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

Key Points:

• After Microsoft's closure of Arkane Austin in May 2024, studio head Harvey Smith and former colleague Ben Horne co-founded a new game studio, Black Pony Immersive, aiming to create immersive single-player narrative-rich games.
• Despite challenging fundraising conditions and offers involving blockchain or NFTs, Smith and Horne prioritized ethical funding and maintaining creative control to build the studio "the right way."
• Black Pony Immersive, launched in August 2025 with 26 employees including former Arkane veterans and respected indie developers, emphasizes nimbleness, minimal top-down interference, and providing healthcare benefits to U.S.-based full-time staff.
• Smith highlights the importance of keeping a cohesive team and learning from past hardships, aiming to produce games in the immersive sim genre characterized by exploration, player-driven pacing, and creative problem-solving.
• The studio's upcoming project remains undisclosed, but Smith confirms it will follow the successful formula of underpowered player characters equipped with creative tools in a narrative-rich, single-player environment.