital, which can breed complacency. “Too much money can make a startup lazy,” he joked, emphasizing the need to stay scrappy and resource‑conscious.
The team itself is tiny—just the three founders and a handful of helpers. This lean structure is intentional, as De Jong explained that building a sophisticated engine does not require a massive workforce; instead, it demands focused decision‑making and iterative development. “You need a small, dedicated group to make thoughtful choices and refine the architecture,” he said. “At the same time, we have a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, so we must balance resources with speed.” Immens is currently aiming for a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team plans to release this demo within the month, already having accelerated their timeline dramatically. “When we started in April, we thought we’d be ready by year‑end,” Brussee recalled. “We’re now twice as fast as we expected, which makes it hard to predict exact milestones.” The business model is still under discussion.
While Immens appreciates Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” licensing approach, the founders admit it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy. Their ultimate goal, according to Brussee, is to empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games as an art form,” he said.
“We want to see more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation built on technology like ours. If we can help make that happen, that would be amazing.”