Thiefis get a phantasmal successor in the form ofThick as stealer . The undertaking , which is being developed by an all - adept squad that includes genre legend Warren Spector , is a multiplayer immersive sim scheduled to found in 2026 on the PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X / S , and PC .
Revealed at the2024 Game Awardswith a trailer , heavyset as Thievestakes the basic principles ofThief , a landmark stealth serial publication , but shuffles them into a four - player PvPvE biz . It ’s a stealth - natural action plot where four thieves all hops into one delegation and compete to pull off a prize heist first . While it ’s not formally a stealer plot , the task is being directed by Greg LoPiccolo , the theatre director of 1998’sThief : The Dark Project , at Otherside , a studio co - founded by Spector . That makes the project an phylogeny of the immersive sim create by some of the genre ’s most influential epithet .
Ahead of its reveal , Digital Trends got a behind - the - scenes see atThick as Thieves , which include a five - minute gameplay bobbin not shown at The Game Awards . The presentation highlighted how Otherside is looking to campaign the genre forwards by combining a classical music genre with modern ideas inspired by multiplayer genres like the extraction shooter . There ’s a good grounds for that too , as Spector told Digital Trends during an interview .
“ My secluded destination is that I require to ensure that immersive sims keep go and keep making progress long after I ’m move . ”
Thief vs. thief
Thick as Thievesis a piece of a pipe dream project for Spector , who says he has dreamed of making a multiplayer immersive sim like this for decades . There ’s perhaps a grounds it has n’t happened until now : The two musical style seemed incompatible at a surface glimpse . Even Spector , an industry veteran who worked on several influential games , admits that he was out of his profundity at first .
“ I have no thought how to make a PvP stealth game ! Stealth games are about not interacting and PvP games are about interacting ! ” Spector says . “ That ’s the kind of challenge we want to take on at Otherside . ”
It was only once Spector begin assembling a team at Otherside to bring that visual sensation to life that the undertaking come together . The gang would include LoPiccolo on directing duties , as well as lead designer David McDonough , whose late credits includeXCOM : Chimera Squadand system plan work on thenext Bioshock game . After looking at a wide range of multiplayer genres , let in battle royale games , the team finally drew musical theme from asymmetrical titles and origin games . That give birth to a PvPvE mixture that neatly jibe into the core doctrine of games likeThief .
“ There ’s this form of interaction , which Warren likes to cite : ‘ It ’s competition , not combat , ’ ” MacDonough tells Digital Trends . “ The thieves compete intensely in our biz , but that does n’t stand for they have to campaign each other . They could be competing for different thing and all make it out with some motley of success that means something to each of them , even though they agitate fiercely . We saw that kind of stuff in origin games . Our game is n’t as operose - nosed as a existent extraction game with permadeath , but there ’s clear an appetence for this kind of more sophisticated , nuanced , thinking man ’s multiplayer plot . ”
The premiss is that player can choose from an raiment of thieves , each of which have their own special ability and life history progress . The Spider , for instance , is a distaff stealer that can use a grappling hook to hurry around . The story hunting expedition is split into missions that players load into from a hub . Each one task them with some form of percolation charge that can be tackled in any number of ways as they hunt down lettuce . The twist ? Four players are match together in the same charge at once — and only one can walk away with the loot . That turns each 20- to 30 - minute session into a secret plan of wits as player can either seek to pink out their rivals or indirectly reject them by stimulate guards on their prat .
In the commemorate demo I saw , Spider had to sneak into a mansion and steal some loot . She start up by zipping to the rooftop around it and scouting the area for a way in . While she ’s doing that , another player on a far - off roof sees her and bulge shooting darts at her , coerce her to run and look for another agency in . She eventually decides to creep in through a gutter grating , compact through muck to curve up in the mansion ’s basement . From there , she uses stealth to knock out guards , find clue , and crack safes . The team tells me that these foreign mission are n’t motionless . Safe code can change , guard patrol routes shifts , and players can draw close them in newfangled ways as they corrupt new gear over time .
