Harvey Smith and fellow Arkane Austin veterans announce a new studio, Black Pony Immersive

Harvey Smith and fellow Arkane Austin veterans have launched Black Pony Immersive, a new studio built around first-person action RPG development. That puts a recognizable immersive-sim leadership group back in the market, and it’s the kind of move that tends to attract attention from both talent and publishers looking for proven genre expertise.

The studio’s stated focus is narrow and useful: first-person action RPGs, which usually implies a heavy mix of systemic design, combat tuning, level scripting, and content production. For developers, that matters because teams with this background often bring a strong opinion on player agency, encounter design, and how to keep simulation-heavy games readable and shippable.

Specifics on staffing, funding, location, and the first project haven’t been disclosed yet. Even so, the announcement is notable because it keeps experienced Arkane-style design talent active after the Austin studio’s shutdown, and it may become a magnet for senior hires who want to work in that space again.

If Black Pony Immersive lands external financing, it could be a useful case study in how veteran-led boutique studios position themselves around a clear genre identity. For now, the main takeaway is that another experienced team is trying to turn deep immersive-RPG know-how into a new independent production pipeline.