For many years the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In fact, by 2025 roughly seventy percent of all titles launched on Steam were built with one of those platforms. While the open‑source Godot engine has enjoyed a noticeable surge in popularity, the majority of larger studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s in‑house RE Engine being a prime example—leaving Unity and Unreal with a near‑monopoly on the market.
Enter Immersive (Immens), a fledgling venture founded by three industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—who believe there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine. Their résumés read like a who's‑who of game‑tech powerhouses: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they are setting out to challenge the entrenched status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine, noting that “an opportunity now exists that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.” He attributes this opening to the rapid advances in AI‑assisted programming, which he says can enable developers to start building from a clean slate again.
“With a lot of guidance and control, you can assemble something that delivers full functionality very quickly,” he added. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they are integrating is not the kind of generative prompt‑to‑content system 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 explained.
“If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer or a tiny team can plug in custom features—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This approach, he says, lets creators extend the engine rapidly and safely. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development. Brussee describes the environment as “rough,” pointing out that production costs are spiraling upward, making it harder for studios to stay afloat. “We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued.
“Otherwise developers risk their livelihoods and the very existence of their studios.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become increasingly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, he believes it also stifles innovation. “The industry now faces a series of challenges, and merely repeating the old methods won’t cut it,” he said. “What we need is genuine innovation, not more standardization.” One of the pain points De Jong highlights is the monolithic nature of existing engines.
Developers must adapt to rigid, proprietary file formats and workflows, which can be a barrier to creativity. With AI, however, Immens aims to deliver an engine that bends to the developer’s needs. “It must be extremely flexible,” he noted.
“You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools that match exactly the shortcuts, features, and interfaces your project demands.” Valient is candid about AI’s double‑edged sword. While he calls the technology “really powerful,” he warns that it can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in full control: “You always know what the engine is doing, you can trace its history, and you can reproduce results reliably.” This transparency, he says, empowers developers to create custom workflows—such as generating a set of five characters with specific traits—in a matter of minutes rather than weeks, dramatically reducing costs. Flexibility is a core tenet of Immens’ design philosophy.
De Jong stresses that the engine does not enforce a single workflow. “It’s up to you how you want to use it,” he said. “We provide a framework that lets you decide how much AI you incorporate and where you apply it, while ensuring the AI understands the context correctly.” Interoperability is another priority. Immens plans to adopt open standards so that its files are text‑based and easily readable by other tools.
“When files are plain text, any program can ingest them,” Brussee explained. “That means the AI can parse and manipulate assets from Blender, Maya, or any generative tool you’re using. Open standards allow different software to talk to each other without the friction that proprietary engines often introduce.” The broader industry conversation around AI in games is polarized. Some commentators on platforms like LinkedIn hype the idea that a single prompt could spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale experience, fueling both excitement and backlash.
Immens acknowledges the hype but positions AI as a facilitator rather than a replacement. “One day we might see ‘click‑to‑game’ engines, but for now AI is a tool that makes developers better,” Valient said.
“It’s disruptive, which is why it carries negative connotations, but that disruption is necessary for progress.” Economic anxieties also linger, especially concerns that AI‑focused startups are caught in a speculative bubble. Valient draws a parallel with the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet— persisted and flourished. “We’re not betting on a bubble; we’re building a solid engine that leverages AI to accelerate development and enable bigger dreams,” he asserted. “Whether the market is overheated or not, good technology endures.” Funding remains modest.
Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the capital sought as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑funding, saying it can breed complacency. “Startups that have too much cash often become lazy,” he joked. “Scrappiness drives innovation.” The team itself remains lean: the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional small size reflects a belief that a massive workforce does not automatically translate into a functional engine.
“You need a focused group to make critical decisions and iterate,” De Jong explained. “At the same time, there’s a narrow window—spanning the next few years—where AI can reshape the industry.
We must balance having enough resources to seize that window without drowning in bureaucracy.” Immens is currently working on a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that Brussee says is already twice as fast as initially projected. “We aimed for an end‑of‑year milestone when we started in April, and we’re already ahead of schedule,” he remarked, underscoring the speed gains they attribute to AI‑enhanced development. Business‑model discussions are still in their infancy.
While Immens admires Epic’s revenue‑share philosophy—"we succeed when you succeed"—the founders admit it’s too early to lock in a definitive approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes Immens will empower creators to push the artistic and technical boundaries of games. “We love games and the complex expressions they enable,” he said.
“We want more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation built on this technology. If we can help make that happen, it would be amazing."