For many years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for game creation, accounting for roughly 70 % of all titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has enjoyed a surge in popularity recently and some major studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been dominated by the two giants.
Against this backdrop, three seasoned developers—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immersive (Immens), a new engine that they believe can carve out a niche and raise the bar for the whole industry. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of game development: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, Apple, and more. Together they see an opening for a fresh approach that leverages recent advances in artificial intelligence.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right: “A few years ago, the kind of engine we envision didn’t exist. With AI‑assisted programming, we can start from a clean slate again and deliver full‑featured tools much faster.” He emphasizes that the AI component isn’t about magical prompts that conjure entire games, but rather about making the engine itself more extensible. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarifies this distinction.
“Our AI isn’t a gimmick that spits out assets on command. It’s woven into the architecture so the codebase can be reasoned about and expanded by smaller teams or solo developers.
If someone wants a custom particle system, they can plug it in without wrestling with a monolithic, closed‑source engine.” This philosophy aims to give creators the freedom to tailor the engine to their specific pipelines, rather than forcing them to adapt to a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. The motivation behind Immens is also economic. Brussee describes the current climate as “rough”: development costs keep climbing, and studios are forced to gamble larger sums of money for diminishing returns.
“We need new ways of working that cut costs, shrink team sizes, and shorten timelines,” he says. The goal is to break the cycle where a single misstep can jeopardize an entire studio’s livelihood. De Jong, the chief product officer, points out that the engine market has become overly standardized and consolidated.
While that has produced stable foundations, it also stifles innovation. “The industry faces multiple challenges, and repeating the same processes won’t solve them. We need fresh ideas, not just more of the same,” he argues.
He criticizes the “monolithic approach” of existing engines, where developers must conform to proprietary file formats and rigid workflows. With AI, Immens intends to deliver an engine that adapts to the developer, not the other way around. Flexibility is a core tenet.
De Jong envisions a system where users can swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools that match their personal habits and project requirements. “I can build an interface with the exact shortcuts and features my team needs, and the engine will accommodate it,” he explains. This level of customization, powered by AI’s ability to understand and manipulate large codebases, could dramatically reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks. Valient also warns that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked.
Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable outcomes. This oversight is crucial for creative pipelines where a designer might need five characters with a specific trait. In the past, such a task could take weeks; with AI‑assisted tooling, it could be sketched out over a coffee break and then refined as needed.
Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is designed to let developers decide how much AI to incorporate and where. The architecture supports open standards, meaning text‑based files can be read and edited by any compatible tool.
“If you’re using Blender, Maya, or any generative software, you can plug it straight into Immens because we speak the same open‑standard language,” Brussee notes. This openness contrasts with many proprietary engines that act as closed ecosystems, hindering interoperability. The broader AI debate in game development is heated. Some pundits on LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” engines that could generate a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience from a single prompt.
Immens’s team acknowledges that such extremes are speculative, viewing AI primarily as an accelerator rather than a replacement for human creativity. “AI makes everyone better, not the sole creator,” says Valient.
He stresses responsible use, likening AI to any other tool that can be misused if not handled ethically. 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 underlying technology endured. Immens aims to build a solid engine first, using AI to speed development and broaden imagination.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the founders are focused on delivering value rather than chasing hype. Funding details are still vague. Immens has secured “first commitments” but has not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency.
The company remains lean—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design. De Jong explains that building an engine is a complex, nuanced endeavor that cannot be rushed by sheer manpower. A small, focused team can make deliberate decisions and iterate efficiently, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by rapid AI advancements. The team is already working on a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing flow, slated for release this month.
Brussee admits that their timeline has been surprisingly aggressive: what they initially projected to finish by year‑end is already halfway completed. Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic Games’ “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific revenue structure. Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will empower creators to push the medium forward, encouraging risk‑taking, artistic expression, and innovative gameplay.
As Brussee puts it, “We love games, we love the art form, and we want to see more creativity. If our technology can help bring that to life, that would be amazing.”