For years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game creators, accounting for roughly 70 % of all Steam releases projected for 2025. While Godot has carved out a modest niche and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly dominated by the two giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned developers—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens, a venture that aims to introduce a fresh, AI‑enhanced engine into the crowded space.
The founders’ résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their collective background gives them a unique perspective on the limitations of existing tools and the opportunities that modern AI can unlock.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the possibilities that didn’t exist a couple of years ago are now within reach thanks to AI‑supported programming.” He believes developers can now start from a clean slate, using AI to accelerate the construction of core systems while retaining tight oversight. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
“If we design the engine with AI in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he said. The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a reasoning engine that can navigate large codebases and suggest or generate functional additions. One of the driving forces behind Immens is the current economic climate of game development, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Production budgets are ballooning, and the risk of failure is high for small studios. “We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up delivery,” he argued.
The trio sees AI as a lever to break the cycle of ever‑increasing expenses, allowing teams to prototype and iterate faster while maintaining creative control. De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has produced stable foundations, it also stifles innovation.
“The industry is at a crossroads; we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done,” he warned. He criticizes current engines for their monolithic nature—developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. By contrast, Immens aims to be a chameleon, reshaping itself to fit the developer’s needs. “You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and build interfaces that match exactly how you work,” De Jong explained.
Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword: powerful but prone to runaway behavior if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency at its core.
Users can see what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This level of control allows developers to generate assets or scripts on the fly—imagine creating five distinct characters with specific traits over a coffee break—then discard the temporary tools once the job is done, saving both time and money.
Flexibility is baked into Immens’ design philosophy. The engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular framework where developers decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. De Jong emphasizes that the architecture is deliberately open, supporting integration with existing pipelines. “If your files are text‑based, any tool can read them,” Brussee noted.
This openness enables seamless interoperability with industry staples like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI suite, because the engine adheres to emerging open standards rather than proprietary lock‑ins. The broader conversation about AI in games is often polarized. Some pundits hype “click‑to‑game” scenarios where a prompt spawns a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level experience, while others fear a dystopian future where creativity is outsourced to machines.
Immens’ team positions AI as a collaborative tool, not a replacement. Valient believes AI will elevate the entire ecosystem: “Big titles and indie projects alike will benefit because AI makes everyone better.” De Jong adds a note of responsibility, urging the industry to wield AI ethically, just as any powerful technology can be misused. Economic anxieties also linger, especially regarding the hype‑driven valuations that have characterized the recent AI boom. Valient draws a parallel with the dot‑com bubble, noting that while many startups vanished, the underlying internet didn’t disappear.
“We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination,” he said. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens is betting on lasting value rather than fleeting hype. Funding details are still under wraps. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, emphasizing that excessive capital can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” Brussee laughed, warning against the temptation to become bloated. Currently, Immens is a lean operation—just the three founders and a handful of helpers. This small, focused team is intentional, allowing rapid decision‑making and a tight feedback loop.
De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team doesn’t guarantee success for a complex engine; a compact group can iterate faster and seize the window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise. The immediate milestone is a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month.
Brussee admits the timeline has already outpaced their original estimate: “We thought we’d be at year‑end; we’re now twice as fast.” While the ultimate business model is still evolving, they admire Epic’s creator‑centric approach—success when developers succeed—but consider it premature to commit to a specific revenue strategy. Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will empower creators to push the boundaries of the medium. “We love games as an art form and want to see more risk‑taking and creativity,” Brussee concluded.
“If our technology can help bring bold, innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing.”