Thick as Thieves Preview - A Spiritual Successor to a Classic?

What’s a good heist without high stakes? Thick as Thieves aims to up the ante with its PVPVE, competitive thievery. From Warren Specter’s studio, OtherSide Entertainment, this game has much potential.

We got a chance to see Thick as Thieves in action during a hands-off demonstration at Summer Game Fest 2025. Unfortunately, we were only able to see the single-player aspect of Thick as Thieves, since the venue’s internet decided to stop working.

Despite this, Director of Product Michael Fitch says that despite very much being a multiplayer game, the PVE aspect much also be important. So yes, you can play Thick as Thieves by yourself if you so choose.

Pick Your Poison

First things first: pick your character. Each character in Thick as Thieves has their own abilities; essentially, they each have one killer advantage. 

The Spider, for instance, is quite mobile and is equipped with tools like a grappling hook to get on top of roofs and other obstacles. The Chameleon, on the other hand, can take the form of an NPC.

The Chameleon, in particular, sounds quite intriguing, as his playstyle revolves around subterfuge and trickery by trying to mimic the habits of an NPC.

Whatever the case, at the start of every match, each thief is assigned the same job by the Thieves Guild. The objective is to obtain a special book, which is purportedly hidden in a manor. We don’t know much beyond that, which is why collecting clues is crucial.

Making Garrett Proud

This does hearken back to games like Thief where you’d have to collect clues scattered around the environment to eventually find your way to the target. Indeed, Thick as Thieves is described as a spiritual successor to Thief, so you can expect it to share similar gameplay elements like reading those notes. 

Eventually, we find out how to obtain the book. The way in which you find your target piece of loot will change from game to game, so there is a degree of unpredictability here. 

Grabbing the target will start a timer that alerts other thieves that someone has the item and are working their way to the exit. This is where, presumably, most players will come out of the woodwork and try to fight you.

Thick as Thieves Preview | Final Thoughts

I wish I could have seen more of the multiplayer aspect, because that’s really at the heart of Thick as Thieves’ gameplay. It simply doesn’t seem quite as exciting with one player. 

And that’s related to another concern of mine: the game’s longevity. Immersive sims are already a niche genre, and Thick as Thieves will depend on a healthy audience. I just don’t know if that audience is there, but I really hope it is.

But, with minds like Warren Specter behind Thick as Thieves, I have faith in the project. Should it gather the numbers needed to thrive, this title has potential to create a lot of long-lasting memories. 

Thick as Thieves was previewed Summer Game Fest.