Unity and Unreal have long held sway over the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a notable surge in popularity over recent years and some major studios still cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal remains largely unchallenged. Enter Immers, the brainchild of three seasoned veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that the market still has room for a fresh engine, and that the time is ripe for a fundamentally different approach. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the opportunity to build a new engine "didn't exist a couple of years ago." He believes that AI‑augmented programming now makes it possible to start from a clean slate without the massive overhead that traditionally accompanies engine development.
"With a lot of guidance and control, you can build something that delivers full functionality quickly," he said. Valient, Immers’ chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that the AI they employ is not the kind that generates assets from a single prompt. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
"AI can reason about massive amounts of data and source code," he noted. "If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system, a bespoke animation pipeline, or any other feature they need, without being limited to a thin scripting layer." The motivation behind Immers is rooted in the current state of the games market, which Brussee describes as "rough." Development costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for small teams to break even. "We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines," he argued.
"Otherwise studios risk their livelihoods on ever‑larger budgets." De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he believes the industry now needs genuine innovation rather than incremental improvements. "The monolithic nature of existing engines forces developers to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows," he said. "With AI, we can create an engine that adapts to the developer, not the other way around." Flexibility is a core tenet of Immers.
De Jong envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, or even craft entirely custom tools that match their personal workflows. "Imagine being able to design an interface with the exact shortcuts, features, and layout that suit your team’s needs," he explained. "That level of personalization is what we aim to enable." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword. While it is "really powerful," it can also "go off the rails" if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immers is built to keep the user in full control, providing transparent histories of AI actions so that developers can reproduce or reverse any step. This transparency, he argues, turns AI from a mysterious black box into a reliable assistant that can, for example, generate five uniquely‑behaved characters in the time it takes to sip a coffee. The architecture of Immers 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 understands the context correctly.
Open standards also play a pivotal role; by using text‑based file formats, the engine can interoperate seamlessly with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. "If everything speaks a common language, you can plug in any software without fighting proprietary barriers," Brussee said. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, often fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑level experience.
Immers’ founders see such "click‑to‑game" visions as distant possibilities, but they maintain that AI should be treated as a tool that amplifies human creativity rather than replaces it. "AI is making everyone better," Valient affirmed.
"It has negative connotations now because it’s disrupting at an unprecedented scale, but that disruption is necessary." Economic anxieties also loom, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are riding a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the underlying technology endured. "We are focused on building a solid engine first," he said. "AI helps us move faster and dream bigger, but the core product must stand on its own merits." Funding remains modest.
Immers has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, noting that excessive cash can breed complacency. The team remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. "Engine development is complex, but you don’t need a thousand engineers to make progress," De Jong explained. "A small, focused group can iterate faster and make more thoughtful decisions." Currently, Immers is racing toward 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; what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving roughly twice as quickly. "Timelines are fluid when you have AI in the mix," Brussee admitted. The business model is still taking shape. While Immers admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy, the founders concede that it is too early to commit to a specific revenue structure.
Their ultimate goal, however, is clear: to empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art. "We love games and want to see more daring, creative experiences," Brussee concluded. "If our technology can lower barriers and inspire risk‑taking, that would be amazing for the whole industry."