For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces shaping the video‑game development landscape, accounting for roughly 70 % of the titles that landed on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have enjoyed a noticeable surge in popularity, most large studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely monopolised by the two giants. Enter Immens, a fledgling venture founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a hall of fame of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, Apple and other heavyweight studios. Together they argue that there is still room for a fresh engine, and that the time is ripe for a paradigm shift. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that “the opportunity exists now to build an engine that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.” He believes that AI‑assisted programming can resurrect the spirit of building tools from the ground up, offering developers a high‑level of guidance while still delivering rapid, full‑featured results.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that their use of AI is not about prompting the system to conjure assets out of thin air. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over massive code bases and data sets,” he says. “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 engine—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This philosophy aims to let creators extend the engine quickly, leveraging AI as a productivity accelerator rather than a magic wand.
The motivation behind this AI‑centric engine is rooted in the current economic climate of game development. Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” noting that production costs keep climbing and the risk of failure is growing. “We need new ways of working that lower expenses, let smaller teams ship faster, and protect studios from existential risk,” he asserts.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become increasingly standardised and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now demands innovation, not further standardisation. “Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t solve the challenges we face,” he says.
“We need a different approach.” One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the monolithic nature of existing engines. Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, delivering an engine that moulds itself around the user’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he explains. “You should be able to swap components, append new features, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and everything else that makes your team efficient.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it is undeniably powerful, it can also veer off course if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency and control at its core. Users can trace every AI decision, view its history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This level of oversight enables developers to create disposable, highly specialised tools—for example, a script that generates five characters with specific traits in minutes rather than weeks—without sacrificing reliability.
The engine’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong emphasises that the framework is modular, allowing teams to decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
“We want the engine to be a canvas, not a set of constraints,” he says. “If you want to lean heavily on AI for certain tasks and keep a manual pipeline for others, that’s entirely up to you.” Interoperability is another pillar of Immens’s design. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can seamlessly communicate with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. “When files are readable as plain text, any system can parse them,” Brussee notes.
“That opens the door for smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain, something that proprietary engines have historically resisted.” There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level experience. Immens’s founders temper such hype, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. Valient believes that AI will make developers better, not obsolete, and that the industry must adopt the technology responsibly.
“Any tool can be misused,” he says. “Our duty is to guide its use toward positive outcomes.” Economic concerns also linger, with many questioning whether the AI boom is a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, arguing that while some companies will fall, the underlying technology will endure.
“AI isn’t going away,” he asserts. “The internet survived its bubble, and so will AI‑driven tools that prove genuinely useful.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its first round of commitments but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital sought as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against excessive cash, noting that abundant resources can breed complacency.
“Start‑ups need to stay scrappy,” he laughs. “Too much money can make you lazy.” The team remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains that building a sophisticated engine does not require a massive workforce; a focused, small group can make decisive technical choices more efficiently.
Yet they must also balance the need for enough talent and funding to capture the narrow window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise. Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing flow. The prototype is slated for release later this month, and the team is already moving twice as fast as their original timeline predicted.
Brussee admits that estimating timelines is challenging when progress accelerates unexpectedly. Regarding the business model, Brussee hints at an alignment with Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but concedes that it is too early to lock in specifics.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more risk‑taking, artistic expression, and innovation. “We love games and want to see more daring, creative work,” Brussee concludes. “If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing."