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 designer on the original Deus Ex, and the team includes a number of former Arkane Austin developers.
