Thick As Thieves developers OtherSide Entertainment have laid off 17 employees following the cancellation of a multiplayer immersive sim dubbed Argos: Riders on the Storm. The studio's helmed by Looking Glass Studios veterans Warren Spector and Paul Neurath - key figures in shaping the likes of Deus Ex and System Shock 2 - said via a spokesperson that they believe Argos "could have been a huge success in normal times".

In a statement to Game Developer, the OtherSide spokesperson said the 17 staff were let go "effective end of May" following the call to can Argos. Notably, the studio's other game, the stealthy Thick as Thieves launched on May 20th after what certainly looked a fairly last minute switch of focus from PvPvE to solo and co-op play.

As for Argos, it "could have been a huge success in normal times" the spokesperson reckoned, but the "brutally challenging" state of the games industry at the moment has left soldiering on with it "unviable for now". "To any studios out there hiring, we cannot recommend these impacted people highly enough," they added regarding the staff let go.

Gauging whether that assessment of Argos' chances feels right is made rather tough by the fact the details OtherSide revealed about it make for relatively slim pickings. "From the creative mind of Warren Spector comes a new multiplayer Immersive Simulation, letting players 'pick a playstyle' in an evolving alien and oddly familiar world," read the game's brief blurb on the studio's website, which has now been scrubbed away to leave Thick As Thieves standing alone. Also absent from that page is Underworld Ascendant, OtherSide's crowdfunded spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld which sadly released in a rather broken state and saw its review verdicts suffer accordingly.

Solidarity and best of luck the the workers affected by these layoffs at OtherSide.