For many years, Unity and Unreal have ruled the game‑development landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of the titles released on Steam in 2025. While Godot has made notable strides recently and some large studios continue to rely on proprietary tools—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been a duopoly. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have launched Immersive (Immens) with the conviction that a fresh engine is not only possible but necessary.
The founders’ résumés read like a who’s‑who of modern gaming: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their combined expertise fuels a belief that the status quo can be improved.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is ripe for a new engine, noting that “a few years ago this simply didn’t exist.” He points to AI‑assisted programming as the catalyst that can let developers start from a clean slate again, delivering full‑featured tools quickly while maintaining tight guidance and control. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑and‑receive” gimmick that dominates headlines. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible. “AI can reason over large codebases and data sets,” he explains.
“If we design the engine with that in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or any other feature without being confined to a limited scripting layer.” This approach aims to let creators harness AI to accelerate extensions, rather than replace the creative process. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current market climate, which Brussee describes as “rough.” Game development costs are spiralling, making it increasingly difficult for small teams to break even.
He asks whether new, more efficient workflows can be discovered to lower budgets, shorten timelines, and reduce the financial risk that threatens studios’ survival. De Jong, the chief product officer, echoes this sentiment, observing that the engine space has become standardized and consolidated. While standardisation has provided a solid foundation, the industry now needs genuine innovation, not just incremental improvements.
One of De Jong’s primary critiques of existing engines is their monolithic nature. Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can stifle creativity.
With AI, however, Immens aims to become an engine that bends to the user’s needs. “Flexibility is key,” he says. “You should be able to swap components, append new ones, modify existing tools, and build bespoke interfaces that match your workflow exactly.” He envisions a scenario where a developer can craft a custom toolset—complete with personal shortcuts and UI preferences—that aligns perfectly with a project’s demands. Valient acknowledges AI’s power but also its volatility.
“If you’re not vigilant, it can go off the rails quickly,” he warns. To counter this, Immens is built to keep the user in the driver’s seat. Every AI‑generated action is logged, repeatable, and transparent, ensuring developers understand how a result was achieved. This traceability allows teams to create throw‑away tools for specific tasks—like generating five characters with a particular trait in minutes rather than weeks—without sacrificing control or incurring prohibitive costs.
Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is modular, letting users decide how much AI to integrate and where. The engine also embraces open standards, making interoperability with popular tools such as Blender, Maya, or other generative software seamless. “When files are text‑based, any program can read them,” Brussee notes.
“Open standards let the AI interact with those files directly, creating smarter interfaces across the entire development stack.” This openness addresses a long‑standing pain point: many engines act as closed ecosystems that hinder cross‑tool collaboration. The broader conversation around AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” engines that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑level experiences from a single prompt. Immens’ team tempers such expectations, positioning AI as a powerful assistant rather than a magical shortcut. Valient believes AI will make developers better, not replace them, and acknowledges the technology’s disruptive reputation.
De Jong adds that, like any tool humanity creates, AI can be misused, but it also carries a responsibility to be applied responsibly. Economic anxieties also surface, with critics labeling the AI boom a bubble. Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet persisted and flourished.
He argues that Immens is focused on building a solid engine; AI merely accelerates development and expands creative horizons. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team remains pragmatic, preparing for both growth and correction. Funding details remain vague.
Immens has secured its “first commitments,” but the founders have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against excessive capital, warning 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 the delicate balance: a game engine is complex, requiring thoughtful, incremental decisions, yet there is a narrow window of opportunity as AI reshapes the industry. Scaling too quickly could jeopardise the vision, while moving too slowly might miss the market shift.
Currently, Immens is developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release within the month. Brussee admits the timeline has already outpaced their original expectations, with development moving twice as fast as anticipated. As for the business model, the team admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to cement a definitive approach. Ultimately, the founders hope 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 help bring innovative experiences to life, that would be amazing.”