Dishonored Creative Director Stars New Studio After Xbox Killed Arkane, Vows to Carry the Torch for Immersive Sims 'Until I Am Dead'

Dishonored Creative Director Stars New Studio After Xbox Killed Arkane, Vows to Carry the Torch for Immersive Sims 'Until I Am Dead'

Decorated veteran game developer Harvey Smith (Dishonored series, original Deus Ex series), most recently of Arkane Austin – which Xbox shut down in 2024 following the failure of Redfall – has opened a new game development studio. Dubbed Black Pony Immersive, it will indeed focus on the "immersive sim" genre that Smith helped pioneer evolve through his work as co-creative director on Dishonored, creative director on Dishonored 2, and lead game d…

Dishonored’s Harvey Smith launches new studio with former Arkane staff to make immersive sims

“We’re going to fall back on what we love, we’re going to work with the people we love”…

Dishonored Director Harvey Smith Announces New Immersive Sim

Harvey Smith, best known for his tenure at Arkane Studios from 2008 until 2024, has announced a new game studio called Black Pony Immersive. Smith is joined by co-founder and executive producer Ben Horne, who worked with Smith for more than eight years, most recently on Redfall at Arkane Austin. Black Pony Immersive is founded with the goal to continue delivering the kinds of game experiences Smith has been known for over the course of his more …

"Through the looking glass": as Arkane fight for their future, Dishonored veteran Harvey Smith reveals new studio dedicated to immersive sims

Days after Deus Ex director Warren Spector announced that he was quitting the business, another former Ion Storm developer, Harvey Smith, has revealed Black Pony Immersive - a new studio dedicated to the creation of "imaginative first-person action RPGs set within well-realized worlds, where players create their own memorable experiences with expressive, emergent game systems." The announcement features the maxim: "through the looking glass, we’…

"We chose the worst time in history" – Harvey Smith on starting his own studio after Arkane

Microsoft's closure of Arkane Austin in May 2024 left 96 developers out of work – among them studio head Harvey Smith, whose storied career spans Deus Ex, Dishonored, and Prey. Now, after a two-year quiet period, Smith is ready to reveal his next venture: Black Pony Immersive, a new studio co-founded with former Arkane colleague Ben Horne.