For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, powering roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have enjoyed notable growth, and a handful of studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been monopolized by the two giants. Enter Immens, a fledgling company founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Together they believe there is still room 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 an AI‑enhanced engine didn’t exist," he said.
"Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again, under tight guidance, and deliver full‑featured tools much faster." Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the kind that simply generates content from a text prompt. "Our AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible," he noted. "Because AI can reason over large codebases, we can design the engine so that even solo developers or tiny teams can add custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being confined to a limited scripting layer. The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation behind this ambitious project is the increasingly hostile economics of game development.
Brussee described the current climate as "rough," pointing out that production costs keep climbing, making it harder for small studios to survive. "We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued. "Otherwise developers risk their livelihoods and studios disappear." De Jong, who serves as chief product officer, observed that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that stability provides a solid foundation, he believes the industry now demands genuine innovation. "Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t solve the challenges we face," he said. "We need a different approach, not just another iteration of the same monolithic tools." One of the pain points with existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers often have to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. De Jong envisions an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs.
"It has to be flexible—allowing you to swap components, append new ones, or rewrite tools to match your personal workflow," he explained. "Imagine being able to craft an interface with the exact shortcuts, features, and layout that your team requires, without fighting the engine’s defaults." Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked. "We are building Immens so that the user remains in full control and can trace every decision the AI makes," he said. "This transparency ensures repeatability and lets you create throw‑away tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait—in a matter of minutes instead of weeks." Flexibility is a core design principle for Immens.
The engine does not force a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular architecture that lets developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where. "The framework is deliberately open‑ended," De Jong added. "You can decide the degree of AI assistance you want, as long as the AI understands the context correctly." Interoperability is another priority. Immens will rely on open standards and text‑based file formats, making it easy for external tools such as Blender, Maya, or other generative applications to communicate seamlessly.
"When files are readable as plain text, any software can parse them," Brussee said. "That means the AI can manipulate assets directly, and we can plug in existing pipelines without the usual friction that proprietary engines create." The broader gaming community has mixed feelings about AI. Some hype‑driven voices on LinkedIn claim that a simple prompt will soon spawn Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences.
While Immens acknowledges that a "click‑to‑game" future might eventually be feasible, the team insists that AI should be viewed as a tool, not a magic wand. "AI will make everyone better, but the creative vision still comes from people," Valient emphasized.
"Its current negative perception stems from the disruptive scale we’ve never seen before." De Jong echoed this sentiment, urging responsible use of AI. "Every technology can be misused; it’s up to us to ensure it serves the industry positively," he said.
"We have a responsibility to shape AI in a way that benefits creators rather than harms them." Beyond creative concerns, there are economic anxieties about an AI bubble. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology endures. "AI isn’t going away, just like the internet didn’t disappear after the dot‑com crash," he argued. "The market will sort itself, and the survivors will be those with genuinely good products.
Our focus is 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 the target as "reasonable." Brussee cautioned against excess capital, saying it can breed complacency.
"Startups need to stay scrappy; too much money can make you lazy," he laughed. The team itself is tiny—just the three founders and a handful of helpers.
They deliberately keep the operation lean to maintain agility. De Jong explained the trade‑off: a massive workforce doesn’t guarantee success for a complex product like a game engine; a focused, small team can make thoughtful decisions and iterate quickly, especially during the narrow window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The goal is to release the demo within the month, a timeline that has already outpaced their original estimate. "We thought it would take us until the end of the year, but we’re moving twice as fast," Brussee said, highlighting the speed gains they attribute to AI integration. The business model is still being defined. While Immens admires Epic Games’ philosophy of sharing revenue and success with developers, they consider it premature to commit to a specific approach.
"We’re watching and learning, but it’s too early to make concrete statements," Brussee noted. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward. "We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expression," Brussee concluded. "If Immens can enable more risk‑taking and innovation, that would be amazing for the industry."