Following Square Enix's acquisition by Embracer Group earlier this year, Eidos Montreal is reportedly setting out to bring back Deus-Ex. The studio is rumored to still be in the very early stages of the idea, but there are "rumblings" that Eidos Montreal wants to do what Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't.
The first Deus-Ex was originally released in the year 2000, with the latest instalment, Mankind Divided, being released in 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The series has been dormant ever since, but following Embracer Group's acquisition of Square Enix and their subsidiary studios earlier this year, there appears to be a big shift going on behind the scenes, which could see the return of the franchise after six years.
Embracer's acquisition of Square Enix was completed in May of this year, with a press release confirming that the holding company had "entered into an agreement to acquire the development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal, and a catalogue of IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 back-catalogue games from Square Enix Holdings LTD". According to Embracer Group, the total purchase price amounts to $300 million USD.
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The news of Deus-Ex's revival comes from industry insider and journalist, Jeff Grubb (via IdleSloth), who said during a recent episode of Game Mess Mornings that he has "heard rumblings" that Eidos Montreal wants to immediately get back into Deus-Ex. Grubb then goes on to state that the studio is aiming to do "what Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't do".
As many fans will likely remember, Cyberpunk 2077 was one of 2020s most highly anticipated releases but failed to capitalize on the hype after a rocky launch. Although critics praised the narrative, settings, and gameplay elements, the release was let down by a bug-filled and glitchy launch on previous generation consoles.
This then resulted in Cyberpunk 2077 being completely removed from the PlayStation Store and refunds being issued on a no-questions-asked basis. CD Projekt Red have since been able to get the game back on track, with a next-gen version launching to high praise earlier this year.
As Deus-Ex is also set in a dystopian cyberpunk society, it would make sense for the studio to set out to do what CD Projekt Red's title couldn't. However, Grubb does go on to state that "it's so early, who knows what that'll turn into", whilst also pointing out that the revitalization of Deus-Ex is only now possible due to the acquisition by Embracer Group.