Hidden Horses was founded by veteran developers following the 2026 industry layoffs. We think that we still have much more to offer, and that great things can come from great teams that have great history together. As the games industry shifts substantially, we still believe there is a market for the types of old-school hand crafted games we are used to delivering. 


The company was created as a developer run and owned studio. This allows us to pursue fun and creativity in our games, unencumbered by short-term thinking or chasing market trends. As a group of developers who've dedicated their careers to making games, we believe this structure allows us to create the kind of company that values long-term health over short-term growth, longevity over quarterly returns, and innovative gameplay over shady monetization.

We run our business democratically to sustain project buy-in from the team as well as being able to take advantage of the entire team's expertise when approaching any major business decision. We do this not only because we think it is fair, but because we think it is a better way to run a business.

For our first project, Hidden Horses is developing a high-octane single-player FPS. Influenced by games like Smash TV and movies like 1987’s The Running Man, the game will take place on a deadly game show run by a sinister but charming AI host. Our game will focus on classic FPS gameplay, awesome weapons, crazy enemies, and will be highly optimized.

We’ll have a lot to share in the coming months: in-person events, podcast appearances, Q&A’s, and even a promotional beer!

Additionally, we will soon be releasing a documentary featuring the development team as well as a teaser for our upcoming project. 

The Team

With over 250 years of collective industry experience, and many years shipping multiple titles together, we are a team that knows how to find fun and deliver it in a game.

Todd was the Lead VFX Artist at id Software before joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. Before joining the video game industry, Todd was a veteran VFX artist that worked on films such as Independence Day, Spiderman, Men in Black, The Mummy, and many more. He has a black belt in Japanese swordsmanship, and he enjoys table-top design and spending time with his wife and two children.

Daniel Young

Daniel Young joins Hidden Horses as a former lead AI engineer at id Software with a storied 27 year career in the games industry. Daniel enjoys backpacking, a variety of practical artforms and is an avid musician.

Johnmichael Quinlan

Johnmichael was a Principal tools programmer with 20 years of experience in the industry before joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. Johnmichael is a native of Bolton, England but now resides in Colorado where he enjoyes spending time with his children, riding motorcycles, juggling, and gardening.

Tim Locke

Tim was a Principal Technical Designer prior to joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. Tim has worked in the games industry for 19 years and brings a wealth of both technical and design experience.

Dustin Land

Dustin was a Principal Engine Programmer on idTech for id Software prior to joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. He enjoys board games, comedy, and golf when he's not spending time with his two kids and two robot dogs.

Tyler DeLisle

Tyler has 16 years of industry experience in both film and videogames, with over 9 of those years at id software as a Senior Lighting Artist before he joined Hidden Horses as a co-founder. When he's not lighting things in digital space, he enjoys hiking and kayaking around Maine with his family, playing board games, and miniature painting.

Derek Best

Derek Best was a former Principle VFX artist at id Software before becoming a co-founder at Hidden Horses. When he isn't creating stellar visual effects, he enjoys painting miniatures and 3D printing models.

Davis Scherer

Davis was a producer at id Software before joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder, with over 13 years of experience at id Software. When he's not spending time with his family, Davis enjoys collecting vinyl records.

Jeffrey Listman

Jeff was Senior UI Programmer at id Software before joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife and two children when he's not hard at work on UI systems.

Regan Carver

Regan joins Hidden Horses as a co-founder, having been an Engine Programmer for id Software's idTech. When he's not coding he enjoys D&D and philosophical debate. He lives in Texas with his wife, 2 daughters, and 3 dogs.

David Chiu

David joins Hidden Horses as a former Rigging Artist at id Software. When he's not developing rigs, he loves to play Magic the Gathering.

Ian Malerich

Ian was a Senior Engine Programmer on idTech at id Software before joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. Ian loves to cycle, swim, snowboard, run, hike, and paint miniatures when he's not working on games.

Allison Dombek

Allison was a Senior Skybox Artist before joining Hidden Horses as a co-founder. When not creating amazing game environments, she spends her time baking, gardening, learning Japanese, and playing DnD.

Jordan Turner

Jordan joins Hidden Horses as a prior Senior Technical Designer at id Software. When he's not playing video games, he enjoys adding to his already verbose tattoo collection.

Andrew Willis

Andrew was a producer at id Software before becoming a co-founder at Hidden Horses. When he's not producing video games, Andrew enjoys riding motorcycles, hiking, basketball, playing ukulele, reading history, and the documentaries of Adam Curtis. He lives with his wife and son in Texas.

Taylor Offill

Taylor was a senior technical designer at for id Software. When not creating video games he races sailboats, plays world of warcraft, and spends time with his family. You can find him in the wild at pokemon TCG locals or at the renaissance faires.

David Gilbreath

David is a 20 year game dev veteran who spent 8 years with id Software on DOOM Eternal, DOOM The Dark Ages, and all of the DLC. He has also worked on many titles over the years including Wildstar, Everquest 1 and 2, Armored Warfare, and even that one cancelled Star Wars game that Visceral was making (RIP Visceral). He spends his free time making music, playing with synthesizers, playing way too much Warframe, and studying theme parks.