Deus Ex creator Warren Spector reckons “if someone made Deus Ex today”, the cyberpunk role-playing game “might be perceived as a documentary”, given its themes of a dystopian world and evil factions competing to control it.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Spector reflected on how the world – and game design – has changed in the 25 years since Deus Ex first debuted, adding “I wouldn’t make Deus Ex again as it was in 2000 when it could be read as a believable fantasy”.
“Y2K was around the corner, AI was becoming a thing, conspiracies were everywhere, terrorism was on the rise, bioengineering was in its infancy, techno-augmentation was in the works,” Spector said, talking about how he leaned into real-life issues rather than “trying to convince people to be interested in something” more fantastical.
“All that stuff was floating around in the zeitgeist. Making a game about it was an obvious thing to do.”
If he returned to the series now, however, Spector says he’d like to examine “other concerns that would be more relevant, more pressing, more worthy of exploration”.
Spector also commented on Embracer’s decision to cancel Eidos Montreal’s new Deus Ex game earlier this year, putting almost a hundred people out of work.
The project had been in development at Eidos Montreal for around two years, following its acquisition by Embracer in 2022. The decision to call an end to this project was part of the Swedish conglomerate’s ruthless restructuring and cost-cutting measures.
“I really have no idea why Embracer would abandon the Deus Ex franchise, at least for now,” Spector said. “From my perspective, the gameplay approach is still relevant, but the world and situation needs some updating.”
Earlier this year, Spector – who also created Epic Mickey – said he was unavailable to work on a third game in the series, despite the announcement it was being revived.