For years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some major studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine, for example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market.
Enter Immersive Innovations, 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 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 for a new platform.
“A few years ago this kind of engine didn’t exist,” he said. “With AI‑assisted programming, we can start building from the ground up again, under tight guidance, and deliver full‑featured tools much faster.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑to‑art” hype that dominates headlines.
Instead, 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 a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke physics module without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he noted. The goal is to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a catalyst rather than a crutch. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current state of the games market, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Development costs keep climbing, and small studios find it increasingly difficult to break even.
“We need new ways of working that lower expenses, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued. “Otherwise you’re risking your livelihood and your studio’s future.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation. “The industry is facing a suite of challenges, and simply iterating on the old model isn’t enough,” he said.
“We need a paradigm shift, not another incremental upgrade.” One of the frustrations with existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. De Jong believes AI can flip this script, delivering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s workflow. “Flexibility is key,” he explained.
“You should be able to swap components, append new features, or craft entirely custom tools that match your personal shortcuts, interface preferences, and project requirements.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can veer off course if left unchecked. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and reproduce results reliably. This auditability, he says, is essential for creative problem‑solving.
“Imagine needing five characters with a specific trait. Previously that could take weeks; now you could prototype the idea over coffee, run it through the engine, and have a reusable tool that you discard after the job is done.
That level of efficiency was once prohibitively expensive.” The platform is deliberately built without imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that developers decide how much AI to integrate and where to apply it. “Our architecture is open‑ended; you pick the tools, the processes, and the AI depth that suit you,” he said.
This openness extends to file standards as well. Brussee highlighted the advantage of text‑based, open formats: “If files are readable as text, any AI can parse them, and any third‑party tool—Blender, Maya, or a generative model—can plug in seamlessly.
That interoperability has been missing from many proprietary engines.” The broader conversation about AI in game development is polarized. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype “click‑to‑game” engines that could generate a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience from a single prompt. Immens’s team acknowledges the possibility of such tools in the distant future but insists their current vision treats AI as a facilitator, not a replacement. “AI will make everyone better, not eliminate the craft,” Valient said.
“It’s a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused, but we have a responsibility to guide its ethical application.” Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with fears of a bubble and inflated valuations. 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 development and expands our imagination.” Funding remains modest. Immens has secured its “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑capitalization, noting that excess money can breed complacency.
“Startups need to stay scrappy; too much cash can make you lazy.” The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This intentional size balances the complexity of building an engine with the need to act quickly during a window of industry transformation. De Jong explains, “You can’t throw a million engineers at an engine and expect it to work.
A small, focused team can make deliberate decisions and iterate faster, which is crucial given the rapid AI developments.” Immens is now 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, already having shaved the projected timeline in half. Brussee admits that predicting exact schedules is difficult, but the early progress is encouraging.
Regarding the business model, Brussee says Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” approach but admits it’s too early to lock in a definitive strategy. The ultimate hope, he concludes, is that Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward. “We love games and want to see more daring, artistic expressions,” he said. “If our technology can spark that extra risk‑taking and innovation, that would be amazing.”