For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some major studios still rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. Enter Immers, a fledgling venture founded by three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine that not only competes with the incumbents but also addresses their shortcomings. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee highlighted a timing advantage: “There’s an opening now for a new engine that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.” He explained that advances in AI‑assisted programming give developers the chance to start from a clean slate and assemble functional tools quickly, under tight guidance and control.
Valient, Immers’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the typical “prompt‑to‑output” model 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 said. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in custom features—like a bespoke particle system—without being limited to a handful of scripts.” This approach aims to let creators extend the engine rapidly, using AI as a productivity catalyst rather than a magic wand.
The motivation behind Immers is rooted in the current state of the games market, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Development costs keep climbing, making it harder for small teams to survive. “We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and speed up production,” he argued. The goal is to break the cycle where studios risk everything on expensive, lengthy projects. De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While this has provided a stable foundation, he believes the industry now demands innovation. “Continuing to do things the same way won’t cut it,” he said. “We need a different approach, not just another monolithic engine that forces developers to conform to proprietary file formats.” Flexibility is a core tenet of Immers.
De Jong envisions an engine that can be reshaped to fit each developer’s workflow. “You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and build tools that match your exact shortcuts, UI preferences, and project needs,” he explained.
This level of customization, powered by AI, would let creators craft bespoke pipelines without wrestling with rigid, one‑size‑fits‑all systems. Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked.
Immers therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. He illustrated this with a hypothetical: instead of spending weeks designing five characters with a specific trait, a developer could generate them in minutes, test the result, and discard the temporary tool afterward—something that would have been prohibitively expensive before. The architecture of Immers deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow.
De Jong stressed that teams can decide how much AI to incorporate and where, as long as the underlying AI understands the context correctly. To further promote openness, Immers is built on open standards, allowing seamless interoperability with tools like Blender, Maya, or other generative software.
“When files are text‑based, any program can read them,” Brussee noted. “The AI can parse those files, making integration straightforward. This solves a long‑standing problem where engines acted as closed ecosystems.” There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a simple prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑level experience.
Immers’ founders acknowledge that while a “click‑to‑game” future may eventually emerge, they view AI primarily as an empowering tool. “AI will make everyone better,” Valient said, noting the current negative perception stems from the technology’s disruptive scale. Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with many fearing a bubble of over‑valued startups. Valient dismissed the notion that AI will vanish, comparing it to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear; the hype faded, but the underlying technology persisted.” He believes Immers’ focus on building a solid engine will let it survive regardless of market fluctuations.
Funding remains modest. Immers has secured its “first commitments,” though the founders keep the exact figures private, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against excess capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, because building an engine is a complex endeavor that benefits from a small, focused team rather than a massive workforce. Balancing resources and timing is a delicate act.
De Jong explained that while a large team might accelerate development, it also risks diluting decision‑making. The current window of opportunity, driven by AI’s rise, is limited, so Immers aims to hit the sweet spot of sufficient funding and a tight, agile crew.
Immers is now working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases “the flow of editing something” using generative AI, slated for release this month. The timeline has already outpaced initial expectations: what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving roughly twice as fast.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue structure. Ultimately, the founders hope Immers will enable creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver innovative experiences that move the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology can help make that happen, it would be amazing.”