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 open‑source alternatives such as Godot have enjoyed notable growth, the market still leans heavily toward proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example.
In this landscape, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—believe there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine. The trio’s résumés read like a who's‑who of modern game tech: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they founded Immens with the ambition to challenge the status quo and give developers a more flexible, AI‑enhanced toolkit. 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 sufficient anymore." He argues that AI‑assisted programming now lets teams start from a clean slate without having to wrestle with legacy constraints.
"With the right amount of guidance and control, you can build something that delivers full functionality quickly," he said. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they are integrating is not the sort of generative prompt‑to‑image magic that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it 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 add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without being limited to a tiny scripting layer.
The AI becomes a catalyst for rapid extension rather than a replacement for human creativity." The motivation behind Immens is also economic. Brussee described the current market as "rough," noting that development costs keep climbing and that many studios struggle to stay afloat. "We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he said.
"If we can break the cycle of ever‑increasing expense, we protect studios and the people who rely on them." De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation.
"The industry now faces a range of challenges, and simply repeating old methods won’t solve them," he argued. "We need a different approach—flexibility over monoliths." Current engines often force developers into a monolithic workflow, complete with proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the developer’s needs instead. "You should be able to swap components, append new features, or build entirely custom tools that match your personal workflow," he explained.
"Imagine a tool that mirrors your exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set—tailored for your project and team. That level of personalization is what we aim to enable." Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked.
"We’re building Immens so that the user remains in full control," he said. "You can see what the engine is doing, trace its history, and ensure repeatability.
This transparency lets you create disposable, highly specific tools—like a script that generates five characters with a unique trait in minutes, something that used to take weeks." Flexibility is baked into Immens from the ground up. De Jong stresses that the engine does not impose a single workflow or a mandatory level of AI integration. "You decide how much AI you want to use and where," he said. "Our architecture simply provides the scaffolding for those choices while ensuring the AI interprets your intent correctly." Interoperability is another cornerstone.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens aims to play nicely with existing tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative asset pipeline. "When files are human‑readable, any software can parse them," Brussee noted. "That means the AI can read, modify, and exchange data across the whole production stack, eliminating the siloed nature of many current engines." The broader AI conversation in game development is often charged with hype and fear.
Some pundits on LinkedIn claim that a simple prompt could soon spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens acknowledges the potential for "click‑to‑game" fantasies but treats AI primarily as a productivity enhancer. "AI will make every developer better, not replace them," Valient asserted.
"The current negative perception stems from the sheer scale of disruption, but tools have always reshaped creative fields." Economic anxieties also linger, especially regarding the possibility of an AI bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many speculative companies vanished, the underlying internet survived and thrived. "We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our vision.
Whether the market is in a bubble is unknown, but good technology endures." Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against over‑funding, saying it can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy; too much cash can make you lazy," he laughed. The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design.
De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team does not guarantee success in building a complex engine, yet a window of opportunity exists as AI reshapes the industry. "We need enough resources to hit that window without drowning in unnecessary headcount," he said. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original estimate; what they thought would take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and the complex artistic expression they enable," Brussee concluded. "We want more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation built on technology like ours.
If we can help make that happen, it would be amazing."