For years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game makers, accounting for roughly 70 % of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has carved out a niche and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Into this landscape step three seasoned industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, the founders of Immersive (Immens).
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development, with stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they believe there is still room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the current giants. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ripe for a new platform, noting that “an opportunity now exists that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.” He attributes this opening to the rapid maturation of AI‑assisted programming, which, in his view, can revive the possibility of building a game engine from the ground up while still offering developers a high degree of guidance and control. “With AI‑supported coding, you can start from scratch again and achieve full functionality much faster,” he explained.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI component is not about generating content with a single prompt. Instead, it is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “AI can reason over massive code and data sets,” he said. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle engine—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This approach, according to Valient, empowers creators to iterate and expand the engine at a pace previously reserved for large studios.
The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑driven engine stems from the current economic climate of game development, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Production costs keep climbing, making it increasingly difficult for smaller studios to survive. “We need new ways of working that lower risk, shrink budgets, and let teams ship faster,” he said. The trio believes AI can be a catalyst for that efficiency, enabling developers to achieve more with fewer hands.
De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now demands genuine innovation rather than incremental tweaks.
“We’re at a point where the old, monolithic approach of existing engines is a hindrance,” he noted. “Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
With AI, we aim to flip that script—letting the engine adapt to the creator’s needs instead of the other way around.” Flexibility is a core tenet of Immens. De Jong envisions a system where users can interchange modules, append new features, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their personal workflows. “Imagine being able to build an interface with exactly the shortcuts, panels, and features that my team requires, and have the engine understand and support those customizations seamlessly,” he said. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword; while it is incredibly powerful, it can also behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep developers in the driver’s seat, offering full transparency over the engine’s actions and a complete history of changes. This ensures repeatability and accountability, allowing creators to generate, for example, a set of five characters with specific traits in a matter of minutes rather than weeks, then discard the temporary tooling once the job is done. The platform also embraces open standards, which De Jong believes will facilitate smoother interoperability with existing tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
“When files are text‑based, any software can read them. By leveraging open standards, we avoid the isolation that many proprietary engines suffer from, making it easier to plug in external assets and workflows,” Brussee explained. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, with some commentators warning of a future where entire AAA experiences could be conjured with a single prompt. Immens’s team tempers such hype, describing AI as a powerful tool rather than a magic button.
“One day we might see ‘click‑to‑game’ engines, but for now we view AI as an accelerator that makes developers better, not a replacement for creativity,” Valient said. Economic concerns also swirl around the AI boom, with many fearing a bubble of overvalued startups. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet— persisted. “AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving.
Our focus is on building a solid engine that stands on its own merits, using AI to speed us up and let us dream bigger,” he remarked. Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against excessive capital, warning that it can breed complacency. The company remains lean, consisting of the three founders plus a handful of helpers, a deliberate choice to stay scrappy while tackling the complex task of engine development.
Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original expectations—what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time.
Regarding the business model, Brussee admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue structure. Ultimately, the team hopes their engine will empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art, fostering more risk‑taking and innovative titles. “We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology helps make that happen, it would be amazing.”