For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction, most large studios still lean on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—leaving the market largely monopolised by the two giants. Enter Immersive Technologies, better known as Immens, founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient.
Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the gaming world, with experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. The trio believes there is still space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of the current landscape.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform: “A few years ago, the idea of building an engine from the ground up with AI assistance didn’t exist. Now the tools are mature enough that we can start again and deliver full‑featured functionality much faster.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that their use of AI is not about “prompt‑to‑code” gimmicks.
Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “If we design the codebase with AI in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he said. The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a reasoning assistant that can parse large codebases and suggest safe modifications. The motivation behind this AI‑centric approach is the increasingly hostile economics of game production.
Brussee described the current climate as “rough,” noting that development costs keep climbing, pushing studios into risky financial positions. “We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued. By cutting down the time required to prototype and iterate, Immens hopes to give smaller teams a viable path to market without jeopardising their livelihoods.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become overly standardised and consolidated. While that standardisation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation.
“The industry faces many challenges, and simply repeating the old methods isn’t enough. We need genuine breakthroughs, not just incremental updates,” he asserted. He also criticised the monolithic nature of existing engines, which force developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
With AI, Immens aims to deliver a malleable engine that adapts to the user’s workflow, allowing developers to swap components, append new features, and craft personalised tools that match their specific project requirements. Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can become unpredictable if left unchecked.
To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in full control, with transparent histories of every AI‑generated change. “You always know what the engine did, why it did it, and you can reproduce the result,” he explained.
This traceability turns what used to be weeks‑long, costly tasks—like generating a set of characters with unique traits—into rapid, coffee‑break iterations, dramatically reducing production expenses. Flexibility is a core design pillar. De Jong stresses that Immens does not impose a single workflow; developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The engine’s architecture is deliberately open, supporting text‑based file formats that any tool can read.
“If you’re using Blender, Maya, or a generative‑AI asset pipeline, you can plug it straight in because everything communicates through open standards,” Brussee said. This interoperability contrasts sharply with many current engines, which often act as closed ecosystems that resist integration.
The conversation around AI in games is polarised. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” promises, suggesting that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience. Immens’s team tempers such hype, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magical creator. “AI will make everyone better, but it remains a tool,” Valient noted.
De Jong added that, like any technology, AI can be misused, and the industry bears responsibility for guiding its ethical application. Economic anxieties also surface, with critics warning of an AI bubble inflated by lofty valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: “The internet didn’t disappear after the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the technology endured.
We’re focusing on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and expands our imagination.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its first commitments, though the exact amount is undisclosed and described as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
The company remains a lean operation—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a small, focused team can make better architectural decisions than a massive, unwieldy group. Currently, Immens is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team aimed for an end‑of‑year release but is already moving twice as fast as anticipated, with a public demo slated for this month.
Regarding monetisation, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” model but admits it’s too early to lock in a definitive approach. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will reinvigorate the medium.
“We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expression,” Brussee concluded. “If Immens can lower barriers and spark innovation, that would be amazing for the whole industry.”