For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, powering roughly seventy percent of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction and some large studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Enter Immens, a startup founded by three seasoned industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of modern game development, with experience at 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 that addresses the shortcomings of the current offerings. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A few years ago the idea of building a modern engine from the ground up seemed unrealistic,” he said. “Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and still deliver full‑featured tools quickly, while keeping tight control over the process.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that their use of artificial intelligence is not about generating assets with a single prompt.
Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “If we design the codebase so that the AI can understand and reason about it, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke physics module without rewriting large sections of the engine,” he explained. “The AI becomes a productivity partner that speeds up extensions, not a magic wand that creates everything automatically.” The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of the games sector. Brussee described the environment as “rough,” noting that development costs are spiralling and the risk of failure is growing.
“We need new ways of working that reduce budgets and timelines, allowing smaller teams to create high‑quality experiences without jeopardising their studios,” he argued. De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced solid foundations, he believes the industry now needs genuine innovation.
“Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic engines won’t solve the challenges we face,” he said. “Developers should have tools that adapt to their needs, not the other way around.” A key criticism of existing engines is their monolithic nature and reliance on proprietary file formats. De Jong envisions an engine where users can swap components, append new modules, and craft personalized toolsets.
“Imagine being able to build an interface that matches my workflow exactly—custom shortcuts, specific panels, the whole UI tuned to my team’s preferences,” he illustrated. “That level of flexibility is what we aim to provide.” Valient acknowledged AI’s pitfalls, warning that without careful oversight the technology can “go off the rails.” To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency in mind: developers can see the AI’s decision history, ensuring repeatable and auditable results.
He gave an example of generating five characters with unique traits: “Previously this might have taken weeks of manual work. With AI‑assisted tools, you could prototype the characters over a coffee break, reuse the workflow a handful of times, and then discard it. That speed and cost reduction is transformative.” Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core. The engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular architecture where teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
De Jong emphasized that the framework must be robust enough to let users choose their own pipelines while still guaranteeing that the AI interprets commands correctly. Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’s design.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. “When files are human‑readable, any system can parse them,” Brussee noted.
“This opens the door to smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain, something proprietary engines have historically resisted.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is often charged with hype and fear. Some commentators on LinkedIn claim that future engines will let anyone conjure a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world with a single prompt. Immens’s founders temper such expectations, describing AI as a powerful *tool* rather than a replacement for human creativity.
“AI will make developers better, not do the work for them,” Valient said. “It’s disruptive, which is why it feels uncomfortable now, but responsible use can elevate the medium.” Economic anxieties also loom. Critics warn that AI‑focused startups may be riding a speculative bubble. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the technology endured.
We’re building a solid engine first; AI simply accelerates our ability to iterate and dream bigger.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against over‑capitalization, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explained the delicate balance: “Building an engine is complex, but you don’t need a thousand engineers.
A focused, small team can make critical decisions faster, especially when a window of opportunity exists as AI reshapes the industry.” Currently, Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team expected to finish by year‑end, but they are already two‑fold ahead of schedule, aiming to release the demo within the month. Regarding the business model, Brussee expressed admiration for Epic Games’ “you succeed when we succeed” philosophy but admitted it’s too early to finalize a revenue strategy. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will spark a new wave of creativity and risk‑taking in games.
“We love games as an art form and want to see more daring, innovative experiences,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology helps developers push boundaries, that would be amazing.”