For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source options like Godot have gained traction and large studios continue to rely on proprietary tools such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been a duopoly. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens, a new AI‑enhanced game engine that they believe can carve out a meaningful niche.
The founders bring an impressive résumé: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their combined background gives them a unique perspective on the shortcomings of existing engines and the opportunities that modern AI techniques present. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a fresh engine, noting that “a few years ago the tools we need simply didn’t exist.” According to Brussee, AI‑assisted programming now makes it possible to start building a game from a near‑blank slate while still maintaining tight oversight and control.
He argues that this blend of guidance and automation can deliver full‑featured functionality much more quickly than traditional pipelines. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that their use of AI is not about the kind of “prompt‑to‑output” hype that dominates many conversations today. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
"If we design the engine with AI in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers," he says. This extensibility is intended to let smaller teams iterate rapidly, adding or modifying features as their vision evolves. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of the games market. Brussee describes the environment as "rough" and points out that development costs are spiraling upward, making it increasingly difficult for independent studios to survive.
He asks whether new workflows can break the cycle of ever‑larger budgets and longer timelines, allowing creators to build high‑quality experiences with fewer resources and less financial risk. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become highly standardized and consolidated. While this has produced stable foundations, he argues that the industry now needs genuine innovation rather than more of the same.
He critiques the "monolithic" nature of existing engines, where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid toolsets. With AI, Immens aims to deliver an engine that adapts to the developer, not the other way around. Flexibility is a core design principle. De Jong envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, or completely redesign interfaces to match their personal workflows.
He gives an example of creating a custom toolset that mirrors his own background, complete with specific shortcuts, UI layouts, and feature sets tailored to his team’s needs. Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can behave unpredictably if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in the driver’s seat: every AI action is logged, repeatable, and transparent.
This auditability ensures that developers understand exactly how a tool arrived at a result, preserving creative control. He illustrates the impact with a hypothetical scenario—generating five distinct characters with unique traits in minutes, a task that might previously have taken weeks of manual work.
Immens does not enforce a single workflow. The architecture is deliberately open, allowing teams to decide how much AI they wish to employ and where it fits into their pipeline.
De Jong stresses that the framework must be robust enough to interpret AI instructions correctly, ensuring that automation enhances rather than hinders productivity. Interoperability is another priority.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens can communicate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI system. Brussee notes that when files are human‑readable, the engine’s AI can parse and manipulate them directly, fostering a more cohesive ecosystem of creative software. The broader conversation about AI in game development is often polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn sensationalize the idea that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fear of "click‑to‑game" solutions.
Immens’s team acknowledges that such extremes might one day be feasible, but they view AI primarily as a productivity enhancer—a tool that makes developers better, not a replacement for human creativity. Economic anxieties also surface, with critics warning that AI‑centric startups could be part of a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, arguing that while many companies will fall, the underlying technology persists and the survivors will be those that deliver genuine value. He stresses that Immens’s focus is on building a solid engine first; AI merely accelerates that process.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured initial commitments but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against overcapitalization, noting that excess cash can lead to complacency and a loss of the scrappy mindset that early‑stage startups need. The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers.
This small size is intentional, allowing for rapid decision‑making and focused development. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex undertaking that cannot be solved by sheer manpower; a tight, cohesive team can iterate faster and stay aligned with the vision. Immens is currently aiming for a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI editing workflow, slated for release this month.
Brussee admits that the timeline has already outpaced their original expectations, with development moving twice as fast as anticipated. Regarding the business model, Brussee hints that Immens appreciates Epic Games’ "we succeed when you succeed" licensing approach but cautions that it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more artistic risk‑taking and innovation. In their own words, "We love games, we love complex expressions of the art form, and we want to see more creativity and risk‑taking. Hopefully we can see innovation in games that will be built on this kind of tech.
That would be amazing."