Deus Ex is a series of first person role-playing games and related media. Since 2013, the name Deus Ex Universe has been used to refer to the interconnected games and print media in the franchise
The first two games were produced by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. Eidos Interactive was bought by Square Enix in 2009, with Square Enix subsequently becoming the owner of the Deus Ex franchise. After the closure of Ion Storm, the task of reviving the franchise was given to the Eidos Montréal studio.[1] In 2022, Embracer Group AB acquired the Deus Ex franchise, along with Eidos Montréal.[2]
Set in a dystopian near future, the universe, stories, and artwork of the series are heavily influenced by the cyberpunk genre. The series is inspired by films such as Blade Runner, Escape from New York and RoboCop as well as numerous other cyberpunk works of fiction.
There are four full-length game titles in the series: Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, which is the latest game of the series. A spin-off game Deus Ex: The Fall was originally released for iOS and Android mobile platforms and later ported to PC. There are also books and comics set in the Deus Ex series, including: Deus Ex: Icarus Effect, Deus Ex: Fallen Angel, and the Deus Ex: Human Revolution comics. In 2016, a tie-in novel Deus Ex: Black Light was added to the series, as well as the mobile game Deus Ex GO and the comic series Deus Ex Universe: Children's Crusade which serves as a prequel to the events of Mankind Divided.
Setting[]
The world of Deus Ex features a cyberpunk universe that draws heavily upon present day conspiracy theories. These include the Illuminati, Majestic 12, and Knights Templar conspiracy theories, as well as the existence of grays and the supposed secret research that takes place at Area 51. Whilst all Deus Ex titles have distinct settings and story lines, together they explore the methods used by the world's elite to control and manipulate society.
The world of Deus Ex does not significantly differ from the real world until the 20th century. The Deus Ex universe features advanced technologies, such as human augmentations, artificial intelligence, and transgenics. Most of the games takes place in fictionalized versions of real-world locations, including New York City, Cairo, Detroit, and Prague.
Games[]
Main series[]
- Deus Ex (2000) – released for Windows and Mac.
- Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition (2001) – special edition.
- Deus Ex: The Conspiracy (2002) – the ported version for PlayStation 2.
- Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003) – released for Windows and Xbox.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) – available for Windows, Mac, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U.
- The Missing Link (2011) – official add-on expansion.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Ultimate Edition (2012) – complete edition for Mac OS X.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut (2013) – complete edition for the other platforms.
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016) – released for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, and Mac (2017).
- Breach (2016) – an alternative game mode in Mankind Divided, later released as a standalone game, Deus Ex: Breach (2017).
- Desperate Measures (2016) – a single-mission DLC.
- System Rift (2016) – full-length story DLC.
- A Criminal Past (2017) – full-length story DLC.
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - VR Experience (2017) - technology demo for virtual reality systems.
Spin-off games[]
- Deus Ex: The Fall (2013) – released for iOS, Android (2014), and Windows (2014).
- Deus Ex GO (2016) – a puzzle mobile game for Android and iOS.
Novels and comics[]
Novels[]
- Deus Ex: Icarus Effect (2011) – a prequel story set before and parallel to the beginning of Human Revolution. It was released on 11 February 2011, about six months before the game was released.
- Deus Ex: Black Light (2016) – follows the story of Adam Jensen after the destruction of Panchaea. This book was released alongside Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Novellas[]
- Deus Ex: Fallen Angel (2013) – a short story about Faridah Malik.
- Deus Ex: Hard Line (2016) – follows the story of Alex Vega between the events of Deus Ex: The Fall and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Comics[]
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) – a six-issue comic book series that adds a story between Adam Jensen and Faridah Malik's first departure from Detroit to Hengsha.
- Deus Ex Universe: Children's Crusade (2016) – a five-issue comic series set before Deus Ex: Mankind Divided that follows Adam Jensen's first mission with the Prague unit of Task Force 29.
- Deus Ex Universe: The Dawning Darkness (2016) – a short comic that features Interpol undercover agent Arun Singh and the events directly before Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Strategy guides[]
- Deus Ex: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (2000)
- Deus Ex: The Conspiracy: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (2001)
- Deus Ex: Invisible War: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (2003)
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution: The Official Guide (2011)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Limited Edition Guide (2016)
Other media[]
Artbooks[]
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Design Work (2011) – mini artbook for Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Design Work (2016) – mini artbook for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- The Art of Deus Ex Universe (2016) – an artbook containing artwork of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Miscellaneous[]
- The Deus Ex Continuity Bible – a collection of design document content for Deus Ex
- Out-of-game source texts
- Developer interviews and commentary
Titles by fictional chronology[]
Deus Ex titles are listed below in chronological order according to the fictional chronology of the series.
| Year or Period | Deus Ex Title |
Media Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Novel | Novella | Comics | ||
| 2020s | Deus Ex: Fallen Angel | ● | |||
| 2026 – 2027 | Deus Ex: Icarus Effect | ● | |||
| 2027 | Deus Ex: The Fall | ● | |||
| Deus Ex: Human Revolution [Note 1] and Deus Ex: Human Revolution comics [Note 2] |
● | ● | |||
| 2028 – 2029 | Deus Ex: Black Light | ● | |||
| 2029 | Deus Ex: Hard Line | ● | |||
| Deus Ex Universe: Children's Crusade | ● | ||||
| Deus Ex GO [Note 3] | ● | ||||
| Deus Ex Universe: The Dawning Darkness | ● | ||||
| Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | ● | ||||
| 2052 | Deus Ex | ● | |||
| 2072 | Deus Ex: Invisible War | ● | |||
Notes[]
- ↑ Deus Ex: Human Revolution is placed in the chronology based on the first mission after the prologue. The prologue takes place during the events of Deus Ex: Icarus Effect.
- ↑ The events depicted in the Human Revolution comics take place during Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The events depicted in the comics are not referenced by any other title in the series.
- ↑ Deus Ex GO is set before Deus Ex: Mankind Divided based on developer commentary. For details, please see the main article on Deus Ex GO. The events depicted in Deus Ex GO are not referenced by any other title in the series.
Concepts[]
Deus Ex precursors[]
- Troubleshooter (1994) – First precursor to Deus Ex.
- Shooter (1997) – Early preproduction concept.
- Shooter: Majestic Revelations (1997) – Later preproduction concept; directly preceded Deus Ex.
Canceled games[]
- Deus Ex: Clan Wars – Spin-off game originally set in the Deus Ex universe. However, the developers (Crystal Dynamics) decided to set the game in its own universe under the title Project: Snowblind.
- Deus Ex: Insurrection – A never-announced game developed between 2003 and 2004 by Ion Storm Austin.
- Deus Ex 3 (2004-2005 Ion Storm project) – A never-announced prequel to Deus Ex developed between 2004 and 2005.
Film adaptations[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Karmali, Luke (October 2, 2013). "Next-Gen Deus Ex Universe Announced". IGN. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Embracer Group completes acquisition of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal amongst other assets". Press release, August 26, 2022.
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