“We got tired of making video games. We wanted to create something new. Like a creature or something. I don’t know.”

Lead Environment Artist and Horse Girl, Megan Varde

The Inspiration Behind Horse

After two smash hits, we’ve decided to explore a new frontier. From the makers of Octodad and Bugsnax comes… Horse.

Horses have long captured the human imagination, be they in ancient myths or modern media. Inspiring figures such as The Last Unicorn, Shadowfax of Rohan, The Colt of the Lamb, Incitatus, Epona, Secretariat, and countless more. All fake…until now!

You may have heard that Poseidon, King of the Sea, invented horses. This is a common misconception. You might even believe you’ve seen a horse in the real world. Neigh! Patently false.

We invented Horse, and it’s coming to a pasture near you.

Of Man and Foally

On concept, design, and early ideas

Oh boy. This is a drawing of a horse on a white piece of paper. It is drawn in ink and looks more like Gumby the rubber man than a horse. Its lips make a kissy face, it has a visible butthole, and its hooves look like little shoes instead of a part of its body. There was minimal consideration for a horse's need for bones in this drawing.

When making fantasy a reality, a dev team must ask themselves, “what if we made a creature that is so bad to look at??”

We’ve spent the past 6 years prototyping different versions of Horse that pull from cross-cultural inspiration, and we’ve learned a lot! It turns out Horse is harder to make than you’d expect.

“We believe that the human imagination is our most powerful asset.” said CEO Phillip Tibitoski when asked to contribute to this dev blog. “It’s not about the design of the Horse. It’s about the space between the Horse that counts. That’s where play really lives.”

With that guiding principle, the team began concepting Horse in 2019. We agreed on a simple set of goals as a team, and we were off to the races.

An ink drawing of a classic horse, but this one is very emo and beautiful. He has dark, raven hair swept over his luscious anime eyes. A stream of tears rolls down his face. He has an eyebrow piercing and two ear piercings. He's probably very damaged.

Design Goals for Horse:

Can walk, trot, canter, and gallop with inventory equipped

Bad to look at

Big luscious eyes

Legs, definitely

Long fingers

“I don’t understand why we’re doing this.”

John Murphy, Studio Head and Designer

This is a sultry cartoon horse. They have their leg crossed over their chest abashedly, like they're saying "aw shucks." There is also a snake horse hybrid. Snake body horse head snake tongue. There is a normal cartoon horse looking up at the snake horse.

Young(early) Horse Designs

This doesn't look like a drawing of a horse, but it is. Imagine the body of a corgi and the general shape of a horse. 4 legs, a tail, pointy ears, the general concept of a horses long face. The drawing is made quickly with pen. The horse's mane only exists on its neck, not on the top of its head. I would hang it on my fridge, but not because I am proud of my child for drawing it.

This is a digital drawing of a horse on what looks like an etch a sketch. It is pixelated and mouse-drawn. The horse is standing on its back legs. It has a short, stub face.

This is a digital drawing of a horse on what looks like an etch a sketch. It looks more like a jellybean on four stick legs. the head looks like a horse head.

A whiteboard session for designing Horse. There are 10 different drawings of horses or horse-adjacent creatures. They play with putting horse attributes on different parts of the body like a face on the butt, a horse with many joints in its legs, wheels for feet, and unicorn horns down its face like a dragon. There is also a horse with sharp teeth. In the corner a horse walks on all 4s but upside down, like the girl in the Grudge. There is also a horse that looks like Ms. Casey from Severance, with a cute black bob. Text commenting on how the designs can be changed or improved litters the board. "Too much horsepower!" "Now we're cookin." "NO!!!" — *Early exploration for Horse, late 2019*

Reigning In the Team

2020-2021, a night mare

When the novel Coronavirus pandemic hit in March of 2020, the team had to return to the drawing board and consider a new strategy. What worked in the market in 2020 wouldn’t work anymore. The world was changing, and Horse needed to as well.

We decided to head in a new direction. Horse needed to be more relatable to a modern audience.

A low poly gif of a classic horse design. It is tan with a light blonde mane and tail. It is rotating slowly in a circle.

Prototyping Horse

2022 – The Lost Years

2022 was full of exploration and thinking outside the Stable. We knew now that Old Horse was a thing of the past. Surely our future was with Young Horse.

Another whiteboard session for Horse design. It shows 3 horse designs. Offroad model is a standard horse but with 6 legs. Doze travel is a horse with no legs rolling over the ground like a bulldizer. Save for later is a horse with a very long neck, almost like a giraffe. — *Ideation on new Horse Functions*

This is an adorable Disney-style young horse. It has big, hopeful eyes, a charming little nose, and a well groomed mane. — *A true Young Horse. The team decided it was too nice to look at to be a final desig*n

2024- Unbridled Ideas

In 2024, we finally had our breakthrough. People couldn’t relate to a horse with hooves. They wanted a Horse that reflected their own experiences. So we made the tough choice to replace the long, easily broken finger-knees seen in fictional horses with a much more grounded set of human hands.

This new design resonated with testers and investors alike. Finally we had a Horse that could speak to everyone.

2025- Harnessing our Power

After years of ideation, we were finally back in the saddle, making Horse. Check out our stress test for the prototype below!

Feedback from our initial playtests was so overwhelmingly positive that we knew we were ready to announce Horse. We were originally considering a closed beta, but we’ve decided to skip it entirely and release Horse. That way all of our fans both new and returning can simultaneously experience and contribute to the majesty.

A Stable Development Process

Fortunately for us, demand for Horse has only increased since 2020. Our research tells us that there is a horse-shaped hole in the market. Steam’s most popular tags include: Indie, Simulation Horse, Horse to Play, Horse, Horse, Fantasy Horse, 2D AND 3D Horse, and Horse.

This is a screenshot of the Steam Tags page, showing most popular tags. It has not been altered in any way whatsoever. The column of tags on the left lists popular tags like Horse, horse, horse, and simulation horse. Every tag includes the word horse. On the left there are 9 previews of games that have the tag Horse. It includes games like Red Dead Redemption and Pony World 3.

This is a cartoon horse head with a very, very long nose and rounded teeth that span the full length of the smile. It looks at you with a fondness you find surprising for a cartoon horse. — *This Horse looks like he could be a father.*

Longtime fans of Young Horses will recognize the through lines of Horse across our decade of work. Our logo, free to play game Snakedate (don’t let the name fool you), and Octodad all carry Horse energy and depictions throughout.

When asked to elaborate on how Octodad has Horse energy, Art Director Chris Stallman just shrugged. “That’s up to the player.”

This is a drawing of a horse that would happen if you closed your eyes and drew a horse with a mouse. It is 80% scribble, 20% horse. It is standing on all 4s and staring into the camera. Its nostrils are larger than its face, and its tail is lifted ominously in the air, like it is about to poop.

“Any Horse that ships is a miracle held together by duct tape and desperation.”

Avid Horse enjoyer and Creative Director, Kevin Zuhn

You’re Welcome

Equestrian Access of Horse is coming out later this year. Look for it anywhere you can find Horse.

Horse v1.4.25

Backwards Compatible
Adjusted joint count
Optimized for speed
Runs in Real Engine
Stabilized back camera

Horse