Many of the core idea of the immersive sim musical genre are present , as player have a lot of different ways to approach a site . The multiplayer component commit the team space to experiment with unexampled tricks , though . For instance , players can only channel so much loot at once . When their stocktaking is filled , they ’ll need to drop some off into storage , potentially guide time off from completing the main objective of a mission . The more items players carry , the well-heeled it is for guard to spot them . Sprinting can make trouble too , as that ’ll exit footprints around the stage that other player can see and use to track antagonist down . All of these ideas helpThick as Thievesfeel like a genuinely new spin on a hardy music genre , one that feels like a spinal fusion ofThiefandPayday .
Always another way
The more I verbalize to the squad , the clearer it becomes thatThick as Thievesis an important undertaking for creators who have commit their careers to the immersive sim . They see it as a way to bring the genre to its next stage , staying up to date with more modernistic games without losing the flavour of the older game they worked on . LoPiccolo point at the “ long mountain range of causalities ” in Thief , tie in that to the kinds of emergent storytelling moments that happen in modern multiplayer game today . fatheaded as Thievescould be a generational bridge if Otherside plays its cards right .
That ’s especially important for Spector , whose bequest is inseparable from a genre he help produce . For him , Thick as Thievesis a dream project in several ways . Not only does it realize his decennary - long vision for a multiplayer immersive sim , but he also escort its approach to an ongoing cause as fulfill another dream he ’s long had as a tabletop RPG fan .
“ The safari was n’t something I initially recollect of . It was ab initio a business concern decision , to be frank , ” Spector says . “ I resisted it , but then one of the room decorator at the studio apartment said , ‘ Warren , you ’ve been saying you require to make a game like Dungeons and Dragons for decades now . This is just the D&D model ! ’ It was a frontal bone - slapping moment . ”
One of my rule is that there ’s always another way .
It ’s clear from talk that Spector is specially invested in visualize the literary genre he helped build extend to its next form . As the conversation wind down , I ask for his reflections on where the immersive sim has go , note that everything fromHitmantoThe Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom(“Thank you for point that out ! ” he shouts when I label it as an immersive sim ) seems to bear a bit of his mark . He ’s gallant to see so many games embrace the genre , one that he ’s always believed in .
“ It ’s really satisfy seeing how many game seem to have been influenced by immersive sims , ” Spector says . “ When we were work on the former games , I commend that Doug Church , secret professional of gambling , and I used to sit around and say , ‘ Why is n’t everybody making games like this ? ’ I always thought it was the most mainstream thing in the existence . One of my rule is that there ’s always another way . If I ’m not upright enough at spud — he tell , lift his hand — try on mouse . If I ’m not good enough at sneaking , try talk . There ’s always another way . That seemed like an improbably mainstream idea . And now we ’re starting to see that I was right ! ”
Before we even formally start our audience , Spector runs through his history with the writing style and throw in a surprising game as an example of an immersive sim : Epic Mickey . I ’m surprised to learn him namedrop it in the same breath asDeus Ex , but he promises to circulate back around to it . He does so in the last minute of arc of our conversation , neatly tying together everything we ’ve discussed with a bow . Spector care so much about the music genre because he sees a broad collection in it that makes the genre so historic period - validation . Thick as Thievesis just one more tone toward getting it in front of mainstream audiences that do n’t even understand they already love the format . Whether it ’s intentional or not , he ’s hold out by his halcyon formula : There ’s always another way .
“ One of my secret ideas behindEpic Mickeywas that I thought with Mickey Mouse as my star , I could sneak some of the immersive sim thought into a mainstream game , ” Spector say . “ It was by far the bestselling biz I ’ve ever worked on . And a lot of that was due to Mickey Mouse , I ’m not gon na fool myself , but I heard from a lot of normal human being that they got it . They value the immersive sim qualities in that biz . So , I ’m moderately sure-footed that the world is ready forThick as Thievesand a secret plan that offers them the opportunity to play the secret plan they want .
“ I think we have the capability to make this kind of secret plan and make it as mystifying as anyone on the planet . ”
Thick as Thieveswill launching in 2026 for PS5 , Xbox Series X / S , and PC .
