For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, responsible for roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has gained traction recently and some studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. Enter Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, the trio behind Immens, who argue that there is still space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of today’s options.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Armed with this pedigree, they are setting out to challenge the status quo.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A few years ago this kind of engine simply didn’t exist,” he said. “With AI‑assisted programming we can start building from the ground up again, under tight guidance, and deliver full‑featured tools much faster.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” model that dominates headlines. “Our AI is baked into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible,” he noted.
“Because the AI can reason about large codebases, we can let solo developers or small teams add custom systems—like a bespoke particle engine—without being confined to a limited scripting layer. The AI simply accelerates the extension process.” The motivation behind this AI‑powered engine stems from a bleak outlook on the current games market. Brussee described the environment as “rough,” pointing out that development costs keep climbing, making it harder for creators to break even.
“We need new workflows that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines,” he argued. “Otherwise studios risk their livelihood on ever‑larger budgets.” De Jong, Immens’s chief product officer, observed that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he believes the industry now requires genuine innovation rather than incremental refinements.
“We’re at a point where continuing to do things the same way isn’t enough,” he said. “We need a different approach.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines. Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immens aims to flip that dynamic, offering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he explained.
“You should be able to swap components, append new features, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the exact shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you require.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is incredibly powerful, it can also produce unpredictable results if left unchecked.
“We design Immens so that users retain full control and visibility over what the engine is doing,” he said. “You can trace the history of any operation, ensuring repeatability and allowing you to build bespoke tools for specific tasks. What once took weeks—like generating five characters with a unique trait—can now be prototyped over a coffee break and reused as needed.” Immens’s philosophy is to avoid imposing a single workflow on its users.
De Jong emphasized that the framework and architecture are deliberately open‑ended, letting developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where. “The AI must understand the context correctly, but the choice of how to apply it stays with the creator.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of the platform. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, Immens ensures that assets can be read and manipulated by any tool. “When files are plain text, any program can ingest them,” Brussee said.
“Our engine can read those files, apply AI transformations, and communicate seamlessly with software like Blender, Maya, or any generative tool. This level of openness has been missing from many proprietary engines.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” experiences that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale worlds from a single prompt. Immens’s team sees AI more modestly—as an enhancer rather than a replacement.
“One day we might have click‑to‑game engines, but for now AI is a tool that makes developers better,” Valient remarked. “It’s disruptive, which creates negative perceptions, but the disruption is necessary.” Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many fearing a bubble of over‑valued startups. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “AI isn’t disappearing.
The internet survived that bubble, and the companies that built solid products endured. We’re focusing on building a high‑quality engine; AI simply speeds up our dreaming and execution.” Funding for Immens remains modest.
The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee warned against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy; otherwise you lose the edge that comes from working with limited resources.” The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex undertaking that doesn’t benefit from a massive headcount. “You need a small, focused team to make critical decisions and iterate quickly.
At the same time, you must have enough resources to capture the market window opened by AI advancements.” Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. Brussee noted that the team originally projected a year‑long timeline, yet they are already moving twice as fast. “Predicting exact milestones is tough when the technology accelerates itself,” he said.
Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ revenue‑share philosophy—"we succeed when you succeed"—but remains too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will enable creators to push the medium forward. “We love games as an art form and want to see more risk‑taking and creativity,” he concluded.
“If our technology can help bring bold new experiences to life, that would be amazing."