Eidos Montreal making Thief 4?

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 8th April 2008

Could Eidos Montreal be making a fourth Thief game? It seems likely!

This is still kind-of officially a rumour, but as far as we're concerned the fact that Eidos Montreal is developing a sequel to Thief: Deadly Shadows is all but certain.

The Montreal arm of the Thief publisher announced almost a week ago that it was recruiting developers to work on a new game it was designing. The advert was accompanied with the news that the first two games the studio will be working on are revivals of old franchises - one of which is definitely Deus Ex 3.. The job posting also hinted that the game in question began with a 'T'.

Looking back over Eidos' back catalogue then, it means that Eidos Montreal is either developing a new Terracide or Thief game. Rumours and inside information currently indicate it will be the latter.

The original Thief was released in 1998 and is often credited as marking the start of an entirely new genre; the stealth-em-up. Playing as an enigmatic master thief named Garrett, players used guile and subtlety to steal from the rich and give to themselves - all while becoming involved in the plots and machinations of various secret societies in a medieval steam-punk world. The series was worked on by a number of gaming figureheads, such as Harvey Smith and Warren Spector, and is its renowned for its incredibly scary level design.

While Thief: Deadly Shadows was the last game in the series and was released in 2004, the franchise still enjoys a strong fanbase, though the trilogy was bought to a clear finish at the end of the third game, making a sequel appear difficult.

Did you ever try your hand at any of the Thief games? Are you excited about a fourth title? Let us know in the forums.