Chris Davis reviewed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Critique - Smaller Can Be Better

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Thanks Redglyph!

DSOGaming reports that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is now available on GOG and 85% off for the next 5 days.

Square Enix has just released Deus Ex Mankind Divided on GOG. Like all GOG releases, this version does not feature any DRM. As such, the game is also not plagued by the controversial Denuvo anti-tamper tech.

Unfortunately, Square Enix has not removed Denuvo from the Steam version. Furthermore, the publisher has not commented on whether it plans to push a future patch that will remove it. So yeah, if you own the Steam version, you are out of luck (at least for now).

[...]

VG24/7 interviewed the actor behind Jensen in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided who almost wasn't in it. They discuss his career and some behind the scenes things.

“So if you go watch the performance captured scenes in Mankind Divided, they’re my favourite,” Toufexis says. “Because they’re subtle, they’re realistic, every little movement I’m making is captured. It’s very human, and I love that about it. And it makes it much more engrossing, for me, than when I’m being very stoic and then another actor is capturing my body. Personally I think Human Revolution is the better game, but acting and performance-wise, I like Mankind Divided better.”

One of the things that makes Human Revolution the better game is that it feels like a proper, standalone experience. Mankind Divided feels like the first two acts in a larger story and ends abruptly, cutting Jensen’s story short.

“Yeah, I’m not too ecstatic about that,” Toufexis admits. “What had happened was – and I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, so I’m going to be vague – we had filmed about two months of an entire game, and it was going to be a completed game, if I remember correctly, and me and a couple other people had a big problem with where the story was going, and it wasn’t working. So they rewrote the entire thing, and they made it much bigger.”

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is 85% off on Steam for the next 14 hours.

About This Game

The year is 2029, and mechanically augmented humans have now been deemed outcasts, living a life of complete and total segregation from the rest of society.

Now an experienced covert operative, Adam Jensen is forced to operate in a world that has grown to despise his kind. Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy.

Buy Deus Ex: Mankind Divided now and receive the following bonus content FREE:

• “Desperate Measures” extra in-game mission

• Covert Agent Pack (Intruder Gear, Enforcer Gear and Classic Gear + 1 Praxis Kit + 1000 Credits)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is 75% off until 28th October.

Gametransfers reports that the the Deus Ex series will continue:

New Deus Ex is still under development, Jim Sterling states

A few months ago there was a rumor that they wanted to pause the series of Deus Ex after the not particularly exalted results obtained from Deus Ex Mankind Divided, title released last August on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. In the last episode of his podcast, however, Jim Sterling has partially denied these rumors.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has its second narrative DLC now available called 'A Criminal Past'.

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Posing as a convicted criminal, Jensen is transferred deep into a hostile, high-security prison for augmented felons, with his mission being to track down a fellow undercover agent who has gone dark. To achieve his goal, Jensen will need to confront a darker side to his role before the day is done.
A Criminal Past, our second narrative DLC for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, is now available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One

Gamepressure speculates that Square Enix may abandon the Deus Ex series:

Why Square Enix may have actually pulled the plug on Deus Ex

Recently, we’ve been hearing rumors about the alleged suspension of the Deus Ex series. In this article, I’d like to present possible reasons for such development and share some of my thoughts on the present condition of the said franchise.

The Deus Ex series might be in jeopardy. Gaming websites report that further development of the cyberpunk franchise has allegedly been suspended due to poor sales of last year’s Mankind Divided. Honestly, even before Eurogamer and Kotaku published news on the topic, I had thought that Mankind Divided wasn’t doing very well. Unfortunately, financial failure of such a big investment could be reason enough to shut down the Deus Ex Universe project. Needless to say, this means we might never learn what happened after the finale of the brilliant successor of Human Revolution. In this article, I share some of my thoughts and insights on the recent rumors and the Deus Ex franchise’s general condition of late.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

@Wccftech Deus Ex: Mankind Divided DLC Covert Agent Pack is now free on all platforms. The DLC was originally a pre-order bonus.

