Thick as Thieves developer OtherSide Entertainment has laid off 18 employees, according to a Game Developer report, a move that comes just two weeks after the studio laid off 17 people following the cancellation of a new game it had in development. A studio rep told the site that following this round of cuts, “fewer than 10” people remain employed at OtherSide, working on updates for Thick as Thieves, and that there are “currently no plans for the studio to work on any future games.”
“OtherSide’s DNA is built on immersive sim games that have lengthy development cycles,” the rep said. “This, unfortunately, has been an increasingly challenging space to occupy in recent years. Despite the encouraging response to the launch of Thick as Thieves’ introductory campaign, it has become clear that the continuation of the studio in its current shape is no longer a commercially viable path.”
It’s true that immersive sims have a hard time in the modern game market. As Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick said earlier this year, they generally appeal to “a very small, niche group,” and thus tend not to be huge sellers. This limits the appeal of the genre to developers and publishers alike, especially in the current era of ‘make a huge hit or immediately go out of business.’
But Thick as Thieves made some misplays, too. After being announced and promoted as a PvPvE game, Otherside announced a new direction shortly before launch as a singleplayer/two-player co-op game. It was pretty good when it came out and had plenty of room to grow, but some of the game’s mechanics—particularly the mission time limit and exit countdown—were, and are, grating. For people looking for a modern Thief-like experience, Thick as Thieves just wasn’t quite it.