For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for video‑game creators, accounting for roughly seventy percent of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While the open‑source Godot engine has gained noticeable traction lately, the majority of large studios still cling to proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine. In practice, this duopoly has left the engine market feeling almost closed off. Enter Immersive Technologies—better known as Immens—a startup founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine that can address the shortcomings of the current landscape. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform.
“A few years ago the idea of building a modern engine from the ground up seemed impossible,” he said. “Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and get full‑featured tools up and running much more quickly.” Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the “prompt‑to‑art” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible.
“If we design the engine with AI‑friendly patterns, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke animation pipeline without having to rewrite large sections of core code,” he noted. The goal is to let creators extend the engine at a granular level, using AI as a speed‑boost rather than a magical shortcut. The motivation behind this ambitious project is the increasingly bleak economics of game development. Brussee described the current climate as “rough,” pointing out that production budgets are spiralling and the risk of failure is higher than ever.
“We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued. “If we can make the development pipeline more efficient, smaller studios won’t have to gamble their entire livelihood on a single title.” De Jong, Immens’ chief product officer, echoed this sentiment, observing that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that stability provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry is facing a host of challenges—from rising hardware expectations to talent shortages,” he said.
“Continuing to iterate on the same monolithic engines won’t solve those problems. We need a different approach, one that embraces flexibility and rapid iteration.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the “monolithic approach” of existing engines. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid toolchains, limiting creativity. With AI‑driven adaptability, Immens aims to let the engine bend to the developer’s needs.
“You should be able to swap modules, append new features, or even build entirely custom tools that match your workflow,” he explained. “Imagine a designer who can craft a UI that mirrors their personal shortcuts and preferences, then share that exact setup with the rest of the team.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly veer off course if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is building transparency into every AI‑generated action. “You’ll always see what the engine is doing, why it made a particular change, and you can replay the steps,” he said. This auditability ensures that developers retain full control and can create disposable, repeatable workflows—like generating five uniquely‑styled characters in minutes instead of weeks. Flexibility is baked into Immens’ core philosophy.
De Jong emphasized that the engine does not impose a single workflow; teams decide how much AI to incorporate and where. “Our architecture is modular, so you can decide whether AI assists you in asset creation, code scaffolding, or performance optimization, or whether you prefer a hands‑on approach,” he said. Interoperability is another cornerstone.
By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens can talk to tools such as Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline without the usual friction. “When files are human‑readable, the AI can parse and manipulate them directly,” Brussee explained. “That means you can plug in existing pipelines and have everything communicate on a common language, something most proprietary engines still struggle with.” The conversation around AI in game development is often polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” engines that could conjure a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience from a single prompt.
Immens’ founders temper those expectations, positioning AI as a powerful tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. “AI will make everyone better, but the vision and design still come from people,” Valient said. “It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also opens doors to ideas we couldn’t realize before.” Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether the AI boom is a bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, even though many early companies failed. “We’re focusing on building a solid engine that stands on its own merits,” he asserted. “If AI is a bubble, it will eventually settle, and the truly valuable products will survive.” Funding for Immens remains modest. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑capitalization, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
“Start‑ups need to stay scrappy; otherwise you lose the edge that drives innovation.” The team itself is intentionally lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. De Jong explained that engine development is complex and benefits from a small, focused group that can make rapid decisions. “You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect it to magically work,” he said. “A compact team lets us iterate quickly and hit the market window that’s opening thanks to AI advances.” Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a full editing workflow powered by generative AI, slated for release later this month.
Brussee noted that the project, which began in April, is already moving twice as fast as originally projected. “Timelines are fluid in this space, but the early signs are promising.” Regarding the business model, Brussee hinted that Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy, but he stopped short of making any firm commitments. The ultimate aim, he said, is simple: to empower creators to push the medium forward.
“We love games and want to see more risk‑taking, more artistic expression,” he concluded. “If our engine helps developers bring bold, innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing."