Thief VR Studio’s Next Game Based On “Flagship IP” From Major Movie

A new job listing confirms Maze Theory’s next game after Thief VR is based on a “flagship IP” to coincide with an upcoming movie.

After announcing Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow earlier this month with Vertigo Games, UK-based studio Maze Theory is looking to its next project following its release. Codenamed Project Xeno, a new job listing for Lead Gameplay Designer/Creative Lead calls this a “groundbreaking” immersive narrative experience built for next-generation VR and mixed reality platforms.

Stating this is a “flagship IP in collaboration with a major movie,” Maze Theory advises this upcoming project “fuses cinematic storytelling, innovative gameplay systems, and a deeply emotional sci-fi journey.” Unsurprisingly, the listing doesn’t offer more clues to what this project might be, and the role is a fixed-term contract for up to a year that could potentially become a full-time position.

Given the codename and sci-fi setting, this could potentially be tied to Alien. Ridley Scott’s working on a new film entry, and the franchise antagonists are known as Xenomorphs. However, that might conflict with the Alien: Rogue Incursion sequel, which Survios stated is still in development after suspending new VR updates “in the near term” for the first game, so that’s just speculation for now.

Maze Theory is no stranger to licensed collaborations across VR gaming, having formerly worked on Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom and Doctor Who: The Edge of Time. Beyond Thief VR, the developer has more recently been working on original titles like Freerunner Championships, mixed reality puzzle game Infinite Inside, and the PlayStation VR2 version of Ancient Dungeon VR.

Specific platforms and a release window are currently unknown, and we’ll keep you informed if we learn more about Project Xeno anytime soon.