For years, Unity and Unreal have been the de‑facto platforms for video‑game creation, accounting for roughly 70 % of all Steam releases in 2025. While open‑source alternatives such as Godot have begun to gain traction, most large studios still rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example. In short, the engine market has long been dominated by a duopoly. Enter Immersive, the brainchild of three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who argue there is still space for a fresh, more adaptable engine.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development: experience at Epic Games (the makers of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they see an opportunity to challenge the status quo and inject new ideas into a market that has grown complacent. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.
“AI‑assisted programming lets us start from scratch again,” he said. “With the right guidance and control, we can deliver full‑featured tools at a much faster pace.” Valient, Immersive’s chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that their use of artificial intelligence is not the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” model that many fear. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“If we design the codebase with AI reasoning in mind, even solo developers can add custom systems—say, a bespoke particle effect—without being limited to a tiny scripting layer,” he explained. The goal is to let creators leverage AI to extend the engine quickly, not to replace the creative process. The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the current economic climate of game development.
Brussee describes the environment as “rough.” Production budgets are ballooning, and the risk of financial ruin for small studios is growing. “We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued.
The hope is that an AI‑enhanced workflow can break the cycle of ever‑increasing expense and enable developers to ship high‑quality experiences without jeopardizing their livelihoods. De Jong, Immersive’s chief product officer, points out that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that has provided a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a range of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it,” he said.
“We need innovation, not more of the same.” One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the monolithic nature of existing engines. Developers often have to bend their projects to fit proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. With AI, Immersive aims to flip that relationship, offering an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he noted.
“You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and craft interfaces that match your personal workflow. If I want a toolset tailored to my background, with specific shortcuts and UI elements, I should be able to build it without fighting the engine.” Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it can accelerate tasks dramatically, it can also produce unexpected results if left unchecked.
“We’re building Immersive so that users stay in the driver’s seat,” he said. “You always know what the engine is doing, you can trace its history, and you can reproduce results reliably. Think of a scenario where you need five characters with a unique trait. Previously that could take weeks; with the right AI‑augmented tool, you could prototype it over coffee and breakfast, use the tool a handful of times, then discard it.
That kind of rapid, low‑cost iteration is what we’re after.” The platform is deliberately engineered to avoid imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the architecture is modular, allowing teams to decide how much AI to incorporate and where. “You choose the level of automation you’re comfortable with, but we also need to make sure the AI interprets instructions correctly,” he added. Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immersive’s design philosophy.
By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can communicate seamlessly with other tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. “When files are human‑readable, any system can parse them,” Brussee explained. “That opens the door for smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain, something proprietary engines have historically resisted.” The conversation around AI in game development is not without controversy. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype the idea that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world, fueling fears of a “click‑to‑game” future.
Immersive’s team acknowledges the hype but insists their technology is a facilitator, not a replacement. “AI will make everyone better, but it remains a tool,” Valient said. “It’s disruptive, which is why it feels uncomfortable, but that disruption is necessary for progress.” Economic concerns also loom large.
Critics warn that the AI boom could be a bubble with inflated valuations. Valient counters that bubbles burst, yet the underlying technology endures—just as the internet survived the dot‑com crash. “We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination. Whether this is a bubble is unknown, but history shows useful technologies persist beyond the hype.” Funding for Immersive remains modest.
The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, describing the capital they seek as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑funding, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. “Start‑ups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. The company remains tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team does not guarantee success in a complex undertaking like an engine; a lean, focused group can make thoughtful decisions and iterate quickly.
Timing is crucial, as the industry is undergoing rapid AI‑driven change, and Immersive wants to hit that window with the right resources. Currently, Immersive is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI editing workflow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original estimate: what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time.
Brussee admits it’s hard to predict exact milestones, but the early speed gains are encouraging. Business‑model discussions are still in flux.
While Immersive admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” revenue share, they are not ready to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more risk‑taking, artistic expression, and innovative gameplay. In their own words, “We love games and want to see more creativity, more daring projects, and more breakthroughs built on technology like ours. That would be amazing.”