For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently, many large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal with a near‑monopoly on the market. 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, one that not only competes with the incumbents but also addresses their shortcomings.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform because "the tools that existed a couple of years ago simply aren’t enough today." He argues that AI‑assisted programming now makes it feasible to start building a game engine from the ground up again, offering rapid delivery of full‑featured capabilities under tight guidance and control. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, stresses that their use of AI differs from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” narrative that dominates many discussions. "We’re not trying to conjure entire games with a single command," he says. "Our AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
Because AI can reason over large codebases, we can design the engine so that even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a limited scripting layer." The motivation behind this AI‑centric engine stems from the current state of the games market, which Brussee describes as "rough." Development costs are soaring, and the financial risk of launching a title has become prohibitive for many creators. "We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argues. "If we can break that costly cycle, studios won’t have to gamble their livelihoods on a single hit." De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation has provided a solid technical foundation, it has also stifled innovation. "Continuing to do things exactly as we have in the past won’t solve the challenges we now face," he says. "What the industry needs is fresh thinking, not more of the same." A key criticism De Jong levels at existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens aims to flip that model: the engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around. "Flexibility is essential," he notes. "You should be able to swap components, extend functionality, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you prefer." Valient acknowledges that AI is powerful but can also veer off course if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in the driver’s seat. "You always see what the engine is doing, you have a full history, and you can reproduce results reliably," he explains. This transparency allows creators to generate, for example, five uniquely‑traited characters in minutes—a task that previously might have taken weeks—then discard the temporary tool once the job is done. Immens’ architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow.
De Jong stresses that developers decide how much AI to employ and where to apply it. The framework is designed to be modular, letting teams blend manual coding with AI assistance as they see fit, provided the AI correctly interprets the context.
Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens. By embracing open, text‑based standards, the engine can seamlessly exchange data with popular tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. "When files are human‑readable, any system can parse them," Brussee says.
"That means the AI can read, modify, and generate assets without being blocked by proprietary barriers. This openness is a major advantage over engines that remain closed ecosystems." The broader AI debate in game development is polarized. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype the notion of "click‑to‑game" experiences that could rival AAA titles with a single prompt. Immens’ founders see AI more modestly—as an accelerator, not a replacement.
Valient believes AI will make every creator better, even if the technology currently carries negative connotations due to its disruptive potential. Economic concerns also linger. Critics warn of an AI bubble with inflated valuations. Valient counters that, like the dot‑com era, the technology itself isn’t disappearing; only the unsustainable business models will fade.
"We’re focused on building a solid engine that leverages AI to speed development and inspire bigger dreams," he says. "Whether the market is a bubble is unknown, but great products survive regardless." Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable." Brussee warns against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The team remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused group can make critical decisions faster than a bloated staff. Balancing resources and timelines is a delicate act. De Jong points out that building an engine is a complex undertaking that cannot be rushed by simply adding manpower.
Yet there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. The company aims to hit that sweet spot without over‑extending.
Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee admits is moving faster than originally projected—two times faster, in fact.
While the exact business model is still under discussion, Brussee appreciates Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" philosophy but says it’s too early for concrete commitments. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art.
"We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences," Brussee concludes. "If our technology can help developers take bigger risks and innovate, that would be amazing."