For years, Unity and Unreal have been the de‑facto platforms for video‑game creation, powering roughly 70 % of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has gained traction and some studios cling to proprietary solutions like Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly dominated by the two giants. Into this entrenched landscape step three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who have launched Immens with a bold claim: there is still room for a fresh engine, and it can be built with the help of artificial intelligence.
The founders’ résumés read like a roll‑call of gaming’s elite. Brussee cut his teeth at Epic Games, the creator of Unreal, and later contributed to Guerrilla Games and Apple. De Jong has a background in technical leadership at Boss Key and other high‑profile studios, while Valient brings deep systems expertise from his tenure at various AAA projects. Together they see an opportunity that didn’t exist a few years ago, a gap created by the rapid evolution of AI‑assisted programming.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that AI now allows developers to “start making things from scratch again” under a framework that provides strong guidance and control. He envisions an engine that can deliver full functionality quickly, without the heavy‑weight overhead that currently hampers smaller teams.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑to‑image” variety that dominates headlines. Instead, the technology is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
"AI can reason about large code bases and data sets," he said. "If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers.
The AI becomes a partner that accelerates extension rather than a magic wand that conjures assets out of thin air." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development. Brussee describes the environment as "rough" and warns that production costs keep climbing, squeezing studios into a risky cycle of ever‑larger budgets and longer timelines.
He asks whether new workflows can break that pattern, enabling creators to deliver high‑quality experiences with fewer people and less capital. De Jong echoes this sentiment, noting that the engine market has become "standardised and consolidated"—a solid foundation, but one that no longer fuels innovation. "We need a different way," he argues, "not more of the same." A key criticism of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, limiting flexibility.
Immens aims to flip that script by delivering an engine that adapts to the developer, not the other way around. De Jong envisions a system where users can interchange modules, append new functionality, and craft tools tailored to their personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set they prefer.
Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. "If you don’t watch it, it can go off the rails," he cautions. Immens therefore places the user in full control: every AI‑driven action is logged, repeatable, and transparent. This auditability allows creators to build temporary tools—like a rapid character generator that can be spun up over coffee and discarded after use—without sacrificing reliability or incurring massive costs.
Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core design. De Jong stresses that the engine does not impose a single workflow; developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The architecture is deliberately open, leveraging text‑based file formats and industry‑wide standards. Brussee points out that when files are human‑readable, any AI can parse and manipulate them, fostering seamless integration with tools such as Blender, Maya, or other generative pipelines.
This openness contrasts sharply with the “weird outlier” nature of many current engines, which often resist interoperability. The broader conversation around AI in games is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype "click‑to‑game" promises, suggesting that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale world.
Immens’s team is more measured. While they acknowledge that future engines might eventually allow near‑instant game creation, they view AI primarily as a productivity enhancer—a tool that makes developers better, not a replacement for human creativity. Valient notes the negative perception stems from AI’s disruptive scale, but insists responsible usage can yield powerful results.
Economic anxieties also swirl, with fears of an AI bubble inflating valuations beyond sustainable levels. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, even though many companies failed. He believes solid technology and genuine value will endure, regardless of market hype. Immens is focused on building a robust engine first; AI simply accelerates that vision.
Funding remains modest. The founders have secured "first commitments" but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable". Brussee warns against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency and erode the scrappy mindset essential for a startup. The current team comprises the three founders and a handful of helpers, deliberately kept lean to maintain agility.
Immens is now racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. Originally slated for year‑end delivery, the prototype is expected to ship within the month, already double the speed the team anticipated. Timeline predictions remain fluid, reflecting the experimental nature of the project. Regarding business models, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy but admits it is too early to commit to a specific approach.
The ultimate goal, he says, is to empower creators to push the medium forward—more artistic risk, more inventive gameplay, and more diverse voices. "We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking," he concludes.
"If Immens can help bring that innovation to life, that would be amazing."