For years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in the game‑development arena, together powering roughly 70 % of the titles that landed on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and some heavyweight studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who‑is‑who of the industry, with stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine that not only competes with the established players but also addresses the pain points that have begun to surface. 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 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’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” model that dominates headlines. Instead, the artificial intelligence is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over massive 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 systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being limited to superficial scripting.” The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach is the increasingly hostile economic climate for game creators. Brussee described the current market as “rough,” pointing out that development costs are spiralling and the risk of financial ruin is growing. “We need new ways of working that shrink budgets, accelerate timelines, and let smaller teams succeed without jeopardising their livelihoods,” he argued.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, it has also stifled innovation.
“The industry faces a suite of challenges,” he said. “Continuing to do things exactly as we have before won’t cut it. We need a different paradigm, not more of the same.” A key criticism De Jong levels at existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers are forced to adapt to rigid, proprietary file formats and workflows. With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, delivering an engine that bends to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is essential,” he explained.
“You should be able to swap components, append new functionality, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you require.” Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in full control, offering transparency into the engine’s decision‑making process and a complete history of actions.
“You know exactly what the AI is doing and why,” he said. “That repeatability lets you create bespoke tools for specific problems—like generating five characters with a unique trait—in minutes instead of weeks.” The platform’s design deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong emphasized that developers can decide how much AI they want to integrate and where.
“Our architecture is modular, so you can pick and choose the AI components that make sense for your project, while ensuring the AI interprets your intentions correctly.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens. By relying on open, text‑based standards, the engine can seamlessly exchange data with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑art pipeline.
“When files are human‑readable, any AI can parse and manipulate them,” Brussee noted. “That openness eliminates the isolation we see with many proprietary engines and creates smarter, more connected pipelines.” There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, fueled in part by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’ founders see such “click‑to‑game” visions as a distant possibility, but they stress that AI should be treated as a tool—not a replacement for creative talent. “AI will make everyone better,” Valient asserted.
“It’s disruptive, which is why it feels uncomfortable, but it’s also an opportunity.” Economic anxieties also swirl around the AI boom, with many questioning whether the sector is a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; only the weaker businesses vanished.
“We’re focused on building a genuinely good engine,” he said. “AI accelerates our development and expands our imagination, but whether the market is a bubble is something only time will reveal.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments,” though the exact amount is undisclosed and described as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. The team itself is tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. They believe a lean crew is essential for making thoughtful architectural decisions without the chaos of a massive staff.
De Jong explained the balancing act: “You can’t throw a million developers at an engine and expect it to work. You need a focused group to iterate, learn, and adapt, especially during this narrow window of opportunity created by AI’s rise.” Immens is currently 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 expectations; what they thought would take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more risk‑taking, artistic expression, and innovation in games. “We love games,” Brussee concluded.
“We want to see more daring, creative experiences, and we hope our technology can be the catalyst for that next wave.”