What you may be hearing lately is a sigh of relief from fans of the stealth action-adventure game Thief series after an announcement in a community Q&A on Eidos Montreal’s blog stated that the XP system in the new upcoming Thief has been removed.

 

Game Director Nic Cantin and Lead Level Design Daniel Windfeld Schmidt answered a few questions, with the first being the all-important and critical XP system that was seen in a gameplay video at E3 earlier this year. Cantin mentioned that at first, the XP system was meant to show the progression of the player, but it was inhibiting the main goal of stealing loot, which the Thief series has been known for. 

 

With the XP system removed, and looting a main goal, players will have to steal loot in order to purchase tools to assist them in their adventure. Schmidt mentioned that it is actually possible to play Thief without killing anyone in the game, or spending any money on tools. However, it isn’t expected to be easy.

 

Thief will be a reboot of the popular series of the same name. It is expected to release on February 25, 2014 in North America and on the 28th in PAL regions and Japan. It’ll be available for the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.