For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some major studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine, for instance—the market has largely been monopolized by the two giants. 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, and Apple. Together they believe there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the current offerings. In an 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.
With AI‑assisted programming we can start building from the ground up again, under tight guidance, and deliver full‑featured tools much faster." Valient, Immersive’s chief technology officer, clarified that their use of artificial intelligence is not about prompting the engine to conjure assets out of thin air. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. "AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets.
If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers can extend it beyond simple scripting. Want a custom particle system?
You can drop it in directly. The AI helps you integrate those extensions quickly and safely." The motivation behind the AI‑powered engine stems from the bleak state of the current games market. Brussee described it as "rough" and warned that development costs are spiralling, making it harder for small teams to survive.
"We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines, otherwise studios risk their livelihoods," he said. De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has given developers a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry faces many challenges, and repeating the same old processes won’t solve them.
We need fresh ideas, not just more of the same," he argued. A key criticism of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers are forced to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. De Jong believes AI can flip this script by delivering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s needs.
"Flexibility is essential. You should be able to swap components, add new tools, and tailor the interface to match your personal workflow.
Imagine building a suite of shortcuts and features that perfectly fit your project— that’s the kind of adaptability we aim for." Valient acknowledged that AI, while powerful, can misbehave if left unchecked. "We’re building Immersive so users stay in control. You can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its history, and reproduce results reliably. This transparency lets you create bespoke tools for specific problems—say, generating five characters with a unique trait—in minutes instead of weeks." The platform’s design deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow.
De Jong emphasized that teams can decide how much AI to incorporate and where. "Our architecture is open‑ended; you choose the level of AI assistance that makes sense for you, as long as the AI understands the context correctly." Interoperability is another pillar of Immersive’s strategy.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. "When files are human‑readable, any system can parse them. That means the AI can manipulate assets directly, and you can plug in third‑party software without fighting proprietary barriers," Brussee explained.
There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, fueled in part by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immersive’s founders see such "click‑to‑game" fantasies as far‑off possibilities, but they stress that AI should be viewed as a tool, not a replacement for creativity. Valient said, "AI will make everyone better, but the art still comes from people. It has negative connotations now because it’s disrupting at an unprecedented scale." Economic concerns also loom large.
Some critics label the AI boom a bubble with inflated valuations. Valient compared it to the dot‑com era: "AI isn’t disappearing; the internet survived the bubble. Many companies will fail, but solid technology and great products will endure. We’re focused on building a high‑quality engine; AI simply accelerates our vision." Funding remains modest.
Immersive has secured its first commitments but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital sought as "reasonable." Brussee warned against excess cash, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The team remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused group can make better decisions than a massive, bureaucratic effort. Balancing resources and timing is a delicate act. De Jong explained that building an engine is complex; you can’t simply throw a million developers at it.
Yet there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. The goal is to have enough funding and talent to seize that moment without over‑inflating the operation.
Immersive is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team aims to release the demo within the month, having already accelerated their timeline by a factor of two compared to initial estimates. Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" philosophy but says it’s too early to lock in specifics. Ultimately, he hopes Immersive will enable creators to push the boundaries of what games can be.
"We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expression. If our technology helps developers take bigger creative risks, that would be amazing."