For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles launched on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction, the majority of large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely monopolized by the two giants.
Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immersive (Immens), a new AI‑augmented engine that they believe can carve out a meaningful niche. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ripe for a fresh engine, noting that "an opportunity now exists that simply didn’t exist a couple of years ago." He points to AI‑assisted programming as the catalyst that could let developers start "building things from scratch again" under a controlled, guided framework, delivering full‑featured results quickly. CTO Michal Valient clarifies that Immens’ AI is not about magical prompts that conjure assets out of thin air. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
"AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," Valient explains. "If we design the core with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or any bespoke feature without being confined to limited scripting." The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach stems from the current economic climate of game development.
Brussee describes the market as "rough," with production costs soaring and success becoming increasingly elusive. He asks whether new workflows can break the cycle of ever‑higher budgets and larger teams, allowing creators to deliver games faster, cheaper, and with less personal risk.
De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become "standardised and consolidated," providing a solid foundation but stifling innovation. He argues that the industry now faces a suite of challenges that cannot be solved by simply iterating on existing tools. "We need innovation, not more standardisation," he says. "A monolithic engine forces developers to adapt to its proprietary file formats and workflows.
With AI, the engine can adapt to the developer instead." Flexibility is a core tenet of Immens. De Jong envisions a system where developers can swap, append, and modify components at will, creating tailor‑made tools that match their personal workflow.
"I can build an interface with exactly the shortcuts, features, and layout my team needs," he says. "The engine should be a canvas, not a cage." Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility, warning that without careful oversight the technology can "go off the rails".
Immens therefore aims to keep users in the driver’s seat, providing transparent histories of AI actions so that results are repeatable and controllable. He illustrates this with a hypothetical: instead of spending weeks crafting five characters with a specific trait, a developer could sketch the concept over coffee, generate the assets with AI, reuse the tool a handful of times, and discard it—dramatically cutting cost and time. The platform deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow.
De Jong stresses that teams can decide how much AI to incorporate and where, as long as the underlying system reliably interprets the AI’s output. Open standards also play a crucial role. Brussee notes that when files are text‑based, any tool can read them, enabling seamless integration with software like Blender, Maya, or other generative pipelines. "Many companies are adopting open standards, but traditional engines often remain closed off.
We want to embrace those standards so that every piece of the pipeline can talk to each other," he says. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, fueled in part by sensational claims on social media that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑level experience. Immens’ founders see such "click‑to‑game" visions as a distant possibility, emphasizing that AI should be treated as a powerful tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. Valient asserts, "Big games will still be made because AI makes everyone better, not because AI does the work alone." Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with many fearing a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet endured and grew stronger. "AI isn’t going away. Some firms will fail, but the good technology and solid products will survive," he says. Immens is focused on building a robust engine first; AI simply accelerates their ambition.
Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital sought as "reasonable". Brussee warns against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency and reduce the scrappy mindset essential for a startup.
The team currently consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers, a deliberately lean structure to maintain agility while tackling the complex task of engine development. Balancing team size and timeline is a delicate act.
De Jong explains that throwing a million developers at an engine won’t magically finish it; a focused, small team must iterate, make decisions, and learn. Yet there is a limited window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, so they must secure enough resources to hit that sweet spot without over‑inflating the operation.
Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release later this month. Brussee notes that the project, which began in April, is already moving twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the speed gains AI can deliver. The business model remains under discussion. While Immens appreciates Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy, Brussee admits it is too early to commit to a specific revenue structure.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push artistic boundaries, take risks, and inject fresh innovation into games. "We love games and want to see more creativity and risk‑taking," Brussee concludes. "If our technology can help make that happen, that would be amazing."