For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction and some studios still rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the market has largely been locked into the two big players.
Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immersive (Immens), a new AI‑augmented game engine that they believe can carve out a meaningful niche and push the medium forward. The founders bring an impressive résumé: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ripe for a fresh engine, noting that "a few years ago this simply didn’t exist." He sees AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that lets developers start from a clean slate, providing "full functionality fast" while retaining tight guidance and control.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that the AI embedded in their platform is not the typical "prompt‑to‑output" gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. "If we design the code with AI in mind, even small teams or solo creators can extend the engine beyond simple scripting," he explains. "Imagine a developer who wants a custom particle system—they can plug it in directly, rather than fighting against a monolithic framework." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development.
Brussee describes the climate as "rough," pointing out that production costs keep climbing, making it increasingly difficult for independent studios to survive. He asks whether new workflows can break the cycle of ever‑higher budgets and larger teams. The answer, according to Immens, lies in leveraging AI to streamline processes, reduce headcount, and accelerate timelines without sacrificing creative ambition. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While this has provided a "solid foundation," it also stifles innovation. "The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating what we’ve always done won’t solve them," he says.
"We need a different approach, not just another iteration of the same monolithic engines." One of De Jong’s criticisms of existing engines is their rigidity. Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and fixed pipelines, often spending weeks building tools that should be simple extensions. With AI, Immens aims to flip that model: the engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around. "Flexibility is key," he notes.
"You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools that match your exact workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you need for a particular project." Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. "It can go off the rails quickly if you’re not paying attention," he warns. To mitigate this, Immens is built with transparency at its core: users can see what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
This level of control enables rapid prototyping—creating, for instance, five characters with specific traits in the time it would previously have taken weeks—while still allowing the developer to discard the temporary tools once the task is complete. Flexibility extends to the degree of AI integration. De Jong stresses that Immens does not force a single workflow on its users.
"You decide how much AI you want, where you want it, and how it fits into your pipeline," he says. The underlying architecture is deliberately open, supporting text‑based file formats that any tool can read.
This openness facilitates seamless interoperability with industry staples like Blender, Maya, or other generative systems. "When everything speaks a common language, you can plug in whatever you need without fighting against a closed‑source engine," Brussee adds.
The broader conversation about AI in games is polarized. Some commentators hype "click‑to‑game" promises, claiming that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’s team tempers such expectations, positioning AI as an empowering tool rather than a magical shortcut.
Valient believes AI will elevate the entire ecosystem: "Big games and indie titles alike will benefit because AI makes everyone better." Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with critics labeling the sector a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many startups will fail, the underlying technology—like the internet—will endure. "We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our ability to dream bigger and iterate faster," he says. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens is betting on long‑term relevance rather than short‑term hype.
Funding for Immens is still in its early stages. The founders have secured "first commitments" but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against excessive capital, warning that it can breed complacency. "Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughs. The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design.
De Jong explains the delicate balance: a game engine is a complex undertaking that cannot be solved by throwing a million engineers at it, yet a window of opportunity exists as AI reshapes the industry. The team aims to hit that sweet spot with a modest, focused team. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The goal is to release the demo within the month, a timeline that has already outpaced their original estimate of year‑end delivery. "We’re moving twice as fast as we thought we would," Brussee remarks, highlighting the speed gains they attribute to AI‑assisted development. The business model remains under discussion. While Immens admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy, they consider it premature to make definitive statements.
Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will enable creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and produce innovative experiences. "We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking," he concludes. "If our technology can help bring that vision to life, that would be amazing."