For years, Unity and Unreal have been the go‑to platforms for game developers, together accounting for roughly 70 % of the titles launched on Steam in 2025. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have gained traction and some studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely been monopolised by the two giants. Against this backdrop, three seasoned industry veterans—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have founded Immersive (Immens) with the conviction that there is still space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of today’s offerings. All three founders bring heavyweight résumés: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new engine because “the tools that existed a few years ago simply don’t meet the needs of modern creators any more.” He believes that AI‑assisted programming now makes it possible to rebuild core systems from the ground up while still retaining tight oversight and rapid iteration. Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, is careful to distinguish the company’s approach from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑asset” narrative that dominates many AI discussions. He stresses that Immens is not about generating content with a single command; rather, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make the codebase highly extensible. “When the engine is designed with AI in mind, even a solo developer can plug in a custom particle system or a bespoke physics module without wrestling with opaque scripting layers,” he says.
This extensibility, he argues, is what will enable smaller teams to iterate faster and customise the engine to their exact workflow. The motivation for this AI‑centric engine is also economic. Brussee describes the current development climate as “rough,” noting that production budgets keep inflating and the risk of financial ruin is rising for many studios.
“We need new ways of working that lower costs, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he asserts. The goal is to break the cycle where each successive game becomes more expensive to make, threatening the livelihood of creators and the viability of independent studios. De Jong, Immens’s chief product officer, observes that the engine market has become overly standardised and consolidated. While that consolidation has provided a stable foundation, it also stifles innovation.
“The industry is facing a host of challenges, and simply repeating the old playbook won’t cut it,” he says. He criticises 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 script: the engine should adapt to the developer, not the other way around. Flexibility is a core design pillar.
De Jong explains that users will be able to swap components, append new modules, and craft bespoke tools tailored to their personal preferences—down to shortcuts, UI layout, and feature sets. This level of customisation, he believes, will empower creators to build exactly the tools they need for each project, rather than compromising with generic solutions. Valient also warns that AI is a double‑edged sword.
While it can dramatically speed up tasks—imagine generating five uniquely‑behaved characters over a coffee break—it can also veer off course if left unchecked. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency: developers will see the engine’s decision‑making history, ensuring repeatability and control. “You know what the AI did, why it did it, and you can roll back or tweak as needed,” he notes.
Immens deliberately avoids imposing a single workflow. De Jong stresses that the framework is agnostic, allowing teams to decide how much AI to integrate and where. The architecture is built on open standards, meaning that text‑based files can be read and manipulated by any compatible tool.
This openness facilitates seamless interaction with industry staples like Blender, Maya, or other generative pipelines. Brussee points out that many current engines act as closed islands, hindering interoperability; Immens wants to be a bridge that speaks the same language as the broader ecosystem. The conversation around AI in game development is polarized. Some commentators on LinkedIn hype the idea of “click‑to‑game” experiences that could produce Grand Theft Auto‑scale worlds with a single prompt.
Immens’s team acknowledges that such extremes are speculative, but they see AI primarily as an accelerator for human creativity. “AI makes everyone better; it’s a tool, not a replacement,” says Valient. De Jong adds that, like any powerful technology, AI must be used responsibly, and the industry bears a collective duty to guide its application ethically. Economic anxieties also surface, with critics dubbing 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. “We’re focused on building a solid engine. AI helps us iterate faster and dream bigger, but the core product must stand on its own merits,” he asserts.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens is intent on delivering lasting value regardless of broader valuations. Funding details are still under wraps. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautions against over‑funding, suggesting that excess capital can breed complacency and dilute the scrappy spirit essential for a startup.
Currently, Immens is a lean operation: the three founders plus a handful of helpers. This modest size is strategic; building an engine is a complex, iterative endeavour that benefits from focused decision‑making rather than a massive workforce.
De Jong explains the balancing act—assembling enough talent and capital to hit a narrow market window without overwhelming the project with unnecessary personnel. The team is racing toward a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow, slated for release within the month. Brussee notes that the timeline has already outpaced their original estimate—what was projected to take until year‑end is now arriving roughly twice as fast. Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” licensing philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach.
Ultimately, the founders hope their engine will enable more daring, artistic games. “We love games and want to see more risk‑taking and creative expression,” Brussee says. “If our technology can help push the medium forward, that would be amazing.”