Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction in recent years and some studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the market has largely been dominated by the two giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens, a startup that believes there is still room for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a better way to build games. The founders’ résumés read like a who's‑who of modern game development.
Brussee spent years at Epic Games, the creator of Unreal, and later helped shape titles at Guerrilla Games. De Jong’s experience includes leadership roles at Boss Key and Apple, while Valient has a deep technical background that spans both AAA and indie projects. Together they see an opportunity to challenge the status quo and offer developers an engine that leverages artificial intelligence not as a gimmick, but as a core architectural principle.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right: "A few years ago the idea of an AI‑assisted engine didn’t really exist. Now, with AI‑supported programming, we can start building tools from the ground up again, under tight guidance and with full control, and deliver functional features much faster." Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not about prompting the system to conjure entire games. Instead, it focuses on making the engine itself highly extensible.
"AI can reason over large codebases and data sets. If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke rendering pipeline without being limited to a handful of scripts.
The AI helps you extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures facing developers. Brussee described the environment as "rough" and warned that game production costs are spiralling, making it increasingly difficult for small teams to survive. "We need new ways of working that cut expenses, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he said.
"Otherwise studios risk their livelihood on ever‑larger budgets." De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid technical foundation, it has also stifled innovation. "The industry now faces a series of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t solve them. We need genuine innovation, not just more of the same," he argued.
He criticized the "monolithic approach" of existing engines, where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, offering a system that adapts to the developer’s needs rather than forcing developers to adapt to the system.
Flexibility is a recurring theme. De Jong envisions a scenario where a developer can assemble a custom toolset that mirrors their personal workflow—specific shortcuts, interfaces, and features tailored to a particular project. "You can interchange modules, append new functionality, or modify existing components.
The engine becomes a canvas you shape, not a box you fit into," he explained. Valient acknowledged AI’s double‑edged nature. While it is "really powerful," it can also "go off the rails" if left unchecked.
Immens therefore places control firmly in the user’s hands. Every AI‑driven action is logged, repeatable, and transparent, allowing developers to audit the process and maintain creative authority.
"Imagine needing five characters with a unique trait. Previously that might take weeks of manual work. With AI‑assisted tools you could sketch the idea over coffee, generate the assets, and have a reusable pipeline that you can discard after use.
That level of efficiency was once prohibitively expensive." The engine’s architecture is deliberately agnostic. Immens does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it provides a framework that lets teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
De Jong emphasized the importance of open standards: "When files are text‑based, any tool can read them. AI can parse those files and interact with them.
By embracing open standards, we make it trivial to plug in Blender, Maya, or any generative tool. The industry has long suffered from engines that act as closed ecosystems; we want to change that." There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
Immens’ team tempers such hype. While they acknowledge the eventual possibility of "click‑to‑game" solutions, they view AI primarily as a productivity enhancer. "AI will make every developer better, not replace them," Valient said. "It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but the responsibility lies with us to use it constructively." Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many warning of a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; only the over‑hyped ventures vanished. "We’re focused on building a solid engine. AI accelerates our development and expands our creative horizons. Whether the market is in a bubble is uncertain, but the technology itself isn’t going away." Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing them as "reasonable". Brussee warned against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design.
De Jong explained the trade‑off: a massive team doesn’t guarantee success; a small, focused group can iterate faster and make critical architectural decisions. Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team aimed for an end‑of‑year release when they began in April, but they are already two‑fold ahead of schedule. "Timelines are fluid when you’re moving fast," Brussee admitted, "but the progress shows the potential of AI‑augmented development." Business‑model discussions are still early.
Brussee expressed admiration for Epic Games’ revenue‑share philosophy—"we succeed when you succeed"—but said it’s premature to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver innovative experiences.
In summary, Immens seeks to reshape game development by marrying a flexible, open‑standard engine with AI that serves as an extensibility engine rather than a black‑box generator. By giving developers granular control, transparent workflows, and the ability to tailor tools to their exact needs, the trio aims to break the costly, monolithic cycle that has come to dominate the industry.
If they succeed, smaller studios could finally compete on a more level playing field, delivering richer, more inventive games without the prohibitive overhead that currently favors only the biggest players.