Spicy Horse
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | American McGee, Anthony Jacobson, Adam Lang |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Fate | Ceased operations to focus on smaller-scale indie ventures |
| Headquarters | Shanghai , China |
Area served | International |
Key people | American McGee |
| Products | Alice: Madness Returns, American McGee's Grimm, DexIQ, Akaneiro, American McGee's Crooked House, Akaneiro: Demon Hunters |
Number of employees | 70+ |
Spicy Horse () was an independent video game developer based in Shanghai, established in 2007 by American McGee, Anthony Jacobson, and Adam Lang. The studio ceased operations in 2016 to concentrate on smaller-scale indie ventures. It gained prominence primarily for Alice: Madness Returns, the follow-up to American McGee's Alice.
History
Following the closure of his earlier enterprise, The Mauretania Import Export Company, American McGee relocated to Asia in search of new business prospects. There, he encountered skilled Chinese developers who were proficient in outsourcing work but had limited creative input regarding intellectual properties. This observation motivated him to launch a Shanghai-based studio dedicated to empowering local talent with greater creative freedom and fostering a supportive workplace atmosphere.
Established in 2007, Spicy Horse quickly became a pioneer in episodic gaming and emerged as the largest independent Western developer operating within China. The company employed more than 70 professionals at its Zhabei District headquarters in Shanghai. Their development strategy revolved around maintaining a "core team" internally while outsourcing all art asset creation, allowing the studio to focus exclusively on essential game development tasks.
Although rumors of closure surfaced, McGee confirmed staff reductions in early 2016 but reassured that the company would remain active and intended to move away from free-to-play mobile titles. Ultimately, Spicy Horse officially shut down later that year after ten years in operation. McGee then shifted his focus toward indie game creation supported through Patreon and experimented with alternative working environments.
Products
The studio’s debut release was American McGee's Grimm, which premiered on GameTap in July 2008 as an episodic series running through March 2009, utilizing Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 technology.
Spicy Horse developed Alice: Madness Returns, the sequel to American McGee's Alice, under contract with Electronic Arts. This title was notable for being the first console game entirely designed and produced in China intended for international markets.
Additionally, the company launched a subsidiary named Spicy Pony that specialized in digital mobile gaming for iPhone. Their initial release, DexIQ, arrived in December 2009 and was followed by Akaneiro, an iPad adaptation inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. A planned project titled OZombie, based on The Wizard of Oz, was cancelled in July 2013 after its Kickstarter campaign failed to reach funding goals. This setback prompted a strategic shift toward developing a series of short films centered around the Alice universe.
| Title | Year | Platforms | Developer | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American McGee's Grimm | 2008 | Windows | Spicy Horse | GameTap | Episodic series featuring McGee’s reinterpretations of Grimm stories. |
| DexIQ | 2009 | iPad, iPhone, iPod | Spicy Pony | Puzzle genre | |
| American McGee Presents Akaneiro | 2010 | iPad | Spicy Pony | Japanese-themed take on Little Red Riding Hood | |
| American McGee's Crooked House | 2010 | iPad, iPhone, iPod | Spicy Pony | Puzzle game | |
| Alice: Madness Returns | 2011 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows | Spicy Horse | Electronic Arts | Sequel to American McGee's Alice |
| BigHead Bash | 2012 | TBA | Spicy Horse | TBA | Side-scrolling multiplayer battle (Unreleased) |
| Crazy Fairies | 2012 | Mobile, Facebook | Spicy Horse | TBA | Closed beta phase (Unreleased) |
| Akaneiro: Demon Hunters | 2013 | Browsers, Tegra-powered tablets | Spicy Horse | Spicy Horse | Japanese-themed reinterpretation of Little Red Riding Hood by McGee |