For over a decade Unity and Unreal have been the dominant choices for game creation, accounting for roughly seventy percent of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has enjoyed a noticeable surge in popularity, most large publishers continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely monopolised by the two industry giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned developers—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have founded a new venture called Immers, convinced that there is still room for a fresh engine that improves on the status quo. Their resumes read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
The trio believes that the experience they have accumulated gives them the insight needed to challenge the entrenched platforms. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because the technological landscape has shifted dramatically in the past few years.
"With AI‑augmented programming you can start building from the ground up again," he said. "When you combine intelligent assistance with solid guidance, you can get a fully functional system up and running in a fraction of the time it used to take." Valient, who serves as Immers’ chief technology officer, clarified that the company’s use of artificial intelligence is not about generating content from a single prompt, as many hype‑driven discussions suggest.
"Our AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it inherently extensible," he noted. "Because AI can understand large code bases and reason about them, we can design the engine so that even a solo developer or a tiny team can add new subsystems—like a custom particle system—without being constrained to a limited scripting layer. The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly and safely." The motivation for building an AI‑powered engine stems from the harsh realities of the current games market.
Brussee described the environment as "rough" and warned that development costs are spiralling upward, making it increasingly difficult for small studios to break even. "We need new workflows that cut expenses and shorten schedules," he said.
"If we can produce high‑quality experiences with fewer people and lower budgets, we reduce the financial risk for developers and keep the medium vibrant." De Jong, Immers’ chief product officer, highlighted that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this uniformity provides a reliable base, it also stifles innovation. "The industry is facing several systemic challenges," he argued. "Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic engines won’t solve them.
We need a breakthrough, not just another version of the same toolset." A key criticism De Jong levels at existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers are forced to adapt to rigid pipelines and proprietary file formats, which can be a barrier to creativity. By contrast, Immers aims to deliver a malleable platform that bends to the user’s needs. "Flexibility is essential," he said.
"Our engine should let you swap components, append new features, or rewrite tools to match your exact workflow. If I, for instance, need a UI that mirrors my personal shortcuts and displays the data I care about, I can build it directly into the engine without fighting against a predefined structure." Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can become unpredictable if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immers is designed so that users retain complete visibility and control over the engine’s actions.
"You always know what the AI is doing, you can review its history, and you can reproduce results reliably," he explained. "This transparency lets developers create bespoke utilities that solve specific problems—like generating five characters with a particular trait—in a matter of minutes rather than weeks. What once cost thousands of dollars in man‑hours can now be achieved over a coffee break." The architecture of Immers is intentionally agnostic about workflows. De Jong emphasized that the platform does not impose a singular development path; instead, it provides a foundation that can be shaped by the user.
"You decide how much AI to incorporate and where it fits into your pipeline," he said. "Our responsibility is to ensure the AI interprets commands correctly, but the ultimate design choices remain in the developer’s hands." Interoperability is another pillar of Immers’ philosophy. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI system.
"When files are human‑readable, any program can parse them," Brussee noted. "This openness eliminates the silo effect that many proprietary engines create, allowing a smoother exchange of assets and data across the entire production chain." The broader conversation about AI in game development is often polarized.
Some pundits on LinkedIn sensationalise the idea that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fear of a "click‑to‑game" future. Immers acknowledges that such extremes are possible but treats AI as a complementary instrument rather than a replacement for human creativity. "AI will make everyone better, not replace them," Valient said. "The current negative perception stems from the disruptive speed of change, but like any new technology, it can be harnessed responsibly." Economic concerns also loom large.
Critics argue that the AI boom resembles a bubble with inflated valuations lacking solid fundamentals. Valient responded that, historically, disruptive tech survives even when the hype subsides. "The internet didn’t disappear after the dot‑com crash; the weak companies did," he observed. "We are focused on building a robust engine that delivers real value, regardless of market fluctuations.
Whether it’s a bubble or not, our priority is to create a product that stands the test of time." Funding for Immers remains modest and deliberately restrained. The founders have secured "first commitments" from investors but have not disclosed the exact amount, describing it as "reasonable". Brussee cautioned that excessive capital can breed complacency: "Too much money can make a startup lazy; we need to stay scrappy to innovate effectively." Team size reflects this philosophy. Immers currently consists of the three founders plus a handful of auxiliary contributors.
Maintaining a lean operation allows rapid decision‑making and a tighter focus on core objectives. De Jong explained the balancing act: "Building an engine is complex, so you can’t throw a million developers at the problem.
You need a small, agile team that iterates and learns. At the same time, you must have enough resources to hit the market window opened by AI advancements. It’s a delicate equilibrium." The company is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a live editing workflow powered by generative AI, slated for release this month.
Brussee admitted that the timeline has already outpaced their initial expectations: "We thought we’d need until year‑end; we’re delivering the demo in half that time. Predicting exact dates is tricky when the technology moves so fast." As for the business model, Immers is still evaluating options. While they admire Epic Games’ revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—they admit it is too early to commit to a specific structure.
Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immers will empower creators to push the artistic boundaries of the medium. "We love games and the complex expression they represent," he said. "We want to see more risk‑taking, more experimentation, and more breakthroughs. If our technology can serve as a catalyst for that kind of innovation, it would be amazing."