The Grim Reaper continues his tour at Embracer, which this time turns to licensing Deus Ex. While a new game has been in development for 2 years already at Eidos, the Swedish group is canceling it to save a few pennies. All accompanied by a new wave of layoffs at the heart of the studio. It is a massacre for the European company which has been buying up studios by the handful for several years.
Bought in 2022 by Embracer after being dropped by Square Enix, the license
Deus Ex is one of the best known in Eidos. However, it seems that the Swedish group prefers to bet on new blood. Because if the project already in development is canceled, it is, it seems, in favor of an original license. In order to reduce costs, it therefore makes sense to favor one project over another. However, choosing not to rely on an already established license is curious. It can be assumed that the game Deus Ex
was less advanced than this original license. But it’s impossible to be certain.
For the Canadian studio, this is a real blow. In addition to seeing one of their projects canceled, 97 people were let go. The cause is a difficult economic context, and a restructuring of Embracer which is hurting everyone. Having wanted to be too greedy, the Swedish group found itself the big loser in this operation. Whether for their image or their financial situation, nothing is going well.