From infiltrating deep vaults to stealing keys off guards and leaving calling cards, there’s quite a lot to delve into. Of course, not every heist ends quietly, and it’s very much possible that you’ll have to avoid capture to escape. It’s a short but sweet look at what you can expect when the full game launches on May 20th for PC.

Contrary to what you would think, this isn’t based on Dan Santat’s graphic novel. Thick as Thieves instead takes place in Kilcairn, an alternative history 1910s metropolis where thievery is the business, and business is booming. You’ll start as an initiate who must work their way up the ladder, cementing their own legend.

New tools are unlocked as you ascend the ranks, but the twist is that no two nights are the same. You’ll need to use every bit of cunning and split-second timing to succeed. Stay tuned for more details en route to launch.

As developer OtherSide Entertainment explained on Steam, “When we first revealed Thick as Thieves, we intended to focus on PvPvE gameplay. However, as development progressed and the world of Kilcairn has come to life, we found that we were having more fun with solo and co-op play.” Thus, the decision to pivot to those modes.

OtherSide also believes that it allows for “doubling down” on what makes the game “truly special – dynamic stealth gameplay.” “We’re already seeing how this has strengthened the moment-to-moment action, whether you’re playing solo or with a partner in co-op. We’ve had some fantastic moments while testing the game. Now we’re putting all our energy into making things even better as we build up to launch.”

Fortunately, it seems we’ll see how this works on April 9th during the Triple-I Initiative showcase. Thick as Thieves will receive a new gameplay trailer, and the development team promises other “well-guarded secrets.” Which may include a release date or a playtest announcement of some kind, but time will tell.

For now, this new approach looks more fitting for the 1910s alternative history setting that OtherSide is going for. The story is all about becoming a master thief; the hook is that every night offers new challenges courtesy of emergent gameplay.

As in Thief, you’ll need to observe different opportunities, avoid guards, and use your skills to pull off the perfect crime. One has to wonder if there’s any deeper plot – after all, the earlier premise involved building your “own personal storyline, mission by mission.” But the aesthetic is still pretty killer, and any new immersive experience from former Looking Glass developers and Spector is worth checking out.

Thick as Thieves is planned for this year and will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Thick As Thieves is set in a metropolis in an alternate history, where both technology and magic exist and often end up clashing against each other. As is often the case with settings like these, the world of Thick As Thieves has a bustling underworld, as well as a sharp divide between the rich upper classes and a lower class that struggles to survive.

Players will be taking on missions where they have to infiltrate, steal, and then escape in order to succeed. The game offers quite a bit of replayability thanks to its multiplayer mode, as well as a world rich in stories thanks to a host of different characters and mystery.

Thick As Thieves will be coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2026.

System Shock 3 was confirmed to be in development at series creator Warren Spector-led OtherSide Entertainment years ago, but after facing prolonged development issues, the project’s rights were sold in full to Tencent, with Spector and his team no longer involved. The current status of the project, meanwhile, remains unknown, and as you’d expect, whether or not it ever ends up getting made is up to Tencent.

That’s according to Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios – the owner of the System Shock IP – who recently told the same to VGC.

“When we originally acquired the rights to the franchise, we licensed the rights for the third game to Warren and Paul [Neurath] at Otherside,” Kick said. “They then subsequently sold their rights to Tencent.

“So Tencent currently has the rights to the third game, and we have the rights to do the remake of the first game and potentially a remake of the second game. That’s pretty much where it stands right now.”

Interestingly, Kick also mentioned that Tencent could also make further sequels in the series if they did decide to end up developing System Shock 3. “I think they technically could do 4 and 5 as well, but they’d have to do 3 first. So, we’ll see,” he said.

Earlier this year, OtherSide Entertainment announced that it had started development of a new immersive sim with Warren Spector leading the team.

Meanwhile, Nightdive Studio’s System Shock remake is due out sometime in 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Speaking in an interview with GamesBeat, Spector referred to the announcement a couple of years ago that Tencent had taken control of System Shock 3, and said that there was nothing more to add about the project. “We released a statement last year,” he said. “There’s not much more to say at this point. Tencent is taking the franchise forward. It’ll be up to them to say what they want to say. There’s not much clarification I can give you.”

When asked about how long exactly OtherSide Entertainment worked on System Shock 3, Spector said, “We worked on it in 2018 and 2019. That was it.”

Of course, when the development of System Shock 3 stalled, OtherSide ended up having to downsize, after which, according to Spector, the studio went into a state of recovery. “There was certainly a period of personal recovery,” he said. “I’m not sure how to say it. I take this personally, you know? Game development is not just a job to me. It took me a while to get my creative juices flowing again. And then COVID hit. The world got crazy.”

Incredibly enough, these aren’t the only hurdles System Shock 3’s development has faced. In 2019, its publishing rights were reverted back from Starbreeze to OtherSide Entertainment, with the former struggling with financial issues at the time. What exactly Tencent plans to do with the project now – if anything – remains to be seen.

In a press release, Spector (who is chief creative officer for the company) said that, “It feels great to be working with a talented team on a new title and new IP. Fans of my work already know what to expect: an immersive world and engaging narrative that players will directly impact through their choices and playstyles. We are still in early development and are looking forward to sharing more information soon!”

Jeff Goodsill has also been appointed as general manager after working as a strategic advisor for six month. Goodsill’s experience includes roles in franchises like Age of Empires, Titan Quest, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and more. He will lead growth for the studio while also overseeing production on future current-gen console and PC games along with the new IP.

“I am honored to be working with the industry luminaries at OtherSide. Paul, Warren, and their teams have played pivotal roles in creating and advancing the immersive sim genre. I’m joining a passionate team working on exciting projects and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish,” said Goodsill.

