Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has been a hit with critics this year, which doesn't bode well for the future of the Deus Ex franchise. The two share a developer in Eidos-Montréal, and Deus Ex has seemingly been on ice since the release of Mankind Divided in 2016. Hope has been dwindling for a third Deus Ex game featuring Human Revolution and Mankind Divided protagonist Adam Jensen, and now a conclusion to the trilogy seems more unlikely than ever now that Guardians of the Galaxy has become an overwhelming success.

The original two Deus Ex games launched in 2000 and 2003, and the series was revived by Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix for 2011's Human Revolution. Both original games, as well as the two modern entries, are notable members of the somewhat niche immersive sim genre, and have all been generally celebrated for their branching storylines and gameplay freedom. Following Mankind Divided, which ended on something of a cliff-hanger, there has been no definitive word that the series would continue. All that was announced was that Deus Ex would be taking a break due to lackluster sales, though it currently seems like it may be on a fairly lengthy hiatus.

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Since Mankind Divided, Eidos-Montréal has released two games - Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. The third modern Tomb Raider was taken over from Crystal Dynamics, which is reportedly working on a new Perfect Dark, and GOTG has presumably been Eidos-Montréal's sole project since. Despite some similarities between GOTG and Deus Ex, the two don't exactly have the same appeal. Both have character-driven narratives, but GOTG is a third-person action game, whereas Deus Ex is primarily first-person and has an emphasis on stealth mechanics.

Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 Is More Likely Than Anther Deus Ex

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 seems more likely than another Deus Ex

While both of the modern Deus Ex games were well-received, Guardians of the Galaxy seems to have a bit more momentum behind it, and seems like the more likely game to get a sequel. Mankind Divided garnered favorable reviews, and was even nominated for Best Role Playing Game at The Game Awards 2016, but GOTG has been even more prestigious. It was one of the winners at The Game Awards 2021 for Best Narrative, and received three other nominations for Best Score and Music, Innovation in Accessibility, and Best Action/Adventure Game. After the disappointment of Marvel's AvengersGOTG managed to join Insomniac's Spider-Man games as Marvel's representatives among the more impressive superhero video games.

That Marvel license will also likely play a huge part in what Eidos-Montréal chooses to develop next. Although there's a market for good cyberpunk games, immersive sims aren't really the most popular, and that genre is intrinsic to Deus Ex. The third-person action and combat mechanics of GOTG are much more approachable, and the Marvel name and characters carry a lot of weight. For the time being it seems the potential of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is much greater than that of Deus Ex, and the latter will likely remain on hiatus in favor of another romp through the galaxy.

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