Former Arkane Austin Leads Launch Black Pony Immersive, Vow to Avoid Live-Service Trap

Three veteran developers from Arkane Austin have launched a new independent studio called Black Pony Immersive, signaling their intent to return to the types of games that initially earned them critical acclaim and player devotion. Harvey Smith, Ben Horne, and Ricardo Bare—each having served as leads at the now-shuttered Austin studio—announced the venture this week and spoke with The Game Business about their motivation to move away from the industry trends that consumed their previous work.

The formation of Black Pony Immersive arrives in the wake of significant upheaval within Microsoft’s gaming division. Arkane Austin, known for creating the acclaimed Dishonored and Deus Ex franchises, ceased operations in 2024 after struggling with the live-service direction of its final project, Redfall. While other studios like Double Fine and Compulsion Games gained full control of their back catalogues, Arkane Austin’s closure left little behind except lessons for departing talent.

The Redfall Misstep

Redfall stands as the studio’s most controversial project, and Smith does not shy away from acknowledging the role it played in Arkane Austin’s decline. “That was a difficult project,” Smith told The Game Business, reflecting on a title that began with genuine industry interest as a vampire-slaying cooperative game but evolved into something neither critics nor players embraced.

Chasing the Live-Service Boom

The project’s trajectory reveals how external pressures redirected the studio’s focus. Parent company ZeniMax had begun steering numerous projects toward live-service models, a trend that swept the entire industry during the late 2010s and early 2020s. Arkane Austin, built on expertise in single-player immersive simulations, found itself navigating unfamiliar terrain. “We got swept up in the games-as-a-service thing, and I had the foolish chutzpah to assume that it always works out for us,” Smith explained, acknowledging the studio’s miscalculation in adopting a format contrary to its core strengths.

Production Challenges Beyond Format

The live-service pivot was compounded by mounting operational difficulties. The studio contended with inexperience in the format, ongoing staff reductions that stretched remaining developers thin, and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors combined to produce what Smith describes as the studio’s messiest production to date. The situation deteriorated to such a degree that Arkane Austin required Microsoft’s intervention: the company allowed workers who had been laid off to return and contribute to a final send-off patch, yet even this damage-control effort could not prevent Redfall from shipping in what Smith characterizes as “abysmal shape.”

The Industry’s Shifting Fortunes

The timing of Redfall’s failure coincided with a broader backlash against live-service games industry-wide. While the model had appeared unstoppable during development, player sentiment had shifted markedly by release. This changing landscape may have inadvertently benefited the Arkane veterans as they launch independently, as the appetite for traditional, passion-driven game design has resurged among audiences fatigued by ongoing monetization schemes.

Returning to First Principles

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Black Pony Immersive’s formation is explicitly framed as a return to the design philosophy that built Arkane Austin’s reputation. Smith and Horne emphasized their desire to create games in the vein of Deus Ex and Dishonored—franchises that prioritize player agency, environmental storytelling, and single-player experiences over live engagement mechanics. The new studio’s name itself suggests a focus on immersive simulation, the genre that defined Arkane’s most celebrated work. Working outside a larger corporate hierarchy means Black Pony Immersive can make design decisions based on creative vision rather than corporate mandates to pursue trending business models.

Learning from Dishonored’s Difficult Birth

The studio’s ability to navigate current challenges is informed by surviving previous adversity. Dishonored, the franchise many consider Arkane Austin’s masterpiece, emerged from development circumstances that closely resembled a survival situation. Smith recounts that during Dishonored’s creation, the studio operated with only a few months of cash reserves remaining. To sustain operations, Arkane Austin had pulled resources away from contractual support work on titles like Boom Blox, prioritizing the creation of their own original property. This financial precarity ultimately forced creative discipline. With limited runway, the team could not afford scope creep or unfocused design iteration. The constraint of limited resources paradoxically contributed to Dishonored’s focused vision and eventual critical success.

Smith framed the philosophical challenge in terms of fundamental purpose. “You know the old cliche, it’s about the journey,” he reflected. “Sometimes it’s about the golden ring. And you really want the golden ring. But sometimes it really is just about the experience of trying to do something really difficult together.” This sentiment reveals an awareness that not every project succeeds commercially, yet the process of creation maintains value independent of market outcomes.

An Industry in Flux

Black Pony Immersive launches during a period of unprecedented turbulence in gaming. Microsoft’s ongoing layoffs have created a talent exodus that benefits independent studios capable of offering creative stability. Embracer Group has retreated from expansion, announcing fresh restructuring plans. Eidos Montreal, the studio behind Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, has undergone additional cuts that saw producer David Anfossi depart during the latest round of consolidation. Against this backdrop, smaller independent studios have gained credibility as alternatives to corporate game development. Player communities have grown increasingly vocal about their preference for completed, passion-driven games over unfinished live-service platforms.

What Comes Next

The specific projects Black Pony Immersive plans to develop have not been publicly detailed. However, the studio’s founding roster and stated design philosophy provide clear indication of direction. A return to immersive simulation—whether that means a new entry in a beloved franchise or an original title in the genre—appears likely. The studio has positioned itself explicitly against the trend-chasing that consumed Arkane Austin’s final years under corporate ownership. Whether Black Pony Immersive can translate its founders’ experience and stated principles into commercial success remains to be seen. The studio operates in a market where immersive sims have always represented a niche proposition, and where independent development carries financial risk. Yet the resurgent player interest in single-player experiences, combined with the recent failure of numerous major live-service initiatives, suggests conditions may be more favorable than they were when Arkane Austin last attempted to chart its own course.