For years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in the game‑development arena, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases 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 dominated by the two giants.
Enter Immersive, a startup 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 space for a fresh engine, one that not only competes with the incumbents but also addresses the pain points that have been accumulating for years.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right: "There’s an opportunity now to build a new engine that didn’t exist a couple of years ago. With AI‑assisted programming, you can start from scratch again while still keeping tight guidance and control, delivering full‑featured tools quickly." Valient, Immersive’s chief technology officer, is quick to clarify that their use of AI differs from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑content” narrative that dominates headlines. He emphasizes that the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. "If we design the codebase with AI reasoning in mind, even small teams or solo developers can extend the engine beyond simple scripting.
Want a custom particle system? You can plug it in directly.
That’s the kind of flexibility we’re building." The motivation behind this AI‑powered platform is rooted in the current economic climate of game development. Brussee describes the landscape as "rough": development costs keep climbing, and studios are forced into a high‑risk cycle.
"We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines, so creators aren’t gambling their livelihoods on massive budgets," he says. De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that stability provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. "The industry faces a range of challenges, and simply repeating old methods won’t solve them. We need genuine innovation, not more of the same," he asserts. One of the biggest criticisms of existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the developer’s will, not the other way around. "Flexibility is key. You should be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools that match your workflow—down to the exact shortcuts and UI layout you prefer." Valient acknowledges that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it is "really powerful," it can also veer off course if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immersive is building transparency into the system: users can see exactly what the AI is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
This control enables rapid prototyping—imagine designing five distinct characters with specific traits over a coffee break, then discarding the temporary tool once the job is done. Such workflows were once prohibitively expensive. The core philosophy of Immersive’s engine is to avoid imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is deliberately open‑ended: "You decide how much AI you want, where you apply it, and how you structure your pipeline.
The architecture simply supports those choices." Interoperability is another pillar of the project. By embracing open standards and text‑based file formats, the engine can seamlessly communicate with popular tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI suite. "When files are human‑readable, the AI can parse and manipulate them directly," Brussee explains.
"This level of openness is rare in bespoke engines, and it opens the door to smarter, more connected toolchains." The broader conversation around AI in games is fraught with fear and hype. Some pundits on LinkedIn claim that future engines will let anyone conjure Grand Theft Auto‑scale experiences with a single prompt.
Immersive’s team concedes that "click‑to‑game" concepts may eventually emerge, but for now they view AI strictly as an empowering tool. Valient notes, "AI is making everyone better; it’s not a magic wand that replaces creativity." Economic anxieties also linger. Critics worry that AI‑focused startups are part of a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era: "The internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst; many companies fell, but the technology endured. We’re focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates our vision. Whether it’s a bubble is unknown, but history shows useful tech survives." Funding remains modest. Immersive has secured its "first commitments" but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑capitalization: "Too much money can make a startup lazy; we need to stay scrappy." The company remains tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design.
De Jong explains the trade‑off: a massive team won’t magically solve the complex problem of building an engine, yet a lean crew can make decisive, thoughtful progress and seize the narrow window of opportunity presented by the AI surge. Currently, Immersive is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI editing workflow, slated for release within the month. The timeline has already outpaced their original estimate, which anticipated a year‑long development cycle. "We’re moving twice as fast as expected," Brussee says, underscoring the speed gains AI can deliver.
Business‑model discussions are still early. While the team admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" licensing approach, they admit it’s premature to commit to a specific strategy.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will spark a new wave of creativity and risk‑taking in games. "We love games and want to see more bold artistic expression," Brussee concludes. "If our technology helps developers push the medium forward, that would be amazing."