For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for game creators, accounting for roughly 70 % of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has enjoyed notable growth, the majority of large publishers still cling to proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, leaving the market seemingly locked in a duopoly. Enter Immersive, a fledgling studio founded by three seasoned veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still space for a fresh, more adaptable engine.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they aim to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ripe for a new engine because “the landscape has changed dramatically in the last couple of years.” He highlighted the role of AI‑assisted programming, suggesting that developers can now start from a clean slate with far more guidance and speed than before. “With AI‑supported tools you can build something functional very quickly while still retaining full control,” he said.
Valient, Immersive’s chief technology officer, clarified that the company’s use of AI differs from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” narrative. Instead, AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “The AI can reason about large codebases and data sets,” he explained.
“If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke animation pipeline without being limited to a handful of scripts.” This approach, he says, empowers creators to extend the engine rapidly, turning AI into a productivity catalyst rather than a magic wand. The motivation behind Immersive’s project is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development.
Brussee described the market as “rough,” noting that production budgets are ballooning and the risk of failure is higher than ever. “We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he asserted.
The goal is to break the cycle where developers must gamble their studios’ futures on ever‑larger projects. De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now requires genuine innovation.
“Continuing to do things exactly as we have in the past won’t solve the challenges we face,” he said. “We need a different paradigm—one that embraces flexibility and user‑driven customization.” A key criticism of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the developer’s needs, allowing components to be swapped, appended, or modified at will.
“I can build tools that match my personal workflow—exact shortcuts, interfaces, and features—so my team can work exactly the way we need to,” he explained. Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can “go off the rails” if left unchecked. Immersive therefore places control firmly in the user’s hands: every AI action is logged, repeatable, and transparent.
This auditability lets developers understand the history of a change and roll it back if necessary. He illustrated the benefit with a simple example: generating five characters with specific traits could previously take weeks; with AI‑assisted tooling, it can be drafted over a coffee break and refined as needed, dramatically reducing cost. Flexibility is baked into Immersive’s design philosophy.
The engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it provides a modular framework that lets teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. De Jong emphasized that the architecture must be robust enough to support varied approaches while ensuring the AI interprets instructions correctly. Interoperability is another pillar of the platform.
By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immersive aims to make its engine play nicely with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, and other generative pipelines. “If the files are readable text, any tool can ingest them,” Brussee noted.
“Open standards let us create smarter interfaces that communicate seamlessly, something many proprietary engines still struggle with.” The broader AI debate in game development is heated. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of “click‑to‑game” experiences where a prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world. Immersive acknowledges that such extremes are unlikely in the near term; they view AI as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity.
Valient summed it up: “AI will make everyone better, but it remains a tool, not a substitute.” Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with concerns about inflated valuations and a potential bubble. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, arguing that while many AI startups will fail, the underlying technology will endure. “We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our vision,” he said. “Whether the market is a bubble is uncertain, but the technology isn’t disappearing.” Funding remains modest.
Immersive has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the needed capital as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. The team deliberately remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—to stay scrappy and make deliberate decisions. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act.
De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex, long‑term endeavor that cannot be rushed by throwing a large workforce at it. Yet there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. The challenge is to secure enough resources to capitalize on that window without diluting focus. Immersive 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 initial expectations; what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. Regarding the business model, Brussee hinted that Immersive appreciates Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy but admitted it is too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver innovative experiences. “We love games and want to see more daring, creative work,” Brussee concluded.
“If our technology helps make that happen, it would be amazing."