Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, powering roughly 70% of Steam releases slated for 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market.
Enter Immens, the brainchild of 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 makers of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and Apple. Together they argue that there is still room for a fresh engine, and that the next generation of tools should be built with artificial intelligence at its core.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A few years ago this idea didn’t exist,” he said.
“Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and bring full‑featured functionality to life much faster, while still keeping tight control over the process.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” model that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “If we design the engine with AI reasoning in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without being limited to a tiny scripting layer,” he noted.
The goal is to let creators extend the engine rapidly, leveraging AI as an accelerator rather than a replacement for human ingenuity. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current state of the games market, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Development costs keep climbing, and smaller studios are increasingly vulnerable to financial risk. “We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and speed up production,” he argued. “If we can break that costly cycle, we give creators a better chance to survive and thrive.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While this has given developers a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces many challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it,” he said.
“We need a different approach—flexibility, modularity, and the ability to adapt the engine to each project’s unique needs.” One of the pain points with existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and workflows, often spending valuable time learning the engine rather than building their game. De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the user’s will: interchangeable components, appendable modules, and custom tools tailored to a developer’s personal workflow. “I can craft an interface with the exact shortcuts and features my team requires, and the engine will accommodate it,” he explained.
Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control.
Users can see the engine’s decision history, ensuring repeatable results and the ability to roll back if something goes awry. This level of oversight allows developers to create disposable tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait in minutes—without committing months of manual labor. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core philosophy.
The engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it offers a framework that lets teams decide how much AI to integrate and where. De Jong stressed that the architecture must be robust enough to interpret AI outputs correctly, preventing the “black‑box” problem that haunts many AI‑first products.
Interoperability is another cornerstone. By adopting open, text‑based standards, Immens aims to play nicely with existing pipelines such as Blender, Maya, and other generative tools. “When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them,” Brussee said. “The AI can then manipulate those files, creating smarter bridges between software.
This openness is something proprietary engines have historically neglected.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized. Some pundits hype a future where a single prompt spawns a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑style world, while others fear a backlash against automation. Immens’s founders view AI as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement. Valient believes that AI will elevate the entire industry, making both blockbuster and indie titles better.
“It’s a tool, like any other humanity has built. It can be misused, but it also has the potential to unlock unprecedented creativity.” Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many labeling the sector a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; only the weaker businesses fell away. Immens intends to focus on building a genuinely good engine, using AI to accelerate development and enable bolder design choices. Whether the market is overheated remains uncertain, but the team is confident that a solid product will survive.
Funding details are still under wraps. Immens has secured its first commitments, but the founders are cautious about over‑capitalizing.
“Too much money can make a startup lazy,” Brussee laughed. The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex, iterative process that benefits from a small, focused team rather than a massive workforce. Currently, Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team aimed to have it ready by year‑end, but they are already moving twice as fast as anticipated. Timeline estimates remain fluid, reflecting the experimental nature of the project.
When asked about the business model, Brussee mentioned admiration for Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy, but admitted it’s too early to lock in specifics. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, encouraging risk‑taking and artistic expression. In their own words, “We love games, we love the complex art form, and we want to see more creativity and innovation built on technology like this.
That would be amazing.”