For years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in the game‑development arena, together powering roughly 70 % of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have enjoyed notable growth and some studios cling to proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly dominated by the two giants. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture 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 a better way to build games. 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 are setting out to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A couple of years ago this kind of engine simply didn’t exist,” he said.

“With AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again, while still keeping tight guidance and control, and deliver full‑featured tools quickly.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, is careful to distinguish their approach from the hype‑driven notion of “prompt‑to‑content” AI. He stresses that the AI embedded in Immens is meant to make the engine itself more extensible.

“AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets,” he noted. “If we design the architecture with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This philosophy underpins the company’s goal of letting creators use AI to accelerate extensions rather than replace the creative process. The motivation behind the project is rooted in the current market climate, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Game development costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for small studios to survive.

“We need new, more efficient ways of working that lower budgets and shrink team sizes, so creators aren’t gambling their livelihoods on a single title,” he argued. De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated.

While that consolidation has given developers a solid foundation, it also means the industry is stuck in a “monolithic approach” where studios must bend to the engine’s file formats and workflows. “What we need now is innovation, not more standardisation,” he said.

“Our engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around.” Flexibility is a core tenet of Immens. De Jong envisions a system where users can interchange modules, append new features, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their personal workflows. “Imagine being able to design an interface with exactly the shortcuts, panels, and behaviours you need for a particular project—this is the level of customization we’re targeting,” he explained. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.

While it is “really powerful,” it can also “go off the rails quickly if you don’t pay attention.” To mitigate this risk, Immens is built to keep developers in the driver’s seat. Every AI‑generated action is logged, repeatable, and transparent, allowing creators to audit the process and retain full control. This transparency, he argues, turns what could be a black‑box into a reliable assistant that can, for example, generate five distinct characters with specific traits in the time it used to take weeks, then discard the temporary tool once the job is done.

The platform does not force a single workflow on its users. De Jong emphasizes that the architecture is deliberately agnostic: “You decide how much AI you want to employ and where you apply it. The framework simply provides the scaffolding; the creative decisions remain yours.” Interoperability is another pillar of the design. By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens ensures that files can be read and manipulated by any compatible software.

“If a file is plain text, any tool—Blender, Maya, or a generative model—can ingest it,” Brussee said. “We want to avoid the proprietary lock‑ins that make engines isolated islands. Open standards let us build smarter interfaces that talk to each other effortlessly.” The broader conversation about AI in games is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn predict a future where a single prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale experience, fueling fears of a “click‑to‑game” utopia.

Immens’ team acknowledges the hype but frames AI as a catalyst rather than a replacement. “AI will make everyone better, not replace the craft,” Valient asserted.

“It has negative connotations now because it’s disrupting at a scale no one has seen before, but it’s ultimately a tool, like any other technology humanity creates.” Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether AI‑driven game tech is part of a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the technology endured.

We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our vision. Whether it’s a bubble is unknown, but the underlying tech isn’t going away.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑capitalisation, noting that excess money can breed complacency. The company deliberately remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—believing that a small, focused team can make sharper decisions and iterate faster.

Currently, Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced initial expectations; what was projected to take until year‑end is now on track for a much earlier launch.

Brussee admits it’s hard to predict exact milestones, but the early speed gains are encouraging. As for the business model, Immens is still exploring options. While they admire Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” revenue share, they consider it premature to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and inject fresh innovation into the medium.

“We love games and want to see more daring, creative work,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology helps make that happen, it would be amazing.”