The new owners of the studio that makes Deus Ex, Eidos Montreal, are hinting at the imminent return of the classic cyberpunk franchise. And they want to leapfrog CD Projekt Red while they're at it.
deus ex mankind divided steam
This was the claim made by game journalist Jeff Grubb, who GamesRadar says heard "rumblings" that the studio wants to get back to Deus Ex as soon as possible. Grubb said in a recent episode of his podcast that Embracer Group, the new owners of Eidos Montreal and its IPs, believes that the franchise has a high potential to do what Cyberpunk 2077 could not.
Here are Grubb's words:
They want to get right back into that [Deus Ex]. They want to challenge - they want to do what Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't, and stuff like that. That's the word going around. We'll see if that happens. It's so early, like what that will turn into. But there was no possibility for that conversation to begin under the current Square Enix, right?
His statement was capped with a brief look at former owner Square Enix, who sold Eidos Montreal with Crystal Dynamics (and the Tomb Raider games) to Embracer this year. After the release of Mankind Divided back in 2016, the franchise hasn't been seen since - prompting fans and the general public to wonder whether the series is actually dead.
In 2018, it was revealed that Eidos Montreal is making three games (now released as Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, Marvel's Avengers, and Guardians Of The Galaxy). When these three games were first rumored, people thought that a new Deus Ex game would be one of them. Studio head David Anfossi was adamant that their first-person cyberpunk RPG wasn't in the studio's immediate plans, though he also confirmed that the series isn't dead (via PCGamesN).
Either way, the return of the currently defunct franchise could be a boon to fans of the cyberpunk genre - considering just how hard CD Projekt dropped the ball with its attempt.
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What The Heck Happened To Deus Ex Anyway?
It is not known what exactly happened to the franchise after Mankind Divided. Some might argue that the scores for the 2016 mainline release, while relatively positive, were to blame as it didn't exactly pan out the way former owner Square Enix wanted.
Either way, rumors started floating that a return to the franchise is imminent by way of voice actor Elias Toufexis, who voiced main character Adam Jensen in 2011's Human Revolution and the sequel Mankind Divided. As reported by GamesRadar back in June, the rumor mill was saying that Toufexis is back in the studio working on the franchise. To this, he confirmed that he isn't.
Here is his tweet:
I tweet about anything in gaming and then articles come out saying I’ve confirmed Deus Ex. Guys, I’ve done something like 30 games since Deus Ex. I’m on a couple right now that are even bigger than Deus Ex.
— ᴇʟɪᴀꜱ ᴛᴏᴜꜰᴇxɪꜱ 🖖 (@EliasToufexis) June 2, 2022
Don’t worry, I will let you know when I know anything. pic.twitter.com/hLC36nWp4t
If you're a fan of the series as a whole, this could be a little heartbreaking as it's been roughly six years since the last release. But if Grubb's sources are accurate, then maybe you don't need to wait too long.
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