For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to tools for game creators, accounting for roughly seventy percent of the titles that landed on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a notable surge in popularity recently, and a handful of large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been dominated by the two giants.
Enter Immers, a new venture founded by three seasoned veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh engine and, more importantly, for a better way to build games. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, Apple, and other high‑profile studios. Together they aim to challenge the status quo and give developers an alternative that cuts costs and accelerates production.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the landscape has changed in ways that didn’t exist a few years ago.” He points to AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that can let teams start from a clean slate again, while still maintaining tight guidance and control. “When you combine AI with a well‑designed architecture, you can spin up full‑featured systems far more quickly than before,” he said.
Valient, Immers’ chief technology officer, stressed that the AI they are integrating is not the “prompt‑to‑output” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is baked into the engine’s core to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets,” he noted.
“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 rewriting large sections of the engine. The AI becomes a productivity partner, not a replacement for thoughtful engineering.” The motivation behind Immers is also a reaction to the current economic climate of game development. Brussee described the market as “rough” and warned that production budgets are ballooning, making it harder for small studios to survive.
“We need new ways of working that lower risk, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines,” he argued. The goal is to empower creators to bring their visions to life without jeopardizing their livelihoods. De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become increasingly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation offers a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a series of challenges, and simply iterating on the same monolithic tools won’t solve them,” he said. “We need a flexible, modular engine that adapts to each project’s unique needs.” Current engines often force developers into a monolithic workflow, requiring them to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
De Jong envisions an engine where users can swap components, append new modules, and craft custom tools tailored to their personal workflows. “Imagine being able to build a UI that mirrors exactly how you think, with shortcuts and features that match your team’s habits—that’s the kind of flexibility we’re targeting.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can veer off course if left unchecked.
Immers is being built with transparency in mind: developers will always see what the AI is doing, have access to its decision history, and retain full control over the output. This auditability ensures that AI‑generated assets or code remain repeatable and reliable. He illustrated the potential with a simple example: instead of spending weeks crafting five characters with specific traits, a developer could describe the requirement to the AI, generate the assets over a coffee break, and then reuse or discard the tool as needed. Such rapid iteration was previously prohibitively expensive.
Flexibility is a cornerstone of Immers’ philosophy. De Jong emphasized that the engine will not impose a single workflow; teams can decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The architecture is being designed to be open‑standard‑friendly, allowing seamless interoperability with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI service.
“When files are text‑based, any program can read them,” Brussee explained. “That openness lets the AI parse and manipulate assets directly, creating smarter bridges between the engine and the broader toolchain.” There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immers’ founders acknowledge that such “click‑to‑game” fantasies may one day be feasible, but they view AI primarily as an enhancer rather than a replacement. “AI makes every creator better, not a shortcut that eliminates the craft,” Valient said.
He stressed that, like any powerful technology, AI must be used responsibly. Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with some critics labeling the sector a bubble.
Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology will persist. “AI isn’t disappearing; it’s becoming the backbone of how we build software,” he asserted.
“Our focus is on delivering a solid engine that leverages AI to speed development and expand creative horizons. Whether the market is a bubble is irrelevant to our mission.” Funding remains modest. Immers has secured its “first commitments,” but the founders have not disclosed exact numbers, only describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑funding, saying it can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy; too much cash can make you lazy.” The team itself is intentionally lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex endeavor that doesn’t scale linearly with headcount. “You need a small, focused group to make critical decisions and iterate quickly. At the same time, you must time your effort to capture the current wave of AI‑driven change without over‑extending resources.” Immers is currently working on a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month.
Brussee revealed that the project, which began in April, is already progressing twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the acceleration that AI can provide. Regarding the business model, Brussee hinted that Immers admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach but stopped short of committing to any specific licensing structure.
The company remains in early‑stage discussions about how best to monetize the engine while staying true to its developer‑first ethos. Ultimately, the founders hope Immers will spark a wave of creativity and risk‑taking in the industry.
“We love games and want to see more ambitious, artistic expressions,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology enables studios to experiment without fear of financial ruin, that would be amazing.”