For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game creators, accounting for roughly 70 % of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made noticeable strides, the majority of large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal firmly entrenched in the market. Enter Immens, a startup founded by three seasoned veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for meaningful improvement.
Their 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. Together they aim to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the landscape has changed in ways that didn’t exist a few years ago.” He highlighted the role of AI‑assisted programming, suggesting that developers can now start from a clean slate with far more guidance and speed than before.
“With AI‑supported tools, you can build something functional very quickly while still retaining full control,” he said. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” system that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“AI can reason about large codebases and data sets,” he noted. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom features—say, a bespoke particle system—without being limited to superficial scripting.” This approach, he argues, empowers creators to extend the engine rapidly and safely.
The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development. Brussee described the market as “rough,” emphasizing that production costs keep climbing, making it harder for studios to stay afloat. He asked, “How can we break the cycle of ever‑increasing budgets and risk?” The answer, according to the founders, lies in new workflows that lean on AI to cut time and expense, allowing smaller teams to deliver high‑quality experiences without jeopardizing their livelihoods.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now needs innovation, not more of the same.
He criticized the “monolithic approach” of existing engines, where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. With AI, Immens aims to deliver a flexible engine that adapts to the user’s needs, allowing developers to swap, append, or modify components at will.
“I can build tools that match my exact workflow—shortcuts, interfaces, features—all tailored to my team’s project,” he explained. Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked.
Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results. He illustrated this with a hypothetical scenario: creating five characters with a specific trait used to take weeks of planning; now, with AI‑driven tools, a developer could sketch the idea over coffee and generate usable assets in minutes, then discard the temporary tool once the job is done. This kind of on‑demand workflow, he believes, dramatically reduces cost. Flexibility is a core design principle.
De Jong stressed that Immens does not impose a single workflow; instead, the framework is open enough for developers to decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The engine also embraces open standards, meaning that text‑based files can be read and manipulated by any compatible software. “If you’re using Blender, Maya, or any generative tool, you can plug it directly into Immens because everything speaks the same language,” Brussee said.
This openness addresses a long‑standing pain point where many engines act as closed ecosystems that hinder interoperability. The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of “click‑to‑game” engines that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt. Immens’s team acknowledges that such extremes are speculative; they view AI primarily as a productivity tool rather than a magic wand. Valient believes that AI will make every creator better, even if the technology currently carries negative connotations due to its disruptive nature.
Economic concerns also linger. Critics warn that the AI boom may be a bubble with inflated valuations. Valient counters that, like the dot‑com era, the underlying technology will endure even if some companies fall away. “We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply helps us iterate faster and dream bigger,” he said.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is confident that a well‑designed product will survive. Funding details are still vague. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can lead to complacency. The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design.
De Jong explained the trade‑off: a massive team doesn’t guarantee success in such a complex undertaking; a focused, small group can make deliberate decisions and move quickly, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise. Currently, Immens is developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month.
The timeline has already outpaced their original expectations: what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. While the business model is still being refined, Brussee expressed admiration for Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy, though he admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will spark a wave of creativity and risk‑taking in the industry. “We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions,” Brussee concluded.
“If our technology can help developers push boundaries and innovate, that would be amazing."