We saw the first gameplay from the multiplayer thief game. The developers are explicitly focusing more on action than on a cautious approach.
If the title Thick As Thieves makes you smile, feel free to post a comment about it. After that, please scroll back up and read about what we’ve learned about the upcoming stealth game.
The title was just revealed at The Game Awards, but we’ve already seen more than was shown at the reveal. In a presentation behind closed doors, the developers from OtherSide Entertainment showed even more gameplay (from a very early version of the game) and answered our questions.
You should have pricked up your ears when you heard the name of the studio: that’s right, it was founded by well-known veteran developers like Warren Spector, who created Deus Ex and Thief, among other things. So there are real stealth professionals at work here!
What is Thick As Thieves anyway?
Thick As Thieves is a pure PvP multiplayer title, and working together is explicitly not possible. We embody a thief, take on missions, break into fancy properties or scurry through dark tunnels, secure loot and – hopefully – escape from the map before a fellow thief catches us. All from a first-person perspective.
Of course, valuables are well secured, so we collect clues first. Then we look for a safe way to our destination – each map is a little different, but should be quite compact. Most of the time, we have to pick locks or deactivate an alarm before we can get in. Sure, sometimes you can just close your eyes and sprint through, but then everyone else can see your footsteps. Extremely dangerous!
Because it is also an explicitly valid strategy not to break in yourself, but to lie in wait to take the loot from a successful thief.Up to four people can be on a map at the same time, so there’s not much space to completely avoid each other. Especially since we sometimes have the same goal.
Other players are not the only danger, though: NPC guards also patrol the streets or keep an eye on the treasures of the rich. They leave us alone as long as we behave inconspicuously. But if you duck to sneak past them or are in a forbidden place, you better have a few smoke grenades in your backpack!
Not content with just sneaking!
Thick As Thieves wants to break the unwritten rules of many genre colleagues.Instead of sedate sneaking, it wants to entice us to be more daring and take more action.Instead of executing sophisticated plans perfectly, it is more important to react quickly when circumstances change unexpectedly. We get the right equipment for the job, such as a grappling hook to glide elegantly over the city’s rooftops.
The loot we capture is persistent, so it remains available to us even after a round. This is how we gradually upgrade our professional criminal and perhaps even specialize in a particular approach. Thieving thief hunter or unseen ghost, for example.
The game also steals elements from its indirect predecessors, for example in its setting and story. We are supposed to play through a personal story, and gradually uncover more secrets of the city, which is a steampunk and magical version of Edinburgh in the 1910s.
Many questions remain unanswered for the time being: How much frustration will we experience when someone takes away our hard-earned loot at the last second? Do the maps and gadgets offer enough variety to keep a multiplayer title alive for a long time? And of course: How much fun is it, how good is the gameplay? We probably won’t be able to tell you that for quite a while.
Thick As Thieves doesn’t yet have a firm release date, but it’s supposed to come out sometime in 2026. So it’s still quite a while before we can try out the action-stealing ourselves.
What do you think of the idea of experiencing a game like Thief in multiplayer? Would you like to snatch other people’s loot and show them who the best master thief is, or would you rather go on a thieving spree together in co-op? Let us know your thoughts on Thick As Thieves in the comments!
Incidentally, the name refers to an English saying that roughly translates as “stick together like thick as thieves”.
The editorial team’s conclusion
The ideas behind Thick As Thieves are exciting and bold. The development studio has many years of experience and creative work behind it. So actually, the prospects for the new multiplayer game are quite good. And yet I can’t shake a certain skepticism.
Are there really enough people who want to play a pure PvP stealth game? Don’t most people imagine “Thief as a multiplayer” more as a chance to go on daring missions with fellow thieves? I’m a little worried about whether the game will find its audience, because so many projects have failed in recent years.
Maybe I’m just carrying a bit too much pessimism around with me these days. For now, I’ll stay excited and look forward to hopefully seeing more gameplay in a few months.
