For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a noticeable surge in popularity and some studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. Enter Immersive, a startup founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry, with experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, Apple, and more.
The trio believes that despite the entrenched position of the current giants, there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of today’s tools. 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. “Thanks to AI‑assisted programming we can start from scratch again, building something that delivers full functionality much faster while still giving developers a high degree of control.” Valient, Immersive’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑content” model that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “AI can reason over large amounts of data and source code,” he noted. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without being limited to a handful of scripting options.” This approach aims to let creators extend the engine quickly, leveraging AI as a productivity enhancer rather than a magical content generator.
The motivation behind Immersive’s venture is the increasingly hostile economics of game development. Brussee described the current climate as “rough.” Development costs are spiralling, and the risk of financial ruin for small studios is growing. “We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten schedules,” he argued.
“If we can make games with fewer people and smaller budgets, we reduce the existential threat to studios and their creators.” De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has given developers a reliable foundation, it has also stifled innovation. “The industry is facing a series of challenges,” he said. “Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic tools isn’t enough.
We need a paradigm shift—flexibility, modularity, and the ability for the engine to adapt to the developer’s workflow.” One of the pain points with existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can be a barrier to creativity. De Jong envisions an engine that behaves more like a set of interchangeable Lego bricks.
“You should be able to swap components, append new features, and build custom tools that match your personal workflow,” he explained. “Imagine a UI that mirrors your own shortcuts, a toolset that reflects your team’s exact needs, and an interface that you can reshape on the fly.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked. Immersive’s design philosophy puts the user in the driver’s seat: “You always know what the engine is doing, you can review its history, and you can reproduce results reliably.” This transparency is crucial for maintaining artistic intent and ensuring that AI‑generated assets serve as accelerators rather than replacements. The flexibility of Immersive’s platform extends to its openness.
The team is committed to using open standards so that files remain human‑readable and interoperable with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. Brussee highlighted that when data is stored in plain‑text formats, any AI system can parse and manipulate it, fostering a smoother exchange between different software ecosystems. This contrasts with many proprietary engines that act as closed silos, hindering collaboration across tools.
There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immersive acknowledges the hype but treats AI as a sophisticated instrument, not a shortcut to complete games. “One day we might see ‘click‑to‑game’ engines, but for now AI is a tool that makes developers better,” Valient said.
“It’s disrupting at a scale we haven’t seen, but that disruption can be positive if we wield it responsibly.” Economic anxieties also linger, with some observers labeling the AI boom a bubble. Valient drew parallels to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet— persisted and flourished. “AI isn’t going away,” he asserted.
“Our goal is to build a solid engine that benefits from AI’s speed and imagination, regardless of market fluctuations.” Funding remains modest. Immersive has secured its first commitments but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against excess capital, saying that too much money can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “A lean team forces you to make smart decisions.” Currently, Immersive consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
They believe a small, focused group can iterate faster and make critical architectural choices without the overhead of a massive staff. De Jong emphasized the delicate balance: “You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect miracles.
You need a tight team that can move quickly, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise.” The company is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a full editing workflow powered by generative AI. Initially slated for year‑end, the prototype is now expected within the month, a timeline Brussee says is “twice as fast as we imagined.” As for the business model, Immersive admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it is too early to define a concrete revenue strategy. The ultimate ambition, according to Brussee, is to enable creators to push the medium forward: “We love games as an art form.
We want more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation. If our technology helps make that possible, it will be amazing.”