The studio associated with Warren Spector is in an increasingly dire situation, and perhaps it is no coincidence that we are feeling déjà vu.
According to Game Developer, OtherSide Entertainment, the developer of Thick as Thieves, laid off eighteen employees. This came only two weeks after the studio let go of seventeen people following the cancellation of a new game in development.
A studio spokesperson told the publication that fewer than ten people remain at OtherSide after the latest round of layoffs, working on updates for Thick as Thieves, and that there are currently no plans for the studio to develop future games.
“OtherSide’s DNA is built on immersive sim games that have lengthy development cycles. Unfortunately, this 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 continuing the studio in its current form is no longer commercially viable.” the spokesperson said.
It is true that immersive simulations have a difficult time in today’s games market. As Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick said earlier this year, these games generally appeal to a very narrow niche audience, so they do not usually generate high sales. This limits the genre’s appeal to both developers and publishers, especially in the current era of “either you become a massive success or go broke immediately.”
However, Thick as Thieves made a few mistakes as well. After originally being announced and marketed as a PvPvE game, OtherSide changed course shortly before release, because the game ultimately launched as a one- or two-player cooperative experience.
It was fairly good at launch and had plenty of room to grow, but some of its mechanics, including mission time limits and the extraction countdown, were frustrating then and remain frustrating now. For people wanting a modern experience similar to Thief, Thick as Thieves simply was not enough.
Thick as Thieves was also relatively small in scope. Estimates suggest that the game offered roughly four hours of playtime after launch. In exchange, OtherSide charged only $5 or €5, around 1,800 HUF, hoping that it would be cheap enough to attract a significant player base and give the team flexibility to develop further content based on how players responded to the game.
Judging by its Steam player count, that did not happen. There is currently no official sign that OtherSide is shutting down, but with the Argos project canceled in June and the latest layoffs leaving so few people at the studio, it is hard to imagine where the situation can go from here.
Source: PC Gamer, Game Developer, SteamDB
