New Blood CEO: 'Immersive sim' is a bad marketing term
Dave Oshry said he only learned the label from Gloomwood lead Dillon Rogers and argues RPG is a clearer category for buyers.
New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry said the term "immersive sim" is a poor marketing label that does not help sell games, in comments reported by PC Gamer on October 24, 2026. Oshry called the phrase "awful" and said it "sucks" as a marketing term.
Oshry said he had never encountered the term until Gloomwood lead Dillon Rogers used it. Gloomwood is one of two immersive sims New Blood has kept in early access for years, alongside Fallen Aces.
His alternative is simpler: Oshry argued that games such as Deus Ex and System Shock were described as RPGs, and that RPG is a category buyers understand. Marketing a game as an RPG, he suggested, will do better than marketing it as an immersive sim.
The debate is not new. A couple of years before the article, Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio told PC Gamer that nobody wonders what an RPG is, unlike an immersive sim. During development of Arkane's Prey, the studio spent a lot of time explaining what an imsim was, and Bethesda was disappointed by the game's sales before moving the studio to Redfall, which led to Arkane Austin's closure under Xbox.
From boomer shooters to early access sims
New Blood built its reputation on boomer shooters Dusk and Ultrakill before spending years on the early access immersive sims Gloomwood and Fallen Aces. The term itself is often credited to designer Warren Spector, who spread its use.
Quick answers
What did Dave Oshry say about the term immersive sim?
The New Blood Interactive CEO said it is an awful marketing label that does not help sell games, and that RPG is a more understandable category.
Which immersive sims is New Blood publishing?
Gloomwood, led by Dillon Rogers, and Fallen Aces, both of which have been in early access for years.