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2023 · Sweet Bandits Studios · First-person shooter · Indie

Deceive Inc.

Go undercover as the world’s greatest spies in this tense multiplayer game of subterfuge. Disguise as anyone, deploy an arsenal of high-tech gadgets or neutralize the competition. As long as you extract with the objective, no trick is too dirty when you work for Deceive Inc.

Released: 21 March 2023
Platforms: PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox Series X/S
Genres: First-person shooter Indie Shooter Tactical
Developers: Sweet Bandits Studios
Publishers: Tripwire Interactive
Modes: Multiplayer
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action Stealth
Country: Canada
Age ratings: PEGI 16 CLASS_IND 14 GRAC 12+USK 16 ACB PG ESRB T
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 10hmain story70hcompletionist

About

Deceive Inc. is a first-person shooter video game developed by Sweet Bandits Studios and published by Tripwire Interactive in 2023.

›Story

Welcome to Deceive Inc. a private corporation with complete monopoly over the international espionage market. You can disguise yourself as anyone you meet in an instant, have access to state-of-the-art gadgets the rest of the world can only dream of and possess skills that would make Hollywood super spies jealous.

But your are not alone. Rival spies are after the same objective and every single one of them is as skilled, cunning and well-equipped as you are.

Blend in, grab the objective and break out. In the end, only one spy can complete the mission and get the paycheck. Company policy.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players control a spy competing against other teams of spies to retrieve a package. Gameplay blends elements of hero shooters and extraction shooters. Each player has a holographic projector that can hide their identity. As long as they do not shoot, players can hide as a non-player character, and in some cases camouflage into an object.

Shooting or being shot reveals their identity. To retrieve the package, players need to disable vault terminals to open the map's vault. To gather higher-tier resources, players can masquerade as a VIP, which allows them access to otherwise forbidden areas, though this stands out to other players.

Development

Developer Sweet Bandits Studios is based in Quebec City, Canada. Tripwire Interactive released the game for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 21, 2023.

In December 2024, it was announced the game would no longer receive updates. The developer claimed they were unable to get Deceive Inc. "in a state in which it could thrive" and could no longer continue developing the game.

Reception

On Metacritic, the PC and Xbox Series X/S versions received positive reviews, and the PlayStation 5 version received mixed reviews. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 53% of critics. PC Gamer called it a "creative blend of sneaking and shooting that will have squads coming back for more". NME said it is "a fantastic multiplayer game" that fans of the genre will enjoy despite its confusing progression system.

Shacknews called it "creative, both visually and conceptually" and "a blast to experience, just as long as you have friends at the ready". Push Square said it is "a solid starting point with a great premise" but needs better gunplay and more content.