For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game development, accounting for roughly 70% of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have made notable strides, and some large studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been locked into the duopoly of Unity and Unreal. 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 game‑making powerhouses, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and Apple.
Together they argue that there is still room for a fresh engine, and that the time is ripe for a paradigm shift. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the opportunity to build a new engine “didn’t exist a couple of years ago.” He believes that advances in AI‑assisted programming now let developers start from a clean slate while still retaining tight guidance and control. “You can build something that delivers full functionality quickly,” he said.
Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they are integrating is not the kind of generative prompt‑based magic that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “The AI can reason about a massive codebase and data set,” he noted. “If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or any other feature without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This extensibility, he argues, is the core of Immens’s value proposition: AI becomes a catalyst that accelerates extension rather than a black‑box that spits out finished content.
The motivation behind this ambitious project stems from the current climate of the games market, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Development costs are spiralling, and studios of all sizes are feeling the pressure to deliver bigger experiences with smaller budgets. “We need new ways of working, more efficient pipelines, and tools that let smaller teams create high‑quality games faster,” he said. The goal is to break the cycle where rising expenses force studios to take ever‑greater financial risks.
De Jong, Immens’s chief product officer, observes that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that standardization provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces a host of challenges, and simply repeating the old formula isn’t enough,” he argued. “We need innovation, not more of the same.” He points out that many existing engines adopt a monolithic approach, forcing developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows.
With AI, Immens aims to flip that model, delivering an engine that adapts to the developer’s needs rather than the other way around. Flexibility is a recurring theme.
De Jong envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their personal workflows. “I can build an interface with the exact shortcuts, features, and layout that my team requires,” he said. This level of customization, powered by AI that understands the underlying code, is meant to empower creators rather than constrain them. Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it is “really powerful,” it can also “go off the rails quickly if you don’t pay attention.” Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, trace its decision history, and ensure repeatable results. This oversight is crucial when automating tasks that previously took weeks; now a developer might prototype a set of five characters with specific traits over a coffee break, run the AI‑generated tool, and discard it once the job is done. The cost savings and speed gains are substantial.
Immens’s architecture deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is modular, allowing teams to decide how much AI to incorporate and where.
“The AI must understand the context correctly, but the choice of usage stays with the developer,” he said. Open standards also play a pivotal role.
By relying on text‑based file formats, Immens ensures that any tool—whether Blender, Maya, or a future generative platform—can read and write data without friction. “When everything speaks the same language, interoperability becomes trivial,” Brussee explained. The broader industry conversation about AI is polarized. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” engines that could generate Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences from a single prompt.
Immens’s team tempers such hype, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity. “Big games will still be made because AI makes everyone better,” Valient asserted. “It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but it also has the potential to lift the whole medium.” Economic concerns also surface, with many fearing a bubble in AI‑driven game tech.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear, even though many companies folded. “We’re focused on building a genuinely good engine. AI helps us move faster and dream bigger, but the core product must stand on its own,” he said.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens is committed to delivering value regardless of broader valuation trends. Funding details remain scarce.
Immens has secured “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee warns against over‑capitalization, noting that too much money can breed complacency. The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team won’t necessarily accelerate engine development, and a focused, scrappy group can make smarter decisions while still capitalizing on the current window of opportunity presented by AI advances.
Currently, Immens is working toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing flow, slated for release later this month. The timeline has already outpaced their original estimate: what they thought would take until year‑end is now arriving in half that time. As for the business model, Brussee admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach.
Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will enable creators to push the boundaries of the medium. “We love games and want to see more risk‑taking, more artistic expression,” Brussee concluded. “If our technology can help bring more innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing.”