Three Epic veterans are building an AI-powered game engine to break the industry's doom cycle
Unity and Unreal have dominated the development scene for a long time now, and were used to make roughly 70% of the games released on Steam in 2025 . Godot has seen some significant growth in the past few years , and many big companies still favour proprietary engines – like Capcom with its RE Engine – but otherwise, Unity and Unreal have got the game engine market sewn up. Read more
Three veteran game developers - Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient - are teaming up to create an AI-powered game engine that aims to disrupt the current industry dominance of Unity and Unreal. The trio has extensive experience working with major game developers such as Epic Games, Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and Apple.
Brussee believes that advancements in AI-supported programming enable the development of a new, more functional engine from scratch. Valient, Immens' chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI in Immens is designed to build an extensible engine rather than generating content entirely on its own. This means that smaller teams and individuals can leverage AI to extend the engine's functionality, creating custom features like unique particle systems.
The founders acknowledge the current challenges in the games market, which are becoming increasingly expensive and time-consuming to develop. Brussee emphasizes the need for innovative solutions to break the trend of rising costs and reduced profitability. De Jong agrees, stating that the industry needs a shift towards innovation rather than just standardizing existing methods.
One advantage of Immens is its flexibility, allowing developers to adapt the engine to their specific needs. The AI-powered engine can be tailored to accommodate various workflows, enabling users to create tools that cater to their unique requirements. This adaptability is particularly beneficial for smaller teams or individuals who may not have the resources to develop custom solutions from scratch.
Valient cautions that AI technology can be unpredictable and must be used with care, but Immens is designed to keep the users in control of its operations. The engine's architecture is intended to be open and interoperable, allowing developers to integrate tools like Blender or Maya, as well as generative software. By embracing open standards, Immens aims to foster seamless integration with existing game development software, further enhancing its appeal to a wide range of users.
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