For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed notable growth and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been monopolized by the two giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immers, a new AI‑enhanced engine that they believe can carve out a fresh niche and address longstanding inefficiencies. The trio’s résumés read like a who's‑who of modern game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
Their collective expertise fuels confidence that they can challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ideal for a new engine, noting that "a few years ago this simply wasn’t possible." He points to AI‑assisted programming as the catalyst that makes it feasible to start building a full‑featured engine from the ground up with unprecedented speed and guidance. Valient, Immers’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI component is not about generating content via prompts, as many popular narratives suggest. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
"AI can reason about massive codebases and data sets," he explains. "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 confined to limited scripting layers." The motivation behind Immers is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development.
Brussee describes the environment as "rough," emphasizing that production costs are spiralling and that developers need new workflows to break the costly cycle. "We must find ways to work more efficiently, to lower budgets and shrink team sizes without sacrificing quality," he says. The goal is to enable creators to bring their visions to life faster, reducing the financial risk that threatens studios and individual livelihoods. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While this has provided a solid foundation, he argues that the industry now requires genuine innovation rather than incremental improvements. He criticizes existing engines for their "monolithic approach," where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immers aims to flip that model, offering an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs instead of forcing developers to adapt to the engine. Flexibility is a cornerstone of Immers’ design philosophy. De Jong envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their personal workflows.
"Imagine being able to build an interface with exactly the shortcuts, features, and layout that suit my team’s project," he says. This level of customization is intended to empower creators to streamline repetitive tasks and focus on the creative aspects of game making.
Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is "really powerful," it can also behave unpredictably if left unchecked. Immers therefore places control firmly in the hands of the user. Every action taken by the AI is logged, repeatable, and transparent, allowing developers to audit and refine the process.
This transparency is crucial for maintaining artistic intent, especially when generating assets such as characters with specific traits—tasks that previously might have taken weeks can now be prototyped over a coffee break. The engine’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a singular workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is open‑ended: developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where it fits into their pipeline. To facilitate seamless integration with existing tools, Immers adopts open standards and text‑based file formats.
"When files are human‑readable, any tool—Blender, Maya, or a generative model—can interact with them," Brussee notes. This openness contrasts with many proprietary engines that act as closed ecosystems, hindering interoperability.
Public sentiment toward AI in game development is mixed, with some voices warning of a dystopian "click‑to‑game" future where entire experiences are conjured from a single prompt. Immers’ team acknowledges the hype but frames AI as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. Valient believes AI will elevate the entire industry: "Big games and indie titles alike will benefit because AI makes everyone better." Economic anxieties also surface, especially concerns that AI‑focused startups are part of a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, asserting that while many companies will fail, the underlying technology endures. "AI isn’t disappearing; it’s evolving. Our focus is on building a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development and inspire bigger dreams," he says.
Funding for Immers remains modest. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against excessive capital, noting that abundant funding can breed complacency.
The company deliberately stays lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—to maintain agility and focus. Immers 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, with development progressing twice as fast as projected. As for monetization, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" model but admits it is too early to commit to a specific approach.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immers will catalyze a new wave of creative risk‑taking in games. "We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions," Brussee concludes.
"If our technology can help studios push boundaries and innovate, that would be amazing."