The next Deus Ex game is reportedly attempting to surpass Cyberpunk 2077. Since the acquisition of what was once Eidos Montreal from Square Enix by Embracer Group, fans have eagerly anticipated follow-ups to series that Square Enix casually discarded, such as Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain. Knowing how much these games meant to fans, Embracer teased sequels and remakes for Deus Ex and other beloved IPs shortly after the deal.
Deus Ex was a cyberpunk-themed action RPG whose claim to fame was the way the player would use cybernetic augmentations to make their character stronger and gain new abilities. Unfortunately, like many titles under the Eidos umbrella not named Tomb Raider, Deus Ex provided players with a solid experience but never received the financial love it needed to become overwhelmingly successful. After the critical and apparent commercial success of Deus Ex: Invisible War in 2003, the series would not see another entry until 2011 with the Square Enix published soft reboot Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Though Human Revolution and follow-up Deus Ex: Mankind Divided seemed to perform well both critically and commercially, their combined 12 million units sold weren't enough to meet sales expectations, resulting in Square Enix putting Deus Ex games on hiatus.
PlayStation LifeStyle recently reported that industry insider Jeff Grubb had some interesting remarks about the future of Deus Ex. On the latest episode of Giant Bomb’s Game Mess Mornings show, Grubb stated that Embracer Group was very interested in returning to Deus Ex. “We don’t know, really, what to expect from an Embracer-owned Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal. It’s early, the rumblings I’ve heard… they want to get right back into [Deus Ex].” Grubb also explained that the team had ambitious plans for Deus Ex to surpass the equally ambitious Cyberpunk 2077, a game that, ironically, Deus Ex inspired. “They want to do what Cyberpunk 2077 couldn’t – that’s the word going around,” Grubb continued, “It’s so early, who knows what that will turn into but that was probably not even… there was no possibility of that conversation to even begin under Square Enix, right?” As many fans still regard Deus Ex as the best the cyberpunk genre has to offer due to Cyberpunk 2077’s unfortunate outing, it will be interesting to see if a new Deus Ex game fares any better.
Jeff Grubb Shares His Thoughts On The Future Of Deus Ex
One thing fans will probably agree with Jeff Grubb on is that no one knows what to expect for an Embracer-published Deus Ex. While this may be true, Embracer already has established quite a track record for faithful reproductions of wayward series. The many successful revivals under flagship subsidiary THQNordic are great examples. The Darksiders series has seen moderate success with both a faithful follow-up in Darksiders 3 and its unorthodox isometric spin-off Darksiders: Genesis, while the SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated remake garnered commercial success and positive fan reception despite mediocre critical reviews. THQ Nordic has also reunited with Yuke's to revive classic-style wrestling games with AEW: Fight Forever, focusing on gameplay and creation rather than graphical appeal.
With many talented developers from Eidos and Embracer's dedication to faithful franchise follow-ups, it would seem the future of Deus Ex and other former Eidos IPs are in good hands. Though it is unknown what form the Deus Ex series will inevitably take, the desire to surpass Cyberpunk 2077 ensures that development will have passion at the very least. If Embracer manages to achieve this lofty goal with Deus Ex, hopefully, it will be a sign of things to come for more of Eidos's forgotten IPs.
Sources: PlayStation LifeStyle, Giant Bomb/YouTube