Another high-profile video game has apparently been axed amid mass layoffs and restructuring efforts at parent company Embracer Group.
Citing insider sources, Bloomberg reports the Swedish holding conglomerate has canceled an unannounced Deus Ex title that had been in development at Eidos Montreal for two years. The cyberpunk action-RPG franchise has sat dormant since 2016’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Embracer and Eidos did not directly address the reported scrapped project. However Eidos confirmed its studio sadly let go 97 employees across various teams in development, support services and administration.
The economic strains placed on Embracer and the gaming industry overall were cited as catalysts for the layoffs. Embracer plans to focus Eidos on an undisclosed original IP moving forward.
The decision caps over a year of turbulence for Embracer in the wake of an abandoned $2 billion investment deal that forced massive company restructuring. Several of its subsidiary studios have closed or laid off significant staff over that period.
Further updates on Embracer’s ongoing revamping efforts are expected on February 15th alongside its next financial report. But the immediate picture sees another beloved gaming franchise in Deus Ex placed on ice.
While a new beginning for Eidos could bring future success, Deus Ex fans will surely lament the dissolution of a sequel reportedly two years into creation. It deepens Embracer’s retrenchment and puts the cyberpunk series back into hibernation just as anticipation for its next chapter was building.
