Kissing Groupthe Swedish holding company in the midst of restructuring, has reportedly canceled a Deus Ex game. Bloomberg said the developers had been working on the unannounced title for two years. Neither Embracer nor developer Eidos have specifically addressed the reported cancellation, but they confirmed they laid off 97 employees at Deus Ex developer Eidos Montreal.
Eidos would instead focus on “an original franchise”. BloombergSources claim that the Deus Ex game was expected to start production later this year. The most recent main installment of the franchise dates from 2016. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
After aggressive growth through acquisitions during the pandemic, Embracer Group entered a turbulent period last year. The company announced a restructuring plan in June 2023 after an unnamed partner pulled out of a planned deal that would have raised $2 billion over six years. Axios later reported the mysterious investor was Savvy Playgroupfunded by the Saudi government.
In August, Embracer announced the closure of Volitionthe studio behind the Saints Row series. The parent company laid off about 900 employees in September and another 50 workers Chorus developer Fishlabs. Earlier this month, Embracer closed Lost Boys Interactivecreators of Little Tina's Wonderland – blaming the “headwinds the industry is currently facing”.
Embracer says the restructuring phase will continue until the end of March. The company says it will provide regular updates on the process, including when it releases its next quarterly report on February 15.
Alongside the alleged cancellation of Deus Ex, Eidos confirmed that it had laid off 97 employees across the development, administration, and support services teams. “The global economic context, the challenges in our industry and the global restructuring announced by Embracer have ultimately had an impact on our studio,” Eidos wrote in a statement.