Harvey Smith, creative director behind Dishonored, has founded a new studio called Black Pony Immersive, dedicated to producing immersive sim games. The venture brings together several veterans of Arkane Studios, the developer long associated with the genre, at a time when immersive sims have become increasingly rare and Arkane itself has struggled under Microsoft's ownership, losing many experienced staff to departures and layoffs.

Speaking to The Game Business, Smith argued that immersive sims retain significant cultural resonance, with titles still discussed years or decades after release, and that they can also be commercially viable, noting Dishonored earned five times its production cost. He pushed back on years of industry scepticism about the genre and first-person, narrative-driven games, saying his new studio intends to return to what its founders love rather than chase passing trends. The last major immersive sims, including Dishonored 2, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Prey, were released roughly a decade ago, and Black Pony Immersive's output is expected to be smaller in scope than past AAA efforts.