Like most modern high-profile games, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, the new entry in the series developed by Eidos Montreal released last year on PC and consoles, received exclusive pre-order bonuses which granted players access to additional content. If you are among those who didn't pre-order the stealth game developed by Eidos, you will be happy to know that you can now experience the extra pre-order content for free.

Earlier today, Eidos confirmed that the Deus Ex Mankind Divided Augmented Covert Agent Pack is now available for free on all formats. The DLC pack includes an extra mission, skins and more.

The Augmented Covert Agent Pack contains the Desperate Measures Extra in-Game Mission, a compilation of re-skins for Adam's Armor and Trench Coat, a re-skinned Pistol and Combat Rifle, various ammunition packs, weapon upgrades, and more! With this pack, you will be able to both sport a custom look, and obtain additional tools to support your play style of choice.

@DSOGaming The soundtrack for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be available come December 2nd.

So, Square Enix and Eidos Montreal announced today that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's soundtracks will be available on CD, digital stores and streaming services on December 2nd.

[...]

As the press release reads:

“Michael McCann returned to compose music for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, joined by award-winning artist Sascha Dikiciyan (aka Sonic Mayhem) and composer Ed Harrison, who bring their talents to the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Breach soundtracks, respectively. The soundtrack will come in 2 different editions: a standard and an extended 2-CD version including 14 additional tracks. Co-produced by Sascha Dikiciyan and executive audio director Steve Szczepkowski, the albums were mixed by Sonny DiPerri and mastered by Dave Cooley.”

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided got a new patch:

PC Patch notes for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Patch build 592.1

We have just released another PC patch for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, v1.10 build 592.1_P10. This patch focusses on fixes for a couple of gameplay and DirectX 12 related issues raised by the community.

This patch will be applied by Steam automatically when you next start the game. If your game does not update, please restart the Steam client.

The following gameplay changes are in this patch:

• Fixed regression that was introduced in last patch: Walking speed is now fixed properly.
• Fixed regression that was introduced in last patch: Talos Rucker no longer spawns twice.
• AMD intro video now has a lower volume.
• Fixed an issue where clicking on some interactive objects, such as computers or keypads, could cause Jensen to unholster his weapon.
• Fixed an issue where some users had to create a new Windows account to be able to start the game.
• Fixed a crash when loading a savegame.
• Fixed an issue where SSAO could introduce some graphical artifacts.
• Fixed an issue in Breach where the Booster Pack open button would not be shown, even though the user had Booster Packs to open.
• Fixed issues with the dialogue selection wheel.

The following DirectX 12 changes are in this patch:

• Improved stability and performance.
• Major improvement to loading times.

[...]

YouTube critic Mark Brown breaks the trend of supporting bigger worlds by coming out in favor of smaller, more detailed game worlds, using Deus Ex: MD's Prague as an example.

The RPGCodex has reviewed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided:

RPG Codex Review: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Mankind Divided is the 'sequel to the prequel', following Adam Jensen after the climax of Human Revolution. Human Revolution was a clever, well-constructed, and worthy sequel to the original Deus Ex - if not quite surpassing it. Is Mankind Divided a further step in the right direction?

Note: as I want to discuss and critique the game, this review will contain some mild spoilers for Mankind Divided (of a similar degree to what you'd get watching some of the trailers and teaser videos released by the developer), and more serious spoilers of Human Revolution and Deus Ex itself. One can scroll to the final heading to see a (wholly spoiler-free) summing up and recommendation whether or not one should buy the game.

[...]

Conclusion: Not enough steps forward, a few steps back

Mankind Divided is so near and yet so far. Its elements mostly build upon the strong foundations of Human Revolution, but occasionally they retreat back from earlier triumphs, and leave some major flaws uncorrected. It is cleverly written but with a few too many mis-steps, and a central lacuna around the player character himself. At its best, the strengths of the game combine harmoniously to produce one of the best opening thirds in computer gaming; the fatal weakness is that it is no more than an opening third, and the game ends on a deeply imperfect cadence with too many themes undeveloped, leave alone resolved.

