For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction recently, the majority of larger studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal with a near‑monopoly on the engine market. Enter Immersive (Immens), the brainchild of three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who's‑who of game development, featuring stints at Epic Games (the makers of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that despite the entrenched position of the current giants, there is still room—and indeed a need—for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of existing tools.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform because "the opportunity didn't exist a couple of years ago." He believes that advances in AI‑assisted programming now make it feasible to rebuild core development workflows from the ground up, delivering full‑featured functionality much more quickly than traditional pipelines. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI component is not about "prompt‑to‑asset" magic. Instead, the company is leveraging AI to make the engine itself more extensible.
"AI can reason over large codebases and data sets," he said. "If we design the architecture with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle engine—without being confined to a limited scripting layer. The AI acts as an accelerator for extending the engine, not a replacement for thoughtful engineering." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic climate of game development. Brussee describes the market as "rough," noting that production budgets continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for small studios to survive.
"We need new ways of working that lower costs and allow games to be built by fewer people in less time," he argued. The goal is to break the cycle of ever‑rising expenses that threatens the livelihoods of independent creators. De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While this has provided a stable foundation, he contends that the industry now requires genuine innovation rather than incremental refinements. "Continuing to do things exactly as we have in the past isn’t enough," he said. "We need a different approach that embraces flexibility and adaptability." One of the pain points with current engines, according to De Jong, is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows, limiting creativity.
Immens aims to flip that script by allowing the engine to adapt to the developer’s needs. "You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft tools that match your personal workflow," he explained. "Imagine a developer who can build a custom interface with the exact shortcuts and features their team requires, without fighting the engine’s default constraints." Valient also warns that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in the driver’s seat: every AI‑generated action is logged, repeatable, and fully transparent.
This level of control ensures that developers can trust the output and adjust it as needed. He illustrated the potential with a simple example: creating five characters with a specific trait that would have taken weeks can now be prototyped over a coffee break, then discarded after use—dramatically reducing cost and time. Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy. The engine does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it provides a modular framework where users decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it.
De Jong emphasizes that the architecture is deliberately open, allowing developers to integrate AI at points that make sense for their project while preserving the ability to fall back on traditional methods when needed. Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens’ design. By adopting open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can seamlessly exchange data with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline.
"When files are readable as plain text, any system can parse them," Brussee noted. "This openness enables smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain, something that many proprietary engines have historically resisted." The broader conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some commentators on platforms like LinkedIn hype the idea of "click‑to‑game" experiences, suggesting that a single prompt could generate a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world. Immens’ team acknowledges the hype but frames AI as a catalyst rather than a replacement.
Valient believes that AI will make developers better, not obsolete, and that the technology’s current negative perception stems from its disruptive speed. De Jong adds a responsible perspective: AI is a tool that can be misused, but it is also an opportunity for the industry to evolve thoughtfully.
He likens it to any powerful technology—its impact depends on how humanity chooses to wield it. Economic concerns also loom large. Critics worry that AI‑focused startups are riding a speculative bubble, with inflated valuations that may not reflect sustainable business models. Valient counters that while bubbles burst, the underlying technology often endures.
"The internet didn’t disappear after the dot‑com crash; many companies fell, but the good ones survived and thrived," he said. Immens is focused on building a solid engine first, using AI to accelerate development and inspire bigger creative visions, regardless of market hype. Funding for Immens remains modest. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee cautions against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
"Startups need to stay scrappy," he laughed, emphasizing the value of disciplined resource management. The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional small size allows for rapid decision‑making and deep focus on the engine’s core challenges. De Jong explains the balancing act: building a sophisticated engine requires expertise, but throwing a large team at the problem doesn’t guarantee success.
Timing is critical, and Immens aims to capture the window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise while maintaining a sustainable team size. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team expects to release this demo within the month, a timeline that has already outpaced their original estimate of completing it by year‑end. "We’re moving twice as fast as we thought we would," Brussee admitted, highlighting the speed gains that AI can provide.
The business model is still taking shape. While Immens admires Epic’s revenue‑share approach—"we succeed when you succeed"—the founders admit it’s too early to commit to a specific pricing structure. They remain open to models that align incentives between the engine creators and the developers who use it.
Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will enable a new wave of creative risk‑taking in games. "We love games and want to see more bold artistic expression," Brussee concluded. "If our technology can lower barriers and inspire innovation, that would be amazing for the whole industry."