Immersive sim pioneer Warren Spector's new stealth game Thick as Thieves makes the blessed pivot, dropping PvPvE in favor of single-player and co-op

Thick as Thieves, the new stealth game from OtherSide Entertainment, a studio founded by immersive sim legend Warren Spector, is dropping the previously confirmed PvPvE elements in favor of single-player and co-op gameplay.

I've been cautiously optimistic - heavy on the cautiously - about Thick as Thieves since it was announced back in December 2024. Spector is a titan of the industry largely credited as one of the pioneers of the immersive sim genre, having produced the foundational 1992 action-RPG Ultima Underworld, created the original Deus Ex, and coined the term immersive sim.

As chief creative officer of OtherSide Entertainment, Spector looked at today's immersive sims and thought, "we could do better," and that's why we have Thick as Thieves. It's a compelling hook, but I don't need PvPvE shenanigans in my immersive sims, especially not as a core component, and thankfully, that part of the game has been scrapped entirely.

"When we first revealed Thick as Thieves we intended to focus on PvPvE gameplay," reads a Steam update from OtherSide. "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."

For that reason, the studio is ditching PvPvE to focus "on two-player co-op and single player." Heck yeah.

"This sharpened focus has allowed us to double down on what makes Thick as Thieves truly special – dynamic stealth gameplay," OtherSide says, adding that the switch-over has already "strengthened the moment-to-moment action, whether you’re playing solo or with a partner in co-op."

I'm not surprised. Immersive sims should be big, complex, interconnected webs of systems vying for my attention, and I'm too competitive to focus on all of that on top of PvP. Co-op actually sounds like an interesting system as, if it's implemented right, it could compliment the systems-driven gameplay in fun ways. We'll have to see how it all shakes out when Thick as Thieves releases on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC sometime this year.

Sneak through the kingdom performing daring heists in retro immersive sim Project Shadowglass