Thick As Thieves: New stealth game wants to break all the rules of the genre

In the alternate timeline of Thick As Thieves, cool prosthetic hands already existed in the 1910s.

Anyone who has to grin at the title Thick As Thieves can now say exactly one (!) sentence about it in the comments. Then please scroll back up and read what we have found out for you about the upcoming stealth game.

The title was freshly revealed at the Game Awards, but we've already seen more than what was shown at the reveal. At a closed-door presentation, the developers at OtherSide Entertainment showed off even more gameplay (from a very early version of the game) and answered our questions.

You should prick up your ears when you hear the name of the studio: Exactly, it was founded by well-known developer veterans like Warren Spector, who created Deus Ex and Thief, among others. So there are real stealth professionals at work here!

What is Thick As Thieves anyway?

Thick As Thieves is a pure PvP multiplayer title, Collaboration is expressly not possible. We embody a thief, accept orders, break into fancy properties or scurry through dark tunnels, secure loot and - hopefully - escape the map before a fellow thieve catches us. Everything from a first-person perspective.

Of course, valuables are well secured, so let's collect clues first. Then we look for a safe route to our destination - each map is a little different, but should be quite compact. Most of the time we have to pick locks or disable an alarm before we get in. Sure, closing your eyes and sprinting through is sometimes possible, but then our steps are visible to everyone else. Fire hazard!

Because it is also a valid strategy not to break in yourself, but to lie in wait and then take the loot from a successful thief.Up to four people can travel on one map at the same time, there isn't much room to completely get out of each other's way. Especially since we partly pursue the same goal.

But other players are not the only danger: 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 past them or are in a forbidden place, you better have a few smoke grenades in your backpack!

Don't just sneak!

Thick As Thieves wants to break the unwritten rules of many genre colleagues.Instead of sedate creeping, it wants to tempt us into more action and daring.Rather than perfectly executing elaborate plans, it is more important to react quickly when circumstances unexpectedly change. We are given appropriate equipment, such as a grappling hook, so we can fly elegantly over the roofs of the city.

Captured loot is persistent, meaning it remains available to us even after a round. In this way, we gradually upgrade our career criminal and perhaps even specialize in a certain approach. Thieving thief hunter or unseen ghost, for example.

The game also steals elements from its indirect predecessors, such as setting and story. We should also play through a personal story and gradually uncover more secrets of the city, which represents a steampunk and magical version of Edinburgh in the 1910s.

Many questions still remain unanswered:How much frustration arises when someone steals 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 feel? We probably won't be able to tell you that for a while.

Thick As Thieves doesn't have a set release date yet, it's scheduled to appear sometime in 2026. So it's still a while until we can try out the action stealth for ourselves. Until then, maybe some of this will satisfy your hunger for stealth:

What do you think of the idea of ​​experiencing a game like Thief in multiplayer? Are you interested in stealing other people's loot and showing who the best master thief is or would you rather go on a theft spree together in co-op? Let us know your thoughts on Thick As Thieves in the comments!

By the way, the name refers to an English proverb that roughly means something like “sticking together like pitch and brimstone.”