Deus Ex is a series of first person role-playing games. 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. Since 2013, the name Deus Ex Universe has been used to refer to the interconnected games and print media in the Deus Ex franchise.[1]
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. Technologies that currently do not exist appear in the Deus Ex universe, 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
- Deus Ex (2000) – available 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) – available for Windows and Xbox.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) – available for Windows, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
- The Missing Link (2011) – official add-on expansion.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Ultimate Edition (2012) – special edition.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut (2013) – special edition.
- Deus Ex: The Fall (2013) – available for Android, iOS and PC.
- Deus Ex GO (2016) – a puzzle mobile game for Android and iOS.
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016) – available for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, and Mac.
- Breach (2016) – an alternative game mode in Mankind Divided.
- Desperate Measures (2016) – a single-mission DLC.
- System Rift (2016) – a story DLC.
- A Criminal Past (2017) – another story DLC.
Print media
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.
Artbooks
- The Art of Deus Ex Universe (2016) – an artbook containing artwork of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
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 | ● | ||||
| 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 in the comics are not referenced by any other title in the series.
- ↑ Deus Ex GO is set after Children's Crusade, but its chronological placement relative to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is unspecified. The events depicted in Deus Ex GO are not referenced by any other title in the series.
Other
Prototypes
- Troubleshooter – first conception Deus Ex.
- Junction Point – second conception Deus Ex.
- Shooter: Majestic Revelations – latest conception, direct preceded Deus Ex.
Canceled games
- There was also a planned action spin-off of the series, called Deus Ex: Clan Wars. 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 – a never-announced prequel to Deus Ex developed between 2004 and 2005.
Film adaptations
- Deus Ex: Human Defiance – a proposed film adaptation of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Gallery
Add a photo to this galleryReferences
- ↑ Karmali, Luke (October 2, 2013). "Next-Gen Deus Ex Universe Announced". IGN. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
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