Entertainment
Image via OtherSide Entertainment/Megabit Publishing
Thick as Thieves developer OtherSide Entertainment has laid off another group of employees, marking another brutal loss for the Boston, MA-based studio. According to a company spokesperson, the company has parted ways with 18 employees working on its co-op immersive sim Thick as Thieves, following the 17 layoffs we reported on earlier in June after the cancelation of a game codenamed Argos.
This means the studio’s headcount has dropped by 36 in just about a month. It’s unclear how many people remain at the company, which received a substantial investment from Swedish game conglomerate Aonic in 2023. That partnership came together shortly after Wizards of the Coast canceled a Dungeons & Dragons game in development at the studio.
The layoffs come shortly after OtherSide massively reduced the scope of Thick as Thieves, dialing back plans for a larger competitive multiplayer immersive sim and shifting focus to a smaller $5 title focused on single-player and co-op play. OtherSide’s spokesperson addressed the challenges of developing games in this genre in the statement provided to Game Developer.
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“OtherSide’s DNA is built on immersive sim games that have lengthy development cycles,” they 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.”
“We are deeply grateful to the team for their superb work and regret this outcome, having pursued every alternative to find a preferable solution.”
Update 7/1: An OtherSide spokesperson confirmed to Game Developer that the studio continues to employ “fewer than 10” people to performance maintenance on Thick as Thieves, but there are “currently no plans for the studio to work on any future games.”
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Senior Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Bryant Francis is a writer, journalist, and narrative designer based in Boston, MA. He currently writes for Game Developer, a leading B2B publication for the video game industry. His credits include Proxy Studios’ 4X strategy game Zephon, Iron Anchor Studios’ Down With The Ship, and Amplitude Studio’s 2017 game Endless Space 2.
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