The game indicates considerable talent, and the writing team know their craft well. My hope is that the impressive story Mankind Divided intimates has been mostly written, and that subsequent additions to the franchise will adroitly fulfill the undoubted promise manifest here. Yet these games do not yet exist, and thus Mankind Divided remains a promissory note for a series of games which in combination may form a masterpiece. Unless and until that happens, this opening act, despite its qualities, cannot justify its own purchase.

The Koalition has reviewed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Review – Icarus Rising

Though not as strong as its predecessor, Mankind Divided is one of the strongest games of 2016.
One of the best games of last gen was Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Due to the game’s success, a sequel was inevitable. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided takes everything that made the previous game great and ups the stakes with a story that is surprisingly relevant to today’s world. Despite the deeper, more intricate story and new gameplay enhancements, this sequel comes up somewhat short compared to its predecessor.

Mankind Divided takes place roughly two years after the events of Human Revolution. At the end of that game, an incident occurred which has turned the world against those with cybernetic implants. “Augs” are now treated as second class citizens at best, and terrorists at worst. With tensions boiling over between Augs and normal humans, it is up to series protagonist, Adam Jensen, to uncover who is really behind it all and hopefully put a stop to their plans.
[...]
As great as Mankind Divided is, it is held back by the fact that you mostly spend your time in Prague and how the story wraps up. While the game does come to a conclusion, it leaves one with more questions than answers. The worst part is how it feels as though the story will fully be wrapped up in some forthcoming DLC. We don’t yet know if this is the case, but again, that is certainly how most folks will perceive it.
Some issues aside, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is one of the stronger games to be released in 2016. If you are into RPGs that let you play how you want, and are into stories that go deeper than the typical video game does, then this is a title you should check out.

Score: 85%

Polygon reports that the first DLC for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be out on September 23 - it is called System Rift:

Frank Pritchard in first story DLC

Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was just released last week, but the studio is already detailing the first story DLC for the game, which will see the return of main character Adam Jensen’s friend and former colleague, Frank Pritchard.

In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided — System Rift, Pritchard reunites with Jensen to investigate and collect information on Santeau Group. In Mankind Divided, Santeau Group is the the construction company that started building cities from scratch, separating transhumanists from the rest of society following the events of the Aug Incident in 2027.

System Rift will be available to download on Sept. 23 from Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and online retailers for $11.99. The DLC pack will also be available for those who purchased the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided season pass.

[...]

Gamespot shows us the first twenty minutes of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Obviously there are spoilers so consider yourselves warned. Deus Ex: MD is due out August 23rd.

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With augmented violence on the rise, Adam Jensen joins the squad in the first 20 minutes of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Follow Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at GameSpot.com!
http://www.gamespot.com/deus-ex-manki...
Official Site - https://www.deusex.com/

RPGSite interviewed the lead writer of Deus Ex: Mankind Devided Mary DeMarle:

Deus Ex Interview: Exploring the world & narrative of Mankind Divided

Where would a decent role playing game be without a compelling story, or at least a well-built world with which to take up roles in? World building was arguably the biggest success of 2011's Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Square Enix's prequel to the classic PC RPG which heralded a return for the franchise to the top of the triple-A video game space.

With that success comes the pressure of sequels, and often universes feel the strain under the weight of a rapidly-expanding universe that must support multiple properties. One of those most responsible for bearing the weight of Deus Ex's impressively sized and considered worldview is Mary DeMarle, now serving as Lead Writer on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at Eidos Montreal.

[...]

RPG Site: There's a big push all over currently for open world games. You've stuck with several smaller-scale hub areas. Were you ever tempted to go open?

Mary DeMarle: We're very committed to stick with where we were headed with Human Revolution. Open world games are a lot of fun, I like open world games myself, but you don't get that with Deus Ex. It's so story driven; it's about freedom and choice and consequences. And it was a real conscious decision that with the amount of story we need to put in and the world building and the crafting we're doing of this universe. Rather than go wide with open world, we should go dense and deep within the world.

I think the biggest challenge for us is the question of how we build something that feels open in gameplay and is yet somewhat constrained so that it'll enable you to go deeper and deeper with the freedom, the flexibility, the choices, and the narrative storytelling within the world itself. It was always a conscious decision to not embrace open world, but constrain it.

