For years, Unity and Unreal have reigned supreme in game creation, accounting for roughly 70% of Steam releases projected for 2025. While open‑source Godot has gained traction and some studios cling to proprietary tools—Capcom’s RE Engine being a notable example—the duopoly of Unity and Unreal still dominates the market. Into this landscape step three seasoned veterans, Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, who have launched Immersive (Immens) with the belief that there is space for a fresh engine that tackles the shortcomings of the current offerings.
Their résumés read like a who's‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games, Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ripe for a new engine, one that simply didn’t exist a few years ago. He points to AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that can resurrect the notion of building a game from the ground up, while still providing the guidance and control developers need to ship functional products quickly. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, stresses that the AI they employ is not the "prompt‑and‑get‑a‑game" fantasy that circulates on social media.
Instead, their AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. "AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," he explains. "If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without being limited to a narrow scripting layer. The AI acts as an accelerator for extensions, not a replacement for creative effort." The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game development.
Brussee describes the market as "rough" and warns that production costs keep climbing, making it harder for small teams to survive. He asks whether new workflows can break this cycle, delivering games faster, with fewer people, and on tighter budgets, thereby reducing the financial risk that threatens studios' very existence.
De Jong, the chief product officer, observes that the engine space has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a solid foundation, he believes the industry now needs genuine innovation rather than more of the same.
He criticizes the "monolithic" nature of existing engines, which force developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines. With AI, Immens aims to flip that model, offering an engine that adapts to the developer’s workflow.
"Flexibility is key," De Jong says. "You should be able to swap components, append new ones, and craft tools that match your personal workflow—exact shortcuts, interfaces, and features that your team requires." Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility. He stresses that Immens is built to keep users in the driver’s seat, with full transparency over what the engine does and a complete history of actions, ensuring repeatable results.
He paints a picture of a future where a designer can generate five distinct characters with specific traits in the time it takes to sip coffee, then discard the temporary tool once the job is done—something that would have been prohibitively expensive just a few years ago. Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong notes that the framework and architecture are designed so developers can decide how much AI to incorporate and where to apply it, while still guaranteeing that the AI understands the context correctly.
Interoperability is another pillar of Immens. By embracing open, text‑based standards, the engine can communicate seamlessly with tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑art pipeline. "When files are human‑readable, any system can parse them," Brussee explains. "That openness lets us plug in existing software without the usual friction caused by closed‑source engines." The broader gaming community remains divided on AI.
Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of "click‑to‑game" experiences, suggesting that a single prompt could spawn a Grand Theft Auto‑scale world. Immens’s team sees such visions as distant possibilities, emphasizing that AI should be viewed as a tool that amplifies human creativity rather than a replacement for it.
Valient warns that AI currently carries negative connotations because it disrupts the industry at an unprecedented scale, but he believes responsible use will ultimately benefit everyone. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with fears of a bubble and inflated valuations. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many speculative companies vanished, the underlying technology— the internet—persisted and flourished. He argues that Immens is focused on building a solid engine; AI simply accelerates development and expands creative horizons.
Whether the AI market is a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is confident that a well‑engineered product will survive. Funding for Immens is still in its early stages. The founders have secured "first commitments" but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as "reasonable". Brussee cautions against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency and reduce the scrappy mindset essential for a startup.
The company remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex undertaking that does not benefit from a massive team; a focused group can make deliberate decisions and iterate more efficiently.
At the same time, they recognize a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry, and they aim to balance sufficient resources with a streamlined team. Immens is currently targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release this month. Brussee notes that the project, which began in April, is already progressing at double the speed originally anticipated, making timeline predictions challenging. Regarding the business model, Brussee mentions admiration for Epic Games’ philosophy of succeeding when developers succeed, but admits it is too early to commit to a specific revenue structure.
Ultimately, the trio hopes Immens will empower creators to push the boundaries of interactive art. "We love games and want to see more risk‑taking, more creativity," Brussee concludes.
"If our technology can spark innovation and enable daring projects, that would be amazing."