Embracer Group has canceled a new Deus Ex game that Eidos-Montréal had been developing for at least two years, according to a new report from Bloomberg that mentions how Embracer is planning additional layoffs as part of its ongoing cost-cutting initiatives. It’s unclear whether the canceled Deus Ex game was a sequel to Mankind Divided or a remake of an older title (e.g., Ion Storm’s 2000 original), but Eidos-Montréal will now instead “focus on an original franchise.”
Eidos-Montréal’s Deus Ex credits include:
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)
- Deus Ex: Breach (2017)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – VR Experience (2017)
Embracer’s former subsidiaries:
- Foxglove Studios (founded by THQ Nordic in 2016, divested in 2019)
- Square Enix Montréal (acquired by CDE Entertainment in August 2022, closed in November 2022)
- Plucky Bytes (founded by Amplifier Game Invest in November 2020, closed in 2023)
- Vermila Studios (acquired by Amplifer Game Invest in August 2020, divested in 2023)
- Campfire Cabal (founded by THQ Nordic in September 2022, closed in August 2023)
- Goose Byte (founded by Amplifier Game Invest in December 2021, divested in August 2023)
- Volition (acquired by Deep Silver in January 2013, closed in August 2023)
- Free Radical Design (founded by Deep Silver in May 2021, closed in December 2023)
Bloomberg noted:
The sci-fi Deus Ex series has been critically acclaimed and sold more than 14 million units worldwide. It was acquired by Embracer in 2022.
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Discussion (5 replies)
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Mankind divided was 2016? Damn time flies.
These corporate bobbleheads are the worst, you don't make profit by selling stuff and layoffs, you make a profit by actually selling a product! Have they forgotten that? What's next, they'll announce that they are cancelling Tomb Raider too?
That is sad.
Deus Ex is one of the few franchises I am really into, and it keeps repeatedly being given the shaft by owner after owner.
I mean, of all of the disparate franchises they now own, the only ones that interest me even remotely at this point are Deus Ex and Metro 2033. They could shutter 100% of everything else and I would never even notice.
That said, while Deus Exit was pretty ground breaking in 2000 (one of the first large scale FPS titles with RPG elements) these days it doesn't stand out as much. The reboots (Human Revolution and Mankind Divided) were great additions to the franchise and presented a absorbing dystopia, I wonder if the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 has taken all of the oxygen out of that genre for the time being.
At this rate we will all have actual augmentations by the time the next Deus Ex title comes out :p
I could easily rant about my current dislike of Embracer, but I won't mainly due to trying to avoid legal complications regarding of what I think they are but I will say that I feel that they suck, and suck bad.
"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 81685, member: 87" wrote:I could easily rant about my current dislike of Embracer, but I won't mainly due to trying to avoid legal complications regarding of what I think they are but I will say that I feel that they suck, and suck bad.
They are like the fake collector who descends into a hobby pretending to be an enthusiast, but their only goal is to drive up the price of collectibles, then sell their hoard to make a quick buck. The only thing they are passionate about is to make moar money. And if it destroys an entire hobby? Who cares about nerds anyway?
"Zarathustra, post: 81684, member: 203" wrote:That said, while Deus Exit was pretty ground breaking in 2000 (one of the first large scale FPS titles with RPG elements) these days it doesn't stand out as much.
There were FPS games with RPG elements before DeusEx, e.g. System Shock, What set DeusEx apart is the depth of the immersive sim side.
"Zarathustra, post: 81684, member: 203" wrote:The reboots (Human Revolution and Mankind Divided) were great additions to the franchise and presented a absorbing dystopia,
I think Human Revolution was a weak imitation of the original, Mankind Divided was better but unfinished. And they insisted that they were not reboots but prequels, which never made an ounce of sense. The only thing that suggested that is the occasional namedropping of characters from the og. The world state, the technology, didn't fit at all.
"Zarathustra, post: 81684, member: 203" wrote:I wonder if the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 has taken all of the oxygen out of that genre for the time being.
I don't know what do you mean by that, if anything it should revitalize the genre. The thing that sucks out all the oxygen from gaming are the world of warcrafts, the palwords, the fortnites, the minecrafts, in other words the casual breakout hits. Because they cause the corporate side of studios to go into a trend chasing frenzy.
"Zarathustra, post: 81684, member: 203" wrote:At this rate we will all have actual augmentations by the time the next Deus Ex title comes out :p
Could be worse, Splinter Cell has not got a new release since 2013, Rainbow Six even longer. (I mean a proper single player game)
Discussion (5 replies)
Join Discussion →Mankind divided was 2016? Damn time flies.
These corporate bobbleheads are the worst, you don't make profit by selling stuff and layoffs, you make a profit by actually selling a product! Have they forgotten that? What's next, they'll announce that they are cancelling Tomb Raider too?
That is sad.
Deus Ex is one of the few franchises I am really into, and it keeps repeatedly being given the shaft by owner after owner.
I mean, of all of the disparate franchises they now own, the only ones that interest me even remotely at this point are Deus Ex and Metro 2033. They could shutter 100% of everything else and I would never even notice.
That said, while Deus Exit was pretty ground breaking in 2000 (one of the first large scale FPS titles with RPG elements) these days it doesn't stand out as much. The reboots (Human Revolution and Mankind Divided) were great additions to the franchise and presented a absorbing dystopia, I wonder if the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 has taken all of the oxygen out of that genre for the time being.
At this rate we will all have actual augmentations by the time the next Deus Ex title comes out :p
I could easily rant about my current dislike of Embracer, but I won't mainly due to trying to avoid legal complications regarding of what I think they are but I will say that I feel that they suck, and suck bad.
They are like the fake collector who descends into a hobby pretending to be an enthusiast, but their only goal is to drive up the price of collectibles, then sell their hoard to make a quick buck. The only thing they are passionate about is to make moar money. And if it destroys an entire hobby? Who cares about nerds anyway?
There were FPS games with RPG elements before DeusEx, e.g. System Shock, What set DeusEx apart is the depth of the immersive sim side.
I think Human Revolution was a weak imitation of the original, Mankind Divided was better but unfinished. And they insisted that they were not reboots but prequels, which never made an ounce of sense. The only thing that suggested that is the occasional namedropping of characters from the og. The world state, the technology, didn't fit at all.
I don't know what do you mean by that, if anything it should revitalize the genre. The thing that sucks out all the oxygen from gaming are the world of warcrafts, the palwords, the fortnites, the minecrafts, in other words the casual breakout hits. Because they cause the corporate side of studios to go into a trend chasing frenzy.
Could be worse, Splinter Cell has not got a new release since 2013, Rainbow Six even longer. (I mean a proper single player game)