Equinox Homecoming: Horse-Riding Mysteries in a Risky Market
When it seems like everybody and their second cousin are creating games, it’s hard for any studio to hold the—almost admittedly short—attention span of the gaming consumer. (Internal shots fired at our own lack of attention.)
In an interview with CEO Colin Cragg and Equinox Homecoming director Craig Morrison, they were asked what challenges are associated with opening a new studio right now.
“It’s terrifying,” admits Cragg. “To call the situation the industry is in at the moment ‘ridiculous’ would definitely be an understatement. It’s silly.”
“Here we are in 2025 where, at the beginning of the year, with the change in government in the United States, everyone’s like, ‘Oh no, it’s going to be pro-business now, and everything’s supposed to start kind of unlocking itself.’ … But the risk element of things right now has everybody holding their breath. Everything is locked up. Nothing is moving.”
Tariffs, Tensions, and Creative Risk
We’ve all seen the impact of the Trump tariffs: Switch 2 pre-order prices, the increase in Xbox accessory costs, and more recently, Apple and other smartphone companies facing the threat of a 25% tariff on their technologies.
Despite these economic headwinds, Morrison still believes in what the studio is doing:
“Why do it?… We generally feel that there’s a space in the market for something new and different, and that takes different demographics seriously,” Morrison says. “Because we didn’t want to be the 45th survival game that’s going to market in the next six months.”
And Equinox Homecoming? Actually, it does sound like something new.
Whoever thought a horse-riding mystery MMORPG set on an idyllic island would be considered a survival game? (Last time a horse-riding mystery happened, it had “Barbie” in the title. But hey—we’re a little out of the loop on that one. Fact check pending.)
More Saddle Club Than Skyrim?
Morrison adds:
“We really hope th at that starts to show people that there is another path and that it attracts both audience and investors in the future — that we’re able to show that you can make quality experiences for people that aren’t… neatly within the gaming box.”
Which, honestly? Fair point. Games at this point in time are basically copy-paste, rinse-and-repeat templates of what’s already selling. Pushing the envelope is hard. Unknowns are scary. New IPs are a risk. But now that a horse-riding mystery MMORPG is out in the open? Yeah, you can bet a notification is going out next on the to-do list.
If you agree, you might want to check this one out too.
What’s Alderwood Island Hiding?
Okay, let’s go over what Blue Scarab Entertainment is talking about when it comes to creating a new type of game like Equinox Homecoming.
You start the game by arriving on Alderwood Island, where a string of mysteries awaits—and the entire island is on edge. Even worse, your mom has vanished without a trace, and a body’s been discovered in the woods. So you and a group of old and new friends set out to investigate—only to uncover conspiracies that’ll throw you for a loop.
Honestly, this is less Barbie, more Saddle Club meets murder mystery-adventure. (If you ever watched Discovery Kids growing up, you know exactly the vibe.)
Not the murder aspect—it was a children’s show—but the mystery solving, horse bonding, and friend group dynamics that all unravel while you ride across the countryside. The Equinox Homecoming devs are clearly aiming at a specific demographic, and it’s portrayed perfectly without undercutting the overall game or storyline.
A Fresh POV for the Industry
This is a shift of POV that’s honestly needed in the gaming community right now. Yes, Equinox Homecoming still has the mystery and adventure mechanics everyone loves, but instead of a hardened soldier in tactical armor, you’re playing as a young woman going through life-changing events.
That setup influences how players will react to emotional or dangerous moments later on—and that’s powerful.
Honestly, if anyone told us Equinox Homecoming was a new game idea from a brand-new studio, we’d be skeptical based on how detailed and well-crafted the story is. But you can clearly see the experience of the ex-Helldivers CEO and former WoW devs shining through.
This game should be in your carts as soon as you can swing it.
