Adorned veteran sport developer Harvey Smith (Dishonored sequence, authentic Deus Ex sequence), most just lately of Arkane Austin – which Xbox shut down in 2024 following the failure of Redfall – has opened a brand new sport growth studio. Dubbed Black Pony Immersive, it’s going to certainly give attention to the “immersive sim” style that Smith helped pioneer evolve by way of his work as co-creative director on Dishonored, inventive director on Dishonored 2, and lead sport designer on the unique Deus Ex (which, not for nothing, this specific author ranks as a top-10 sport of all-time).
“My favourite gaming reminiscences come from seeing gamers strategy challenges with creativity, deep-diving into our world constructing,” Smith mentioned. “We attempt to reward gamers for his or her curiosity and exploration. At our new studio, we’re constructing precisely the type of single-player video games we’re most obsessed with.”
Smith is a disciple of immersive-sim legend Warren Spector, who simply introduced his retirement. “I labored intently with Warren for 9 years, studying quite a bit,” Smith instructed IGN. “We nonetheless go to lunch from time to time. Lately, he gave me one among his guitars after we ate a bunch of Mexican meals. My emotions for Warren are deep and sophisticated, however principally I really feel admiration and gratitude. For Richard Garriott too. A lot good got here of Origin. Locations like Austin or Boston, or cities in Europe, expertise prospers from time to time, as inventive leaders get one thing going. A scene. Your entire trade is deeply hurting proper now, Austin included. I’m simply thrilled to be saying Black Pony Immersive. Making one other run at making an attempt to create magic for gamers. Having the crew we now have, together with Ricardo and other people we labored with on Deus Ex, Dishonored, and Prey simply seems like a dream. We’re on fireplace for single-player, narrative-driven, first-person (extremely hyphenated) immersive sims.”
I requested about classes realized from Arkane to hopefully assist lead Black Pony to a greater destiny, and Smith mentioned, “In my thoughts, that is a difficult, emotional query. I cherished my time there with Raf, Ricardo, Ben, and everybody else. I labored at Arkane for 16 years. A part of the corporate remains to be round, in Lyon, the place it began. Throughout my years there, we went forwards and backwards between Texas and France. The corporate launched Dishonored, Prey, Dishonored 2, some nice Dishonored DLC, Loss of life of the Outsider, Mooncrash, and Deathloop. We labored on just a few different tasks too, together with Redfall on the finish. You say, ‘a greater destiny.’ However truthfully think about if, like Arkane, our new studio lasted 27+ years, and launched at the least 4-5 absolute bangers, on prime of being an excellent enjoyable, fascinating place to work, a spot that skilled what I can solely describe as electrical fan assist. If that occurs once more, I’ll completely rely myself as blessed. I might really feel fortunate within the excessive to expertise that once more. And I do not know of many locations that get to that a lot pleasure and inventive success. It is simply so uncommon. Very laborious to tug off.”
I concluded by asking Smith if he felt a way of duty to hold the torch for the immersive sim style. “All the time. Till I’m lifeless,” he mentioned. “I am taking part in the Killing Stone proper now, an excellent intelligent deckbuilder on Steam. So I’ve some vary as a participant. That mentioned, immersive sims are my favourite. I’m hyped for any that come alongside. Excessive hopes for Judas! Marvel’s Blade! Raf’s new sport at Wolf-Eye! Gloomwood 1.0, Secret of Weepstone, Mission Shadowglass, Peripeteia, Clockwork Revolution, Distant Shore Bretagne, the one with the large Jap European cop, and perhaps even a brand new Bioshock sport. Extra video games than I even have time to play.”
Smith is joined at Black Pony Immersive by longtime Arkane Austin collaborator Ben Horne and Ricardo Naked as they construct out their crew, whose collective resume contains the likes of the aforementioned Deus Ex and Dishonored video games together with Prey and Simply Trigger. They promise to disclose extra about their first mission quickly.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s government editor of previews and host of IGN’s weekly Xbox present, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Subsequent-Gen Console Watch. He is a North Jersey man, so it is “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
