Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of all Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly dominated by the two giants. Enter Immersive’s founders: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. These three industry veterans, whose résumés span Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple, believe there is still space for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a better way to build games.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is right for a new platform that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. “Thanks to AI‑assisted programming we can start from a clean slate again,” he explained. “With the right guidance and control, we can assemble a fully functional engine far more quickly than before.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the sort of “prompt‑to‑content” wizardry that dominates headlines. Instead, their 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 solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being limited to superficial scripting.” This extensibility, he added, is meant to let creators harness AI to speed up extensions while retaining full control. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑powered engine stems from the harsh reality of today’s game market. Brussee described the environment as “rough,” noting that development costs keep climbing and success feels increasingly elusive.
“We need new ways of working, more efficient pipelines, and tools that let smaller teams deliver high‑quality experiences on tighter budgets,” he said. The goal is to break the cycle where rising expenses threaten the very survival of studios. De Jong, the chief product officer, pointed out that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry now faces a host of challenges, and merely iterating on existing engines won’t solve them,” he argued. “What we need is genuine innovation, not just another layer of standardization.” One of De Jong’s key criticisms of current engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers are forced to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens aims to flip that script, offering an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is essential,” he said. “You should be able to swap components, append new features, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and specific functionalities you require.” Valient acknowledged AI’s power but warned that it can “go off the rails” if left unchecked.
Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and user control. “When you use our engine, you always know what it’s doing and why,” he explained. “You can trace its history, reproduce results, and build bespoke tools for niche tasks.
Imagine needing five characters with a unique trait; previously this might have taken weeks of manual work. With the right AI‑assisted pipeline, you could prototype the concept over coffee and then generate the assets on demand, discarding the temporary tool once the job is done.” This approach, he believes, dramatically reduces cost and time.
The platform is deliberately built to avoid imposing a single workflow. De Jong stressed that developers can decide how much AI to integrate and where to place it within their pipeline. “Our architecture is modular, so you can choose the level of AI assistance that fits your project while ensuring the AI interprets instructions correctly.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens’s design.
By embracing open, text‑based standards, the engine can seamlessly exchange data with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI system. “If files are readable as plain text, any program can parse them,” Brussee noted. “This openness lets us plug into existing ecosystems without the usual friction caused by proprietary formats.” The broader AI debate in game development is heated, with some pundits on LinkedIn claiming that future engines will let anyone spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world with a single prompt. While Immens acknowledges the eventual possibility of “click‑to‑game” solutions, the team insists their technology is a tool, not a replacement for human creativity.
“AI will make everyone better, but the art still comes from people,” Valient said. “The current negativity stems from disruption at an unprecedented scale.” Economic concerns also loom large. Critics warn that the AI boom may be a bubble with inflated valuations.
Valient counters that, like the dot‑com era, the underlying technology will endure even if some companies fail. “AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving.
Good products will survive, and we’re focused on building a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development and inspire bigger dreams.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its first commitments but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, noting that excess capital can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Too much money can make you lazy.” The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
This intentional size allows rapid decision‑making while avoiding the pitfalls of a massive, unwieldy team. De Jong explained the trade‑off: “Building an engine is complex; you can’t throw a million developers at it and expect miracles.
You need a focused group to iterate, learn, and make hard choices. At the same time, there’s a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, so we must balance resources with speed.” Immens is currently targeting 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 roughly twice as fast. Brussee admits it’s hard to predict exact milestones, but the early momentum is encouraging.
Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions,” he said. “If our technology can enable more risk‑taking and innovation, that would be amazing for the whole industry."