For years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly seventy percent of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made noticeable strides, most large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market firmly in the hands of the two giants. Enter Immens, a startup founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.

Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that there is still space for a fresh engine, and that the next generation of tools should be built with artificial intelligence at its core. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. “With AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again,” he said.

“Guided by smart automation, we can deliver full‑featured functionality much faster than traditional pipelines.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they envision is not the flashy, prompt‑based generation that dominates headlines. Instead, it is an engine‑wide reasoning layer that makes the codebase highly extensible. “If we design the architecture with AI in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke animation tool without wrestling with opaque scripting languages,” he noted.

“The AI helps you extend the engine quickly, not just create isolated assets.” The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from the harsh economic realities of modern game development. Brussee described the current climate as “rough,” pointing out that production budgets keep inflating while the odds of commercial success shrink.

“We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued. “If we can break the cycle of ever‑growing expenses, studios can protect their livelihoods and take more creative risks.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation.

“The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating old methods won’t solve them,” he said. “We need breakthrough ideas, not more of the same.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines. Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.

With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, delivering a platform that molds itself to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he explained.

“You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you require.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly veer off course if left unchecked. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, trace its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.

This level of oversight allows creators to build temporary, purpose‑built tools—like a script that generates five characters with a specific trait in minutes, rather than weeks—without sacrificing reliability. The architecture of Immens is deliberately agnostic.

It does not impose a single workflow or dictate how much AI you must use. Instead, the framework provides a modular foundation that lets teams decide where AI fits into their pipeline.

“You choose the degree of automation,” De Jong said. “Our job is to make sure the AI understands the context correctly, so it becomes a helpful assistant rather than a black box.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of the project.

By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens can communicate seamlessly with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑art system. “When files are plain text, any program can read and modify them,” Brussee noted. “That opens the door for smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain, something proprietary engines have historically resisted.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized.

Some commentators on LinkedIn hype a future where a single prompt can spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale world, fueling fears of a “click‑to‑game” apocalypse. Immens’s founders acknowledge that such extremes are possible but view AI primarily as an enhancer, not a replacement.

“AI will make every creator better,” Valient asserted. “It’s a tool that, if used responsibly, can elevate the whole industry.” Economic anxieties also linger, especially regarding the hype‑driven valuations that have characterized the AI boom.

Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com bubble: “The internet didn’t disappear; many over‑valued companies fell, but the technology persisted.” He believes Immens’s focus on building a genuinely useful engine will help it survive any market correction. Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments,” though the exact amount is undisclosed and described as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed.

“Too much money can make you lazy.” The team itself is tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explained the trade‑off: a massive crew doesn’t guarantee success, especially for a complex product like a game engine.

“You need a focused group to make deliberate decisions and iterate quickly,” he said. “There’s a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, and we must strike the balance between resources and agility.” 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, a timeline that has already outpaced their original estimate. “We aimed for an end‑of‑year launch when we started in April,” Brussee recalled.

“We’re now twice as fast as we thought possible.” Business‑model discussions are still in early stages. While Immens admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” revenue share, they haven’t committed to any specific approach yet.

Brussee emphasized that the ultimate aim is to empower developers to create more ambitious, creative experiences. In closing, Brussee expressed hope that Immens will catalyze a new wave of artistic risk‑taking in games.

“We love games and the complex expressions they enable,” he said. “If our technology helps studios push boundaries and innovate, that would be amazing.”