Rumor: Thief 4 Delayed for Next-Gen Consoles

[Andy Chalk]

Rumor: Thief 4 Delayed for Next-Gen Consoles

Thief 4 may take a lot longer to arrive than anyone expected.

It's been well over three years since Thief 4, which I still refuse to call "Thi4f," was made leaked [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/91613-Thief-4-Its-Official] in November of last year, but beyond that there's been nothing - not even a release date.

There is now, however, a rumor that the game won't be showing up anytime soon. According to the latest issue of OXM and bolstered by CVG sources, Thief 4 won't come out until late 2013 at the earliest, and when it does finally arrive it will be as a next-gen title for the new consoles Microsoft and Sony presumably intend to put out late next year.

There's no indication as to whether it will be an actual launch title or simply released for the new consoles at some point after they hit the shelves, which as Rock, Paper, Shotgun [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/08/sob-thief-4-sneaking-onto-next-gen-consoles/] notes would put the game back to sometime in 2014, nor is anyone saying why, after four years in development, the game is being switched to all-new platforms. I like to think that it's good news, that the developers want to make this the biggest, baddest Thief game ever, but even if it's happening because the game as it stands is an unplayable piece of crap, a delay - even a long one like this - is certainly a better option than flat-out cancellation.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/362035/thief-4-switched-to-next-gen-consoles/]


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[Lord Beautiful]

Kind of expected that anyway, but if it does come out as a launch title or close-enough-to-launch title, it could either spell out one immediate buy of a next-gen console from myself or a slap in the face to the franchise by virtue of it being launch-quality suckage.

Time will tell.

 

[Vkmies]

I've been saying "Please be good" for the last 3 years or so. Still... PLEASE be good.

 

[Absolutionis]

Oh no Eidos. Come on now.
This is the mistake you made with Deus Ex 2 so long ago and everyone pretty much hated that game.

 

[Action Jack]

"a delay - even a long one like this - is certainly a better option than flat-out cancellation."

Tell that to Duke Nukem Forever.

 

[Shinsei-J]

Well now we know what's taking The Last Guardian so long.

Hopefully, because that would be awesome.
Onto Thifourf, I can't wait for it to finally release and at this point I'm just happy that it hasn't been cut.

 

[Sis]

Read: Since we currently have nothing to show, and we can't be fucking bothered with it, we're saving it as a launch title because who gives a shit about launch titles. Also, next-gen isn't happening soon anyways so we can not give a shit longer.

 

[llafnwod]

Well now we know what's taking The Last Guardian so long.

Shhhhh, you jinxed it!! Fumito Ueda just keeled over dead; we have to clap to bring him back.

 

[AstylahAthrys]

The fans have been speculating that for months now. No new news. I'd like to hear it officially just so we can know why we haven't heard anything yet, though. I want this game to be released SO badly.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

What excititng features will those next gen. consoles bring, besides the next gen. of "fuck the customer-DRM and -DLC"?

that's surely something worth waiting for.

 

[Imbechile]

Better to let Thief die than to pollute it with today's AWESOME FEATURES like regenerating health, takedowns, emotionally engaging and/or cinematic experience, kinect and other shit.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Silly Eidos, has no one told them that you can only use 4 in place of the letter A? Otherwise it just looks silly!

Clearly they missed a trick when they didn't register Thi3f as a trademark.

 

[Artemis923]

There's nothing "next gen" about a slight graphical upgrade. I really wish it would stop being called that.

 

[ivc392]

I didn't believe that current game industry could deliver such a complex and deep game as the original Deus Ex, and I was right. But to be fair the Deus Ex: HR turned out all right, I guess. So at least I'll give Thief 4 the benefit of the doubt.

At least we'll always have Metal Age and The Dark Project.

 

[Absolutionis]

I didn't believe that current game industry could deliver such a complex and deep game as the original Deus Ex, and I was right. But to be fair the Deus Ex: HR turned out all right, I guess. So at least I'll give Thief 4 the benefit of the doubt.

At least we'll always have Metal Age and The Dark Project.

Deus Ex: HR was pretty much a plot copy+paste from Deus Ex. It was good and deep if only because many of the plotline twists and details were tremendously similar.

 

[Signa]

Well, depending on what the next-gen consoles offer, I could see this as good. Thief 3 was bastardized by being made into hubs with the lack of ram on the consoles. I'd had to see the same thing in Thief 4.

 

[ivc392]

Deus Ex: HR was pretty much a plot copy+paste from Deus Ex. It was good and deep if only because many of the plotline twists and details were tremendously similar.

To be fair DE:HR only managed to mimic the original on a surface level. It ends up feeling like the designers dumb down the gameplay for today's so called "console audience".
The skills and the aug tree where smashed it one single mess, most of the narrative is delivered through massive text dumps and worst of all I never felt like my actions where of any consequence. Up until the last mission all you are really doing is looking for your exgf.
Even the levels in HR, which are basically copy/pasted from the original, feel dangerously linear and predictable.
The world in Deus Ex felt huge and rich and the plot was driven by the choices the player took along the way. In HR you just go along a prescripted path and get two or three different sentences depending on where or not you decided to kill someone.
And Im not going to even get into the "fuck you" ending.

When I say HR is ok, I mean it playable. But if you go in expecting a game thats as rich or immersive as the original you are going leave with the uncomfortably sensation that you got ripped off.


The same principle should be applied to Thief 4. In fact, Im not even that excited about it. The Thief series had a good run and what it really needs is just a graphic update not a new game.