News for today is that Thief: The Dark Project Remastered is no longer merely a rumour hiding in the shadows. Nightdive Studios, Eidos-Montréal and Atari have officially confirmed that the game will launch on 3 December. And I, like many of you look forward to the return of Garrett. Although I think he would probably prefer that everyone kept their voices down.
The remaster brings back Looking Glass Studios’ influential 1998 stealth game. It will launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2 and PC through Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG. It will also support Xbox Play Anywhere. Nintendo Switch players can upgrade to the Switch 2 edition for free. That’s music to my ears in an industry that sometimes charges money for changing a number on the box.
Nightdive has rebuilt the game using its KEX Engine. The remaster includes the original Thief: The Dark Project campaign as well as the extra missions, updates and content added in Thief Gold. For those unfamiliar with the game. Players take control of Garrett. He is a master thief who prefers darkness, silence and stealing things without starting an unnecessary sword fight. Guards respond to light and sound. This means one badly timed footstep can turn a careful robbery into several armed men asking difficult questions.
The original helped establish many of the stealth mechanics we now take for granted. Instead of giving players enough weapons to solve every problem loudly, Thief encouraged them to listen through doors, extinguish lights and remain patient.
What a peculiar idea for a video game.
But this is more than an older title receiving sharper visuals. The package also includes an entirely new four-mission campaign called The Tarnished Mirror. The story takes place between The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age, with a simple robbery gradually leading Garrett towards imprisonment, uneasy alliances and an underwater necropolis. Because apparently stealing something from an ordinary mansion was not stressful enough.
The team behind the popular fan-made campaign The Black Parade created the new story. Nightdive says it will introduce new locations, factions, enemies and elements of Lovecraftian horror while preserving the atmosphere of the original game. The remaster will also support player-created mods, including The Black Parade. Nightdive Studios has confirmed that the classic light-and-sound systems remain central to the experience.
The standard digital edition will cost US$29.99, while a US$34.99 Deluxe Edition adds a digital art book, soundtrack and an excerpt from an upcoming novelisation. Physical editions are also planned for PlayStation 5 and Switch 2, including a special version packaged like the original game’s enormous PC box. Unfortunately, The official announcement does not provide South African prices.
A remaster may not be the completely new Thief game fans have wanted for years. But it does bring the original to modern platforms, preserves its additional content and adds a new campaign created by people who clearly understand why players still care about it.
Garrett has spent long enough hiding in the shadows. And on 3 December, he intends to start stealing again.
