Information sourced from this reddit thread.
In a recent Reddit thread, Daniel Boos, game designer for Horse Club Ride West, offered to answer some questions from players! Quite a few users jumped at the chance to learn more about the game, so here are some of the questions asked and what Daniel had to say!
Horse Club Ride West is an upcoming horse game from Wild River Games set to launch October 9, 2026. This marks the third game in the series, following Horse Club Adventures and Horse Club Adventures 2.
New World and Visuals
The biggest change to the franchise is the graphical style, so naturally, players were curious about this change, wanting to know if it’s harder to design and why they made the change.
“We wanted to try something different and thought a more stylized shader would look neat. In the first two games, we basically only used the standard simple-lit Unity shader without anything fancy like normals.”
As for if it’s more difficult to make, Boos says it’s a bit of a mixed bag:
“The textures are actually easier to create since they’re very flat, without painted shadows or highlights… but that’s about it. The 3D models are more complex, with separate high-poly models that we use to bake normal maps onto the low-poly models.”
Whether it’s harder or easier, it certainly looks amazing! But now, why the western setting? It’s quite a shift from the original simple countryside world from the previous two games.
“A Western setting felt like a natural fit, especially since some of the official Schleich horses and playsets already look like they belong on a classic Western ranch. On top of that, after making multiple games set in the same lush green landscapes, it was refreshing to create something with a completely different atmosphere (especially as an environment artist :P).”
The new setting is eye-catching, and quite a few players are excited to ride across the vast open spaces of the Wild West. We here at Horse Game News certainly are! And there is quite a wide space to do so!
The game’s map is 2.36 km², about the same as Horse Club Adventures 2, but as Boos says, “with less ’empty space’ like impassable forests, mountains, or lakes in between.” In total, a team of nine people worked on this game. That’s very small considering the size, but these developers worked smarter, not harder. They dropped a lot of features we often expect in horse games.
Boos made it clear: there will be no breeding, no first-person camera, no male character, and horses will not get sick—although one sick horse is part of the story. Although the lack of breeding might put some players off, this is a very good thing for development.
A smaller team means less manpower, which means adding too much to their plate could create feature creep and allow other parts of the game to suffer. Focusing on key parts and polishing those to a shine means the game will sparkle. Like, for example, the personalities!
Horses and Gameplay
There will be six rideable horses, each with a personality. Boos expanded, saying:
“Horse personality is mainly shown through the story and dialogue. Your very first horse, for example, is an old lady named Amber, who is very sleepy, so you have to gently wake her up before riding. Besides that, each horse has a friendship level. A horse with high friendship responds better to your controls, looks at you, and is happy to see you. A horse with lower friendship… not so much.”
Although you have a set few horses to choose from, Boos makes it clear there will be customization, including mane, tail, saddle, bridle, and saddle pad—all with different colours and styles. So, no horse creation, but definitely horse customization!
As for the gameplay, this might sound familiar. The gameplay loop is described as: “follow a linear, narrative-driven main quest → be encouraged to explore the open world with companions, do side activities, meet side quest characters, level up, and take care of your horse → repeat.”
This mirrors the original games. Completing side quests and taking part in small competitions has always been the blueprint for Horse Club. So, this sounds just about right for the series.
Another user asked about the horse models: how were they made? And the answer is quite surprising—and a little cute.
“For the horse models themselves, we use the Schleich figures as a starting point. The whole team also visited a riding stable and took hands-on riding lessons, so we have at least a rough idea of what we’re doing.”
It’s wonderful to see developers taking the time to ride horses and get a feel for them, not just the look of them. Riding horses is an experience!
And this leads nicely into horse movement and navigation. Boos notes that finding a balance between player control and obstacle avoidance is “tricky.” The horses in Ride West will automatically avoid trees, for example, but taking too much control away from the player is not always a great idea. So, they had to find a balance. The horse should feel alive, but the player must be in control.
We’ll have to wait and see if this pans out well.
Story and Dream Game
But what about the story? Will this be another girly-girl game? Will it be another “save the ranch”? Boos says they’re trying not to.
“While our games are definitely aimed at a younger audience (like the toys are), the game isn’t overly pink or too stereotypically ‘girly’ (or at least less than Barbie Horse Trails, for example). I think anybody that likes a cozy horse game can enjoy Ride West.”
Cozy games have been dominating the ‘female game market’ for years now. Women seem to gravitate towards the softer side of gaming far more than men do. At the very least, Ride West is catering to an audience. Boos even expands on this a bit later in the thread when a user asks specifically about how different it is writing for a horse game versus other games:
“The biggest difference compared to non-horse games or games for an older audience is the overall design philosophy. We try to keep everything age-appropriate, easy to understand, lighthearted, and relaxing. We also avoid failure states at all, so players can explore and enjoy the world at their own pace without feeling frustrated.”
Boos also chats a little about the future of the franchise, noting that DLC could be in the pipeline, depending on sales. A sequel could be in the making, depending on sales. Basically, we’ll only see more if the game sells well. However, he also noted that before the Ride West game was confirmed, they had considered a winter-themed setting. Talk about a 180! But I’d definitely want to see a winter-themed horse game!
Finally, a few questions were directed at Boos about his experience in the industry, what games he liked, and what his dream horse game would be.
Boos said he loved Souls-like games, and if he could make a dream horse game, he would:
“I’d set it in the medieval period. You’d play as a poor wandering hedge knight, traveling the countryside with nothing but your trusty horse, taking on odd jobs and getting pulled into adventures, like horse racing with a nobleman. (I’d definitely smuggle in some Soulslike combat here and there🤫)”
We can all agree that this sounds pretty epic! Let’s hope Boos has started working on that on the side.
But so far, Horse Club Ride West is looking great, and the willingness of the developer to sit down and chat with players is something special. I, for one, can’t wait for October!
If you are hankering to ask Boos some questions, head on over to this Reddit thread!
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