As for System Shock 3, OtherSide confirmed in 2020 that it was still part of the project despite Tencent picking up the rights for the same. The title was announced to be officially in development in 2016 but a release window and platforms have yet to be announced. Stay tuned for more details on the same, along with OtherSide’s new IP, in the coming months.

As a long-awaited sequel to one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all time, millions of people are deeply invested in System Shock 3 already. The game, however, has had a tumultuous development cycle, especially over the last year as it has struggled to secure financial backing since developers OtherSide Entertainment ended their partnership with Starbeeze.

Recently though, the rights to System Shock 3 were picked up by Chinese media giant Tencent- but while that may have secured the future for the game itself, something that’s remained unclear since then is how this affects OtherSide Entertainment, and whether or not they are still involved with the game and its development.

To answer some of those questions, OtherSide’s community manager Alyssa Marshall recently took to the developer’s official forums, saying that the studio is “still involved.” She did not, however, go into many details about what that involvement entails, saying that this is all OtherSide can say on the matter for now.

“We are still involved, but we can’t speak on it much further than that at this point in time,” she wrote. “As we are allowed to make more information public, we will do so.”

Whether or not OtherSide are going to be leading the game’s development with backing from Tencent, or if they’re going to function in a purely supporting capacity remains unclear for now, but at least we know for sure that one way or another, they are still attached to the project. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available on the matter, so stay tuned.

Millios have been looking forward to the release of the long-awaited System Shock 3 for a while now, but the last few months have been tough for the game, developers OtherSide Entertainment, and series fans. Reports emerged earlier this year that the game was facing severe issues in development, and that as a result, OtherSide were in trouble as well, with the game’s development team having reportedly let go.

Recently though, an employee at OtherSide, marketing and business development VP Walter Somol, posted an update on the studio’s forums, saying that the studio is working remotely, and working on a new concept using Unreal Engine 4 that is apparently “coming along nicely.”

“We’re still here,” Somol wrote. “We’re all working remotely right now, probably like most of you. Our new concept is coming along nicely and we are really excited about it. We have cool and we think distinctive art style for it and we have that and gameplay coming together in UE4. I know it’s a tease, but I just can’t really say anything about it at this point.”

It’s worth noting that Somol doesn’t mention System Shock 3 in his update, nor does he say how the game is coming along, so it’s still unclear where exactly the game is in its development process. Of course, it’s also worth pointing out that given the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s uncertainty to varying extents about nearly every game currently in development.

Either way, we’ll keep you updated as this situation develops, so stay tuned.

It wasn’t too long ago that we got our first look at alpha gameplay footage of the upcoming System Shock 3, so you might have been under the impression that development was progressing smoothly. However, as per a new report by VGC, it seems that development of the sequel at OtherSide Entertainment has hit a major roadblock.

As the report points out, various key members from the game’s team have left the studio, including the game’s writer, director, design director, and lead programmer, which is confirmed by their LinkedIn pages. Meanwhile, recently, a member of the development team anonymously posted an update on the situation over at RPG Codex. Wanting to avoid “confusion about the state of the company and the project”, the developer revealed that though the core systems of the game had progressed quite a bit, the studio was “critically behind” in developing content for the game.

Discussing whether the “failure of the project” was right, they talked about how System Shock 3 had to be “creative and weird” because it know it couldn’t compete with the scale of AAA immersive sims in the market.

“We were a small team and knew we couldn’t compete with current immersive sims in production quality and breadth, so we had to be creative and clever and weird,” they said. “And we were on our way to make something unique and possibly fun, but probably not what the audience was hungry for.”

The developer also wrote that if Starbreeze – who, due to their financial issues last year, had to sell the game’s publishing rights back to OtherSide Entertainment – had not “gone into crisis”, that would have allowed the developers to make something interesting.

“If Starbreeze hadn’t gone into crisis I think we would’ve delivered something interesting with some fresh and innovative gameplay, but a much smaller game than what people were expecting and inevitably disappointing for a sequel to such a beloved franchise,” they wrote.

Saying that they did not want to give too many details to avoid violating their NDA, they did say that “the team is no longer employed” at OtherSide Entertainment.

No official statement has yet been made about this by the studio, so right now, there’s no knowing what the status of the project or its development team is. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more updates.

System Shock is one of the most beloved classic franchises in the PC gaming space, so it goes without saying that System Shock 3 is a game that a great many people are looking forward to with bated breath. Whether or not it’s able to live up to the name it carries and the legacy of its predecessors remains to be seen, but the development team at OtherSide Entertainment – led by industry legend and System Shock creator Warren Spector – is definitely trying its best to make sure it does.

Speaking with GameSpot, Spector spoke about the approach OtherSide has adopted for System Shock 3’s development, and how it’s an AA production rather than a AAA one from a budget and scope perspective. That said, Spector assures that he’s been pushing his team of developers to craft an experience fitting of the AAA bill, in spite of its development.

“I feel more pressure on this project than I think I have on any other,” said Spector. “Even working with Mickey Mouse, I knew we could do the job, and I knew we had the budget and the team to live up to people’s expectations. Here, we really are in this sort of ‘AA’ space, not the AAA space. Paul Neurath, my partner, and I made a conscious decision that we’d already been down that road of AAA, many times and wanted to do something smaller. But I think the AAA expectations are still there.”

“And so I think if you ask my team, I think you’d hear that I’m pushing them pretty hard for AAA quality at the AA price tag,” he continued. “There are expectations with the scope of the game and the legacy of the original games. So yeah, there’s some pressure. You bet.”

System Shock 3 is scheduled for a launch on PC and consoles – which remain unspecified – but currently does not have an estimated release date. In the meantime, you can check out the game’s first gameplay footage (or a tease of it anyway) through here.