Thick As Thieves wants you to stay hidden, even if a public square fight looks tempting

The most valuable treasures are always certain to draw out the most competitive of criminals. Only one crook can come away with the spoils and the rest walk away with nothing. That's if they're lucky and don't get caught, of course. Thick As Thieves, from Warren Spector's OtherSide Entertainment, brings multiplayer fun to the world of high larceny. Shacknews was at Summer Game Fest a few weeks ago and there's no better way to cap off our coverage of that weekend than to attempt a big heist.

Lead Producer Samantha Stetler took the wheel for this hands-off demonstration. For this session, she took part in a three-player match, but the game will support up to four thieves who are all going out for the same score. First revealed at The Game Awards 2024, Thick As Thieves is a PvPvE multiplayer larceny fiesta set in the 1920s, where any worthwhile thief is part of the honorable Thieves Guild. The Guild has a different treasure in mind every night and whoever can purloin it will win their favor. If that means some backstabbing here and there, the Guild isn't asking questions.

Each mission will start in a thief's safe house with the map available along the wall. To find out exactly what the Guild is after, thieves must take to the streets and slip into a nearby phone booth, where a telegraph will give them their objective. In this case, the clue to the treasure's location was at the nearby manor, but Thick As Thieves is open-ended when it comes to gathering intel, which can often include breaking and entering. Lockpicking mini-games get queued up when trying to break through a closed window, but thieves must always be aware of their surroundings. If they get spotted coming into a restricted area, the bystander will go retrieve a guard.

Valuables can also be guarded by different traps. Stetler tried to breach the nearby manor through its skylight, but it was guarded by an electrical trap. That meant finding a nearby control panel and shutting it off before moving to the next point. Later, a pickpocket fairy was used to swipe the key from a patrolling guard. In Thick As Thieves, magic exists alongside the mundane, so expect to see some special items and abilities that touch upon fantasy and the supernatural ever-so-slightly.

The ultimate destination turned out to be the library, which was supposedly locked. However, upon reaching it, the door was already open. This was the telltale a sign that someone had already been here. For this game, red footprints are a sign that other players have been around and can be a way to track where they're going next. Of course, this works both ways, so players should be cautious as to not leave their own footprint trail behind and make themselves easy to find.

After a fight for the loot that involved poison darts, the extraction timer began. The goal shifts to reaching the extraction point, and since the Guild doesn't care who gets the loot, it often leads to some big fights. Fighting in public spaces will attract police, which can lead to everybody getting taken down. This was the case when Stetler and another thief got into a brawl in the middle of a public square. Private and public spaces are indicated by an icon along the bottom corner, so players should keep in mind exactly where they are at any given moment. While a successful extraction earns money and Reputation, getting caught or KO'd results in gaining zero.

There's a much more involved metagame in-between heists, as players must determine which tools will aid them the best on this particular job and also think about what will best suit their current class. Three classes were shown off in this demo: The Spider, who uses ziplines for traversal; The Chameleon, who can disguise themselves as any NPC; and The Hood, who gains combat advantages and an extra respawn. It should be noted that leveling up in Thick As Thieves does not increase stats, but rather unlocks new tools and thieving options. OtherSide wants this to be a game about using the tools at your disposal and not relying on power upgrades.

The moment-to-moment loop of Thick As Thieves looks promising and the idea of four seasoned crooks all competing against one another sounds like fun. There's much more to learn about this game in the future, including what the other gear and abilities look like. For now, this is a game that has our interest. Thick As Thieves will come to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026.

This preview is based on an early version of the game, played by a developer as part of a private on-site session at Summer Game Fest: Play Days. The final product is subject to change.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?