For many years, the game‑development landscape has been dominated by two heavyweight engines: Unity and Unreal. In 2025, roughly 70 % of titles launched on Steam were built with one of those platforms. While open‑source alternatives like Godot have begun to attract attention, and a few major studios continue to rely on proprietary solutions such as Capcom’s RE Engine, the market has largely settled into a duopoly.
Enter Immersive Innovations—better known as Immens—a new venture founded by three industry veterans: Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of modern game development, featuring stints at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Together they argue that despite the entrenched position of Unity and Unreal, there is still ample room for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of existing tools and leverages recent advances in artificial intelligence.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform. “A few years ago the idea of building a modern engine from the ground up seemed unrealistic,” he said. “Now, with AI‑assisted programming, we can start from scratch again and still deliver a fully‑featured product quickly, while keeping tight control over the development process.” Valient, who serves as Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the company’s use of AI differs from the hype‑driven “prompt‑to‑content” narrative that dominates many discussions today. “Our AI isn’t about magically generating assets on demand,” he noted.
“It’s about constructing an engine architecture that is inherently extensible. Because AI can analyse vast codebases and data, we can design the core so that even solo developers or very small teams can plug in custom systems—say, a bespoke particle renderer—without wrestling with opaque scripting layers.” The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current economic pressures of game creation.
Brussee described the environment as “rough,” emphasizing that production costs continue to climb, making it increasingly difficult for independent studios to survive. “We need new ways of working that lower the financial barrier,” he argued. “If AI can help us iterate faster, we can shrink budgets, reduce team sizes, and still deliver high‑quality experiences without jeopardising a studio’s livelihood.” De Jong, Immens’s chief product officer, added that the engine market has entered a phase of “standardisation and consolidation.” While this has produced stable foundations, he believes the industry now demands genuine innovation rather than incremental refinements. “Continuing to operate exactly as we have for the past decade won’t solve the challenges we face,” he said.
“We need an engine that adapts to the developer, not the other way around.” One of the pain points De Jong highlighted is the monolithic nature of current engines. Developers often have to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can stifle creativity.
With AI‑driven flexibility, Immens aims to let users reshape the engine to fit their specific workflow. “You should be able to swap components, append new modules, or craft entirely custom tools that match your personal shortcuts, UI preferences, and project requirements,” he explained. Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can behave unpredictably if left unchecked. To mitigate this, Immens is built to keep the user in the driver’s seat.
“You’ll always see what the engine is doing, why it made a particular decision, and you can reproduce that behavior reliably,” he said. This transparency, he believes, will enable developers to create disposable, highly focused tools—for example, a rapid character‑generation script that can be spun up over a coffee break and discarded after a few uses—without the massive overhead that traditionally accompanies such bespoke solutions. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core philosophy.
De Jong stressed that the framework does not enforce a single workflow; instead, it offers a modular architecture where teams decide how much AI assistance they want and where to apply it. “The key is ensuring the AI understands the context correctly, but the ultimate choice of integration remains with the developer.” Interoperability is another cornerstone of the platform.
By embracing open, text‑based standards, Immens hopes to play nicely with existing tools like Blender, Maya, or any generative‑AI pipeline. “When files are human‑readable, any software can parse them,” Brussee remarked. “That means the AI can manipulate assets directly, and you can plug in third‑party applications without fighting against proprietary lock‑ins. It’s a big step toward a more connected toolchain that many studios have been craving.” The broader conversation around AI in games is often charged with fear and hype.
Some commentators on LinkedIn predict a future where a simple prompt can spawn a Grand‑Theft‑Auto‑scale world. Immens’s founders acknowledge that such “click‑to‑game” fantasies may eventually materialise, but they view AI primarily as an accelerator for human creativity rather than a replacement. “AI will make everyone better, not replace the craft,” Valient asserted. “It’s a tool that can be misused, just like any technology, but it also holds the potential to unlock new artistic frontiers.” Economic concerns also linger, especially regarding the possibility of an AI bubble.
Valient compared the situation to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies will fade, the underlying technology persists. “AI isn’t disappearing; the internet didn’t vanish after the bubble burst. The good products survive because they solve real problems,” he said.
Immens aims to be one of those lasting solutions by focusing on building a robust engine first, with AI serving as a speed‑enhancing layer. Funding for Immens remains modest and deliberately restrained. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, emphasizing that excessive capital can breed complacency. “Start‑ups can become lazy with too much cash,” Brussee laughed.
“A lean team forces us to stay scrappy and make thoughtful decisions.” Currently, the company consists of the three founders plus a handful of helpers, a size they consider optimal for iterating on a complex engine without overwhelming the process. Immens is now targeting a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The team originally projected a year‑long development timeline, yet they are already delivering the demo ahead of schedule—roughly twice as fast as anticipated. This rapid progress underscores the very efficiency gains they promise to pass on to developers.
When asked about the eventual business model, Brussee mentioned admiration for Epic Games’ revenue‑share approach—where the platform succeeds when its users do—but cautioned that it’s too early to lock in specifics. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more risk‑taking, artistic expression, and innovation across the industry. "We love games and want to see them evolve," Brussee concluded. "If our technology helps bring more daring, creative projects to life, that would be amazing."