Harvey Smith, co-creator of Dishonored and veteran game director, has announced the formation of a new development studio named Black Pony Immersive, alongside co-founder and executive producer Ben Horne.
Austin-based remote team
Based in Austin, Texas, the studio operates with a distributed workforce. The core team consists of remote veteran developers from prominent studios including Arkane, Insomniac, Epic, Avalanche, and Volition. Smith assumes the roles of CEO and creative director, while Horne manages operations as chief operating officer and executive producer.
Focus on immersive sims
The newly established company is dedicated exclusively to the development of single-player immersive sims.
This launch signals a direct return to the genre for Smith, pointing toward upcoming first-person action-RPGs built around player choice and emergent gameplay systems. While the studio has not yet disclosed its debut title or a targeted release window, the formation of Black Pony Immersive secures a dedicated team for traditional single-player design following years of industry shifts toward live-service multiplayer games.
