Unity and Unreal have long been the dominant forces in game development, powering roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made noticeable strides, most large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal with a near‑monopoly on the market. Enter Immersive (Immens), a new engine conceived by 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 Apple.
Together they argue that the current landscape still has room for a fresh approach and that the tools of yesterday can be re‑imagined for today’s challenges. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee highlighted a timing advantage: “There’s an opportunity now to build a new engine that didn’t exist a couple of years ago.” He believes AI‑augmented programming can restore the feeling of starting a project from a clean slate, giving developers the ability to assemble functional systems quickly while retaining deep control over the process.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑and‑receive” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets,” he explains. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo creators or tiny teams can plug in custom features—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This philosophy aims to let developers harness AI to accelerate extensions rather than replace creative decision‑making.
The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development. Brussee describes the market as “rough,” noting that production costs keep climbing and success is becoming harder to achieve. “We need new ways of working that reduce costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines,” he says.
The goal is to break the cycle that forces studios to gamble their livelihoods on ever‑larger budgets. De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation provides a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating old methods isn’t enough,” he argues.
“We need innovation, not more standardization.” One of the pain points De Jong identifies in existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens aspires to flip that relationship: the engine should adapt to the developer’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he says.
“You should be able to swap components, append new tools, and modify the interface to match exactly what your project demands.” In practice, this could mean a designer building a custom UI with shortcuts tailored to their team’s workflow, then integrating it seamlessly into the engine. Valient acknowledges AI’s double‑edged sword. While the technology is “really powerful,” it can also “go off the rails quickly if you don’t pay attention.” To mitigate that risk, Immens is built to keep users in the driver’s seat.
Every AI‑generated action is logged, reproducible, and transparent, allowing developers to understand the history of changes and roll back if necessary. This level of control is crucial for creative pipelines where a single misstep can waste weeks of work.
The team envisions a future where mundane, repetitive tasks—like generating five characters with a specific trait—can be accomplished in minutes, perhaps while sipping coffee. Previously such tasks required extensive planning and manual labor; now AI can produce a usable prototype instantly, which can be refined or discarded as needed.
This dramatically lowers the cost of iteration and encourages experimentation. Immens’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong emphasizes that users decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
The framework is modular, allowing developers to pick and choose AI‑assisted features without being forced into a one‑size‑fits‑all pipeline. This openness extends to file formats as well: by embracing text‑based, open standards, Immens can interoperate with tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative software. “When files are readable as plain text, any program can parse them,” Brussee notes. “That opens the door for smarter interfaces across the entire toolchain.” The broader industry reaction to AI in game development is mixed.
Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” engines that could spawn Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt. Immens’s founders temper such expectations, viewing AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magic wand. “AI will make everyone better, but it’s still a tool,” Valient says.
“Its current negative perception stems from the disruption it causes at an unprecedented scale.” Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with fears of a bubble fueled by inflated valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the technology endured.
We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination.” Funding for Immens 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 too much money can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughs. “Being lean forces you to make smarter decisions.” The company’s size reflects that philosophy: only the three founders and a handful of helpers are currently on board. De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team does not guarantee success in a complex undertaking like building an engine. “You need a focused group to iterate, make decisions, and learn from mistakes.
At the same time, you must time your effort to capture the window of opportunity presented by AI’s rise.” Immens is now working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a full editing workflow powered by generative AI, slated for release later this month. Brussee admits the timeline has been surprisingly swift: “When we started in April, we expected to be finished by year‑end. We’re already twice as fast as anticipated.” As for the business model, Immens is still exploring options.
While they admire Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” revenue sharing, they consider it premature to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will enable creators to push the medium forward, fostering more risk‑taking and artistic expression. “We love games and want to see more creativity and innovation built on this technology. That would be amazing.”