Announced during The Game Awards, Thick as Thieves is a brand-new multiplayer crime sim that challenges players to steal a variety of different things in a range of diverse missions and maps while competing with three other players. From developer Otherside Entertainment, headed up by Warren Spector—who is best known for his work on the Deus Ex series—Thick as Thieves is targeting a 2026 release and aims to take the immersive sim genre to the next level.
Game Rant was recently given a special first look at Thick as Thieves in action. Otherside Entertainment’s primary aim is to do away with the concept of stealth games being traditionally slower-paced and methodical by inserting stealth mechanics into a far faster, almost chaotic environment at times to create a fast, fluid, action/stealth hybrid experience. Otherside Entertainment describes Thick as Thieves as a contest of craftiness, where the objective is simple: infiltrate, steal, and escape.
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Thick as Thieves’ Concept and Setting Explained
Thick as Thieves is set in an alternate historical version of Europe, with many of the maps and architecture taking inspiration from the early modern UK. In this world, magic and technology co-exist, unlocking lots of interesting possibilities. Missions pit four players against each other, and each one begins with a briefing, explaining the objective, before allowing the player to tweak their loadout depending on what they have available.
Escaping from the mission with as much loot as possible, and hopefully, the objective itself, means the player can use this to upgrade their thief, tailoring the loadout and play style with new gadgets and abilities.
Stealth is an Important Element of Thick as Thieves
Over the past few decades, stealth has become a significant genre of its own, thanks to the success of franchises such as Assassin’s Creed. Many action games these days will often give the player the option to take a quieter, stealthier approach during missions. This even includes games such as the Call of Duty series, which, on the surface, would appear to be the all-guns-blazing antithesis of stealth.
As more games have baked stealth into their makeup, though, its application has become, in many cases, a little watered down, often losing its impetus. Otherside Entertainment is all too aware of this and is taking the necessary steps to ensure that stealth is a viable and innovative approach that players can take while playing Thick as Thieves.
Thick as Thieves will offer players a variety of ways to play, catering to a range of play styles. In theory, a mission could be completed without ever laying a finger on another player, if the player manages to successfully use the tools available to them in order to sneak in undetected and escape with the prize. They may, however, choose a more direct and violent approach, opting to deal with other players using tools such as booby traps and poisonous bombs to incapacitate the opposition. This approach is riskier because the player will never know what items or abilities other players are using in their current loadout.
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Thick as Thieves Offers Multiple Ways to Approach Objectives
The world of Thick as Thieves is also brimming with NPCs to interact with, some representing factions that players can choose to ally with or oppose. These NPCs will dynamically respond to different events, depending on the player’s actions and how they affect the world around them. In the gameplay segment shown to Game Rant, the player opted to take to the rooftops to infiltrate a mansion from above and steal a valuable artifact.
However, the developer was quick to point out that players could just as easily choose a different way to approach the building, perhaps from ground-level, or even, in some cases, other routes entirely. This means each player has a totally different experience, despite chasing the same objective.
Skill will factor heavily into Thick as Thieves‘ gameplay, as players will not be able to see each other’s loadouts, so it will be impossible to know in advance what tactics opposition players may use. Successfully sticking to the shadows should be the easiest route to victory, but this will be easier said than done, as players will be able to track footprints in order to hunt other players down. Likewise, gadgets like grappling hooks and lock picks will aid players in their tasks. There are several different base archetypes to choose from, each of which offers different specialties players can build on, including the use of magic.
Cunning players may choose to lie in wait before ambushing their enemies and
stealing loot for themselves
as they weigh up the risk vs. reward.
Becoming comfortable with a loadout, and using rewards earned from missions to gain new abilities that augment a specific play style, will be crucial in tipping the odds in the player’s favor. Thick as Thieves will be an ongoing game, with numerous types of missions available in each session, in order to maximize replayability. While there’s a fair way to go until the game’s release, fans of competitive PvP FPS games will want to keep a keen eye on Thick as Thieves.
Thick as Thieves is currently eyeing a 2026 release for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.