New Immersive Sim from Deus Ex Creator Canceled, Resulting in 17 Job Cuts

The wave of job losses in game development is becoming overwhelming. Xbox is making headlines with the closure of several acclaimed studios, but smaller teams are also facing painful cuts. The latest casualty is Warren Spector’s OtherSide Entertainment, which has announced the layoff of 17 employees following the cancellation of a project codenamed Argos.

In a statement, a representative from OtherSide shared, “After the cancellation of a game under development codenamed Argos, we sadly had to part ways with 17 team members, effective at the end of May.” They expressed that in “normal times,” Argos could have been “a huge success,” but the current “brutally challenging” landscape of the gaming industry made it “unviable for now.” Some of those affected have begun their job search, and OtherSide emphasized, “we cannot recommend these impacted people highly enough.”

This news comes just a month after the release of the budget co-op stealth-action heist game, Thick of Thieves, which received lukewarm reviews and struggled with low player counts despite its $5 price tag.

Founded by industry veterans Warren Spector and Paul Neurath, both of whom were instrumental in classics like Thief: The Dark Project, System Shock 2, and Deus Ex, OtherSide has not lived up to expectations since its inception in 2013. Their first title, Underworld Ascendant, launched in 2018 to disastrous reviews, despite raising $860,000 through Kickstarter. The studio has since distanced itself from that project.

Over the past eight years, OtherSide has had a tumultuous relationship with System Shock 3, a license now held by Tencent. Although they claimed involvement as recently as 2020, Spector stated in 2022 that the developer was no longer working on the game. Further setbacks occurred in 2023 when Wizards of the Coast canceled several projects, including one that OtherSide was reportedly developing. The recent launch of Thick of Thieves was also marred by a last-minute genre switch from PvPvE to a two-player co-op campaign, indicating a significant scaling back of ambitions.

Argos: Riders on the Storm was initially unveiled in 2022, marking Spector’s anticipated return to the immersive sim genre he helped create, generating excitement among fans. At that time, it was described as Spector’s “return to AAA gaming,” but no further details have ever been disclosed. The cancellation of the project was confirmed only through OtherSide’s announcement regarding the layoffs.

These are tough times, and we extend our best wishes to those affected.