Ex-Dishonored 2 Creative Director Founds His Own Studio With Former Arkane Devs
Black Pony Immersive will focus on developing single-player, first-person action RPGs.
This week, veteran game developer Harvey Smith announced the launch of a new game development studio, Black Pony Immersive. Smith previously co-led the Deus Ex and Dishonored series and is joined at the new studio by Executive Producer Ben Horne. The pair have worked together for more than eight years, most recently at Arkane Austin, which Xbox shut down in 2024 after Redfall's failure.
Black Pony Immersive is expected to focus on "imaginative first-person action RPGs set within well-realized worlds, where players create their own memorable experiences with expressive, emergent game systems." Smith and Horne are joined by a 26-person team of developers from studios including Arkane, Insomniac, Epic, Avalanche, and Volition, with Harvey Smith's longtime creative partner Ricardo Bare also on board.
"During a time of industry volatility, I'm proud to announce the next step in my video game journey with the reveal of our new studio," said Harvey Smith.
"This effort reflects everything we've learned, and all we hold dear. My favorite gaming memories come from seeing players approach challenges with creativity, deep-diving into our world-building. We try to reward players for their curiosity and exploration. At our new studio, we're building exactly the kind of single-player games we're most passionate about."
You can watch The Game Business' Christopher Dring interview with Smith and Horne, where they discuss Black Pony Immersive, what it's like building a new studio in 2026, staying positive despite the ongoing challenges facing the industry, and more:
In case you missed it, Deus Ex creator Warren Spector just announced his retirement from game development this week after nearly 44 years in the industry.
We don't know anything about Black Pony Immersive's first project just yet, but Horne has given us a pretty good idea of what the studio wants to achieve.
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