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 made notable strides in recent years and some heavyweight studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market.
Enter Immersive Technologies, better known as Immens, founded 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 even Apple. The trio believes there is still room for a fresh engine that improves upon the status quo.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is now ripe for a new platform that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. “With AI‑assisted programming, you can start building things from scratch again,” he said.
“With the right guidance and control, you can create a fully functional engine quickly.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the flashy, prompt‑driven kind that dominates headlines. “Our AI is about constructing an engine that is highly extensible,” he explained. “AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets.
If we design the architecture with that capability in mind, even solo developers or tiny teams can plug in custom features—like a bespoke particle system—without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This extensibility, he added, is intended to let creators expand the engine at speed using AI as an accelerator rather than a magic wand. The motivation behind Immens’s AI‑centric approach stems from the current hardships facing game makers. Brussee described the market as “rough,” noting that development costs keep climbing, making it harder for small studios to survive. “We need new ways of working, more efficient processes that lower budgets and shrink team sizes, so developers aren’t risking everything on a single title,” he said.
De Jong, the company’s chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he argued that the industry now needs genuine innovation. “Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t solve the challenges ahead,” he asserted.
“We need a different paradigm.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of existing engines. Developers often have to adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens aims to deliver an engine that bends to the user’s needs.
“Flexibility is key,” he said. “You should be able to swap components, append new modules, or craft entirely custom tools that match your personal workflow—down to the shortcuts, UI layout, and feature set you require.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can veer off course if left unchecked.
“We’re building Immens so that the user remains in control,” he noted. “You can see what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatability. You can also generate bespoke tools for specific creative problems—like creating five characters with a unique trait—in a matter of minutes instead of weeks.” This rapid prototyping, he suggested, could dramatically reduce costs that previously made such iterations prohibitively expensive. Immens’s philosophy is to avoid imposing a single workflow on its users.
De Jong emphasized that the framework is deliberately open‑ended: “It’s up to you how much AI you want to incorporate and where you place it in your pipeline. The architecture is designed to let you decide.” At the same time, the team stresses the importance of AI understanding the developer’s intent correctly, a challenge they are actively addressing. Interoperability is another cornerstone of Immens’s design.
By adopting open, text‑based standards, the engine can communicate seamlessly with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI system. “When files are human‑readable, any software can parse them,” Brussee explained. “That means the AI can ingest assets directly, and you can plug in external applications without wrestling with proprietary formats. This openness is something many bespoke engines have neglected.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is fraught with controversy.
Some pundits on LinkedIn hype the notion that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience, fueling fears of a “click‑to‑game” future. Immens acknowledges that such extremes may eventually be possible, but they view AI primarily as an empowering tool.
“AI will make everyone better, not replace the craft,” Valient said. “It has negative connotations now because it’s disrupting the industry at an unprecedented scale, but it’s just another tool in the developer’s toolbox.” Economic anxieties also linger, with many questioning whether AI‑focused startups are riding a bubble. Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fall, the underlying technology endures.
“AI isn’t going away,” he asserted. “The internet survived the bubble, and so will AI. Our goal is to build a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our development and lets us dream bigger.” Funding for Immens remains modest.
The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against over‑capitalization, noting that excess cash can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed. “Too much money can make you lazy.” The company’s headcount is intentionally lean: the three founders plus a handful of helpers.
De Jong explained that building an engine is a complex undertaking that doesn’t benefit from a massive staff. “You need a small, focused team to make thoughtful decisions and iterate slowly.
At the same time, there’s a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. Balancing funding, talent, and timing is the trade‑off we’re navigating.” Immens is currently racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team aims to release the demo within the month.
Brussee revealed that the project, which began in April, is already moving twice as fast as initially projected, underscoring the speed gains they attribute to AI integration. Regarding the business model, Immens remains in early‑stage discussions.
While they admire Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” licensing approach, they admit it’s too soon to commit to a specific strategy. Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will enable creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and the complex artistic expressions they embody,” he said. “We want to see more creativity, more risk‑taking, and more innovation built on technology like ours.
That would be amazing."