For years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, powering roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly.
Into this entrenched arena step three seasoned industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, the founders of Immens. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game‑tech, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and Apple.
Together they believe there’s still room for a fresh engine, one that leverages modern AI to break the costly, slow‑moving development loop that now haunts many studios. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. “With AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from scratch again,” he said. “Guided by intelligent tools, we can deliver full‑featured functionality much faster than before.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ isn’t the “prompt‑to‑art” gimmick that dominates headlines.
Instead, the technology is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI excels at reasoning over large codebases,” he noted. “If we design our engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can add custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without wrestling with rigid scripting layers.” This extensibility is central to Immens’ promise: AI becomes a catalyst for rapid iteration rather than a black‑box creator.
The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the grim reality of today’s game market. Brussee described the environment as “rough,” emphasizing that development costs are spiraling upward, making financial success increasingly elusive. “We need new workflows that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines,” he argued. “Otherwise studios risk their very livelihoods.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that stability offers a solid foundation, the industry now faces challenges that demand fresh thinking. “Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t cut it,” he asserted. “We need innovation, not more of the same.” He criticized current engines for their monolithic nature, forcing developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, delivering an engine that molds itself to the creator’s needs.
Flexibility is a recurring theme. De Jong explained that users should be able to swap components, append new modules, or craft entirely custom tools that match their personal workflow. “Imagine a developer who can build an interface with the exact shortcuts, features, and layout they prefer, then hand it to the rest of the team,” he said.
“That level of personalization is what we’re targeting.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can veer off course if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency in mind: developers can see exactly what the engine is doing, track its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
He illustrated this with a practical example: generating five characters with specific traits used to take weeks of manual work. Now, with AI‑augmented tools, a designer could sketch the concept over coffee, run the generation, and reuse the output as needed—dramatically cutting costs. Immens refuses to impose a single workflow. De Jong emphasized that the framework is deliberately agnostic, allowing teams to decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
“The architecture is set up so you can pick and choose,” he said. “The only requirement is that the AI understands the context correctly.” Interoperability is another pillar of the design. By adopting open, text‑based standards, Immens ensures that files can be read and manipulated by a wide range of tools—Blender, Maya, or any generative system—without the friction typical of closed engines. Brussee highlighted that when data is stored in open formats, AI can parse and act on it directly, fostering smoother pipelines across the industry.
The conversation around AI in games is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” scenarios where a single prompt spawns a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale world.
Immens’ team acknowledges that such visions may eventually materialize, but for now they see AI strictly as an enhancer, not a replacement. “AI will make every creator better,” Valient said. “It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but its potential to uplift the medium is immense.” Economic anxieties also surface, with critics labeling the AI boom a bubble.
Valient compared it to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fall, the underlying technology endures. “AI isn’t disappearing,” he argued.
“We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its first commitments but has not disclosed amounts, describing them as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explained that engine development is complex and cannot be solved by sheer manpower; a small, focused team is better suited to make thoughtful decisions and iterate quickly. 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 their original estimate—what was projected for year‑end is now arriving in weeks. This rapid progress underscores the very efficiency they promise to deliver to other developers.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific pricing structure. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and inject fresh innovation into the gaming landscape. “We love games and want to see more daring, expressive experiences,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology can help make that happen, that would be amazing."