Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has made notable gains and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Yet three seasoned veterans, Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, have launched Immers with the conviction that there is still room for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings of the status quo.
The founders bring an impressive résumé: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their combined background spans engine architecture, tools development, and AI research, giving them a unique perspective on how to re‑imagine the core of game creation. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is now ideal for a new platform, noting that "a few years ago this kind of engine simply didn’t exist." He believes AI‑assisted programming can return developers to a state of true invention, allowing them to build from a clean slate while still retaining rigorous oversight. Valient, Immers’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they employ is not the "prompt‑to‑image" variety that dominates headlines.
Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. "AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," he explained. "If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system, a novel physics solver, or any bespoke feature without being confined to a narrow scripting layer." This approach aims to democratise deep engine modification, turning what used to be a specialist’s domain into a more approachable toolkit.
The motivation behind Immers is rooted in the current economic climate of the games industry. Brussee describes the environment as "rough" and increasingly unaffordable for small studios.
Development costs continue to climb, and the risk of financial ruin looms large for teams that cannot secure massive budgets. "We need new ways of working that lower overhead, accelerate timelines, and let creators achieve more with fewer hands," he said.
The promise of AI‑enhanced pipelines is to shave weeks—if not months—off repetitive tasks, letting creators focus on the artistic and design challenges that truly differentiate a game. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has entered a phase of "standardisation and consolidation." While this has produced stable foundations, it also breeds complacency. "The industry faces a suite of challenges, and merely iterating on existing tools won’t solve them," he argued.
"We need genuine innovation, not just more of the same." One of the pain points he highlights is the monolithic nature of current engines. Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows, which can stifle creativity.
With AI, Immers aims to flip this model, offering an engine that bends to the developer’s needs rather than the other way around. "Flexibility is key," De Jong said. "You should be able to swap modules, append new capabilities, and craft custom interfaces that match your team’s habits and your project’s demands.
Imagine a toolset that mirrors your own mental model—exact shortcuts, precise feature sets, and a UI that feels like an extension of your brain." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it can accelerate development dramatically, it can also produce unexpected results if left unchecked. "We’re building Immers so that the user remains in the driver’s seat," he noted. "You can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and reproduce outcomes reliably.
This transparency is essential for a creative pipeline where reproducibility matters as much as speed." The team envisions a future where routine tasks—such as generating a set of characters with specific traits—can be completed in minutes over a coffee, rather than weeks of manual labor. Once a bespoke tool has served its purpose, it can be discarded, freeing resources for the next challenge. This modular, on‑demand approach could dramatically reduce the cost of iteration, a major expense in traditional pipelines.
Immers is deliberately engineered to avoid imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is agnostic: developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where to apply it.
The architecture is built on open standards, meaning that text‑based assets can be read and manipulated by any compatible software. "If you use Blender, Maya, or any generative tool, you can plug it straight into Immers because the data formats speak the same language," Brussee explained.
This openness contrasts sharply with many existing engines that act as closed ecosystems, hindering cross‑tool integration. The broader conversation around AI in game development is contentious. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype "click‑to‑game" scenarios where a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
Immers’ founders temper such expectations, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magic wand. "AI will make everyone better, not replace the craft," Valient said. "It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also has the potential to unlock creativity that was previously out of reach." Economic concerns also loom. Critics warn of an AI bubble, drawing parallels to the dot‑com era.
Valient counters that while valuations may be inflated, the underlying technology is unlikely to disappear. "The internet didn’t vanish after the bubble burst; it evolved. AI will follow a similar trajectory—some companies will fall, but the good ones will endure because they solve real problems," he argued. Immers aims to be one of those lasting solutions by focusing on building a solid, useful engine first, with AI serving as an accelerator.
Funding remains modest. Immers has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing them as "reasonable." Brussee warns against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The team prefers to stay lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—so they can remain scrappy and make decisions quickly. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act.
De Jong points out that engine development is complex and cannot be rushed by sheer manpower. "You need a small, focused group to iterate, make hard choices, and learn from mistakes," he said. At the same time, there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, and Immers must position itself to capitalize on that moment without over‑extending. Currently, Immers is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee admits is twice as fast as originally projected. "We’re moving faster than we thought possible, which makes precise timeline predictions difficult," he laughed.
Regarding the business model, Brussee mentions admiration for Epic’s revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific strategy. The overarching ambition remains clear: to empower creators, lower barriers, and spark a wave of innovative games that push the medium forward. As Brussee concluded, "We love games, we love the artistic expression they embody, and we hope Immers can be the catalyst for more risk‑taking, more creativity, and ultimately, more amazing experiences for players worldwide."