For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed notable growth recently and some large studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Against this backdrop, three seasoned veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immens, a new engine that they believe can carve out space for a fresh approach. The founders bring a résumé that reads like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Their collective background fuels confidence that they can challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is right for a new engine, noting that “there’s an opportunity now” that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. The secret sauce, according to the team, is AI‑assisted programming. Brussee suggests that with AI, developers can return to building projects “from scratch” while still receiving substantial guidance and control, allowing full‑featured systems to emerge quickly.
Valient, Immens’s CTO, stresses that this isn’t the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” AI many hear about. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. He explains that the AI can reason over large codebases, enabling even solo developers or tiny teams to add custom features—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a narrow scripting layer. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development.
Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” pointing out that production costs are spiraling upward, making it increasingly difficult for studios to stay solvent. He asks whether new workflows can break this cycle, allowing games to be built faster, with fewer people, and on smaller budgets, thereby reducing financial risk for creators and studios alike. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now needs genuine innovation rather than more of the same. He criticises the monolithic nature of existing engines, which force developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immens aims to deliver an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs, offering interchangeable components, plug‑in‑style extensions, and the ability to craft tailor‑made tools that match a team’s workflow and personal preferences. Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility, warning that the technology can “go off the rails” if left unchecked. To counter this, Immens is built to keep users in the driver’s seat: developers can see exactly what the engine is doing, trace its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This transparency makes it possible to generate, for example, five uniquely‑behaved characters in the time it once took weeks, then discard the temporary tool once the job is done—something that previously would have been prohibitively expensive.
Flexibility is a core design principle. De Jong stresses that Immens does not impose a single workflow; instead, the underlying framework and architecture are deliberately open, letting teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The engine also embraces open standards, meaning files are stored in text‑based formats that any compatible tool can read.
Brussee notes that this openness enables seamless integration with popular software such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI suite, fostering smarter, more interoperable pipelines. The broader conversation around AI in games is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” promises, suggesting that a prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
Immens’s team tempers such expectations, viewing AI as a powerful tool rather than a magic wand. Valient believes AI will elevate the entire industry, making developers better at what they do, while De Jong stresses responsible usage, likening AI to any other technology that can be misused if not handled ethically. Economic anxieties also surface, with critics dubbing the AI boom a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many startups vanished, the underlying internet persisted and thrived.
He argues that Immens is focused on building a genuinely good engine; AI simply accelerates development and expands creative horizons. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is confident that a solid product will survive any downturn. Funding-wise, Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑capitalisation, warning that excess cash can breed complacency and erode the scrappy mindset essential for a startup. The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused team can make more decisive architectural choices than a massive workforce.
Currently, Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original expectation of a year‑long development, illustrating the speed gains they claim AI can deliver.
Regarding the business model, Brussee mentions admiration for Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” revenue share, but admits it’s too early to lock in specifics. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the artistic and technical boundaries of games, encouraging risk‑taking and innovation.
As Brussee puts it, “We love games, we love complex expressions of the art form, and we want to see more creativity. If our tech can help make that happen, that would be amazing.”