For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, powering roughly 70% of the titles that appeared on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed notable growth and some studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal.
Enter Immersive, a startup founded by three seasoned industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of game‑making powerhouses, with experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. The trio believes the current landscape still has room for a fresh engine, one that addresses the shortcomings of existing tools and leverages modern AI capabilities.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because "the technology that didn’t exist a couple of years ago is finally mature enough to be useful." He argues that AI‑assisted programming can let developers start from a clean slate while still receiving enough guidance to produce fully functional systems quickly. Valient, Immersive’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ isn’t about generating assets from vague prompts. Instead, it’s a reasoning engine that makes the codebase highly extensible. "If we design the engine with AI in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers," he says.
The goal is to let creators extend the engine as naturally as they would any other piece of software, using AI to accelerate that process. The motivation behind Immersive’s AI‑driven approach stems from the current economic pressures on developers. Brussee describes the market as "rough" and warns that production costs are spiralling. "Games are getting more expensive, and studios are risking everything on ever‑larger budgets," he notes.
By streamlining workflows and cutting down the number of required personnel, Immersive hopes to break the cycle of ever‑increasing spend. De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that consolidation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry needs a different approach now, not just more of the same," he asserts. He criticises the "monolithic" nature of current engines, which force developers to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immersive aims to deliver a flexible system that molds itself around the user’s needs. Flexibility is a recurring theme for the founders.
De Jong envisions an environment where developers can swap out components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their specific workflows. "I can build an interface with the exact shortcuts and features my team requires, and the engine will accommodate it," he explains.
Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it offers powerful assistance, it can also behave unpredictably if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immersive is building transparency into the engine: users will always know what the AI is doing, can review its decision history, and retain full control over the output.
This level of oversight is crucial for repeatable, reliable development. The platform is deliberately agnostic about workflow. De Jong stresses that Immersive does not impose a single way of working; instead, it provides an architecture that lets teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
The engine also embraces open standards, meaning that text‑based assets can be read and manipulated by any tool. "If you use Blender, Maya, or a generative‑AI suite, you can plug it straight into Immersive because everything communicates via open formats," Brussee says. This openness contrasts with many existing engines that act as closed ecosystems.
There is a vocal backlash against AI in game creation, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level experience. Immersive’s team acknowledges the hype but frames AI as a "tool" rather than a magic button. Valient believes AI will make developers better, not replace them, and that the industry must adopt it responsibly.
De Jong adds that, like any powerful technology, AI can be misused, but the responsibility lies with creators to steer it toward positive outcomes. Economic concerns also swirl around AI, with skeptics warning of a bubble of over‑valued startups.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet persisted and thrived. "AI isn’t going away; we’re just building a solid engine that leverages it to speed up development and enable bigger dreams," he says.
Funding remains modest. Immersive has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed the exact amount, describing it as "reasonable." Brussee warns against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
The company remains lean, consisting of the three founders plus a handful of helpers, a deliberate choice to stay scrappy and focused. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex endeavour that cannot be solved by simply hiring a million engineers. Instead, a small, dedicated team can make thoughtful decisions and iterate efficiently, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by the AI wave.
Immersive is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases "the flow of editing something" using generative AI, slated for release later this month. The development timeline has already outpaced their original estimate; what was expected to take until year‑end is now progressing at double speed. As for the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immersive will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and deliver innovative experiences that move the medium forward. "We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking," Brussee concludes.
"If our technology helps make that happen, it would be amazing."