New Deus Ex game reportedly cancelled amid layoffs at Eidos Montreal

Embracer has reportedly cancelled an unannounced Deus Ex game at Eidos Montreal.

According to Bloomberg, the project had been in development for two years. Several employees will be laid off as part of the cancellation, its sources said.

Eidos Montreal will instead focus on an original franchise, it’s claimed.

Swedish gaming giant Embracer acquired Eidos Montreal from Square Enix in 2022, alongside Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics.

It was reported later that year that a new Deus Ex game was in very early development at the Canadian studio.

Eidos Montreal previously released Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) and Mankind Divided (2016), before moving on to 2021’s acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy.

Embracer has become one of the biggest examples of the uncertainty currently troubling the games industry.

The company announced last June that it was implementing a restructuring programme which would involve the closure of studios, layoffs and the cancellation of some projects.

It has since shut studios like Saints Row developer Volition, Campfire Cabal and Free Radical Design, while others have reportedly been put up for sale, such as Borderlands maker Gearbox.

Further reading

A new Deus Ex is reportedly in early development at Eidos Montreal

The studio is also said to be working on a new IP and co-developing Xbox games including Fable

During its second financial quarter ending in September 2023, the company made more than 900 layoffs, with cuts impacting such studios as Crystal Dynamics, Beamdog, Zen Studios and Fishlabs.

Last month Embracer made layoffs at New World Interactive, 3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks, and this month “a sizable portion” of Gearbox support studio Lost Boys Interactive was also laid off.