Warren Spector, the legendary designer behind Deus Ex and the original Thief: The Dark Project, has returned to the genre he helped define. Today, Thick As Thieves launches on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store for just $4.99 – a deliberately modest entry price that signals OtherSide Entertainment’s long-term vision for the game.
A Legendary Team, A Budget Entry Point
Thick As Thieves is set in Kilcairn, a fictional Scottish city in an alternate version of the 1910s where early technology and traces of magic have begun to collide. Players take on the role of a thief navigating this richly atmospheric world, either solo or with a partner in two-player co-op. The launch content includes 16 contracts, two dynamic maps, and six pieces of gear – with OtherSide promising the game will be expanded significantly with future content updates.
The studio has been upfront that the launch campaign runs around four hours at minimum. That brevity, combined with the $5 price tag, reflects a deliberate design philosophy: ship something tight and polished, then grow it based on community feedback. It’s a live-service-adjacent approach, but without the aggressive monetisation that term usually implies.
From PvPvE to Pure Co-Op
The road to launch wasn’t entirely smooth. Thick As Thieves was originally pitched as a PvPvE experience – player versus player versus environment – blending competitive and co-operative stealth in ambitious ways. Somewhere along the development process, that design was shelved in favour of a purely PvE co-op and solo experience. Whether that pivot reflects player feedback, scope realities, or something else entirely hasn’t been fully explained, but the end result appears to be a leaner and more focused game.
Spector’s Stealth Legacy
For those unfamiliar with Spector’s history, the pedigree here is substantial. Thief: The Dark Project (1998) was a foundational immersive sim that redefined what stealth games could be, emphasising patience, environmental storytelling, and player agency over reflex-heavy gameplay. Deus Ex (2000) took those same principles into a cyberpunk world and became one of the most influential games ever made.
Thick As Thieves is, in many ways, Spector’s attempt to return to those roots – a small, handcrafted stealth experience built with care rather than blockbuster ambition. Whether it captures that old magic is something players can now find out for themselves, at the cost of a cup of coffee.
Thick As Thieves is available now on Steam. Console versions for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are planned for a later date.