[...]

Several gaming sites weigh in on their experiences in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Given the strong presence it had at this year's E3 expo, it comes as no surprise that Eidos Montreal's FPS/RPG sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is the subject of an assortment of new previews.

PC World:

But it’s amazing how open and spacious Mankind Divided’s levels feel. On my way through the hotel I was able to spot a number of alternate paths I could’ve sent Jensen down. Some are easy to locate—a vent high up on a wall, or a stray bit of scaffolding. Others are easier spotted with Jensen’s augmentations, like weak points in the wall that he can punch his big ol’ metal fist through. Not the stealthiest method but it works.

HardcoreGamer:

Outside of the general mechanics, a lot of the augmented moves return as well, such as busting down walls, although you can add an electrical charge to it, dropping from incredible heights, cloaking, and plenty of others. There are a bunch of new abilities, though, such as a Mega Man-esque blaster that acts as a shockwave, incapacitating enemies, an explosive blade that flings out of Jensen’s robotic arm, protective shielding, a multi-targeted projectile taser, and even more. There’s a lot of options when it comes down to taking down your enemies and Adam Jensen does it in style. Hacking is more or less the same with similar nodes that need to be breached with different variables and RNG playing out in the background. The difference is the visual aesthetics are more three dimensional, giving off a sense you’re hacking the components rather than a simple interface.

New Game Network:

We then also had a chance to play a very early level in the game. It began with a deployment on a mission in Dubai, in the year 2029. Adam is tasked with going in first to assess the situation and get in position for an illegal deal that's about to happen. Players get to choose a lethal or non lethal approach, as well as if they prefer short or long range – this dictates what loadout you start with; a setup that's very familiar to the one in Human Revolution. Adam has access to a variety of augmentations that enhance your abilities, and they can be further upgraded later on. The inventory screen seems uncluttered, and a few sorting options should make things easier later in the game. You can also craft consumables using parts, and customize your weapons on the go with attachments and different ammo types.

Rocket Chainsaw:

For our brief time with the game we chose to go the short range non-lethal path, that being a stun gun. Our augmentations ran off a gradually replenishing energy pool, and included smart vision (see enemies through walls), stealth cloak (invisibility, Icarus landing for surviving those long drops, and an ability that suppressed the sound we made. Most of these you’ll remember from Human Revolution, and they’re juts as useful here as before.

Engadget:

Yes, you'll be able to install augments that are both the same and different to the usual upgrades the main game offers its protagonist Denton. That's predictable enough, however the system you're attacking also adapts. As soon as you've completed your task of leeching from multiple data loads, the system/ level will go into lockdown. For me, this meant my routes of escape were suddenly blocked and there was now tougher security on my way to my extraction point. You're also able to carry your own hacks with you (double speed or double hit points, for example), so in a pinch you can reverse your fortunes easily.

@RockpaperShotgun explains what Breach Mode is in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and announces who is composing the tunes for said mode which is none other than the NeoTokyo Composer.

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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Breach is an innovative game mode, included for free with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This new take on the game offers, for the very first time, an arcade approach on the gameplay of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, providing players with a connected puzzle shooter experience. As a Ripper, a hacker in the year 2029, your objective is to obtain and sell highly classified corporate data by infiltrating some of the world’s most secure servers, using the funds you acquire to upgrade both your skills and arsenal.

[...]

That's what Harrison is musicmaking for. Which I'm jolly excited about, as his work on NeoTokyo is some of my favourite cyberpunky music.

Look, you have to understand: I'm not usually someone who listens to soundtracks outside their home games. The angriest I've been in recent years was when I discovered "GIVE CHIPTUNES A CHANCE" scrawled on a bar toilet mirror during GDC.

...

The NeoTokyo soundtrack is on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and Spotify. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is due out on August 23rd. There's still plenty of time to get Billy Idol involved, Eidos Montreal. Tomorrow People for the end credits, I'm telling you.

IGN interview some developers behind Deus Ex: Mankind Divided while they show us some gameplay.

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@Dsogaming Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have released a gameplay trailer showcasing the city-hub of Prague in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

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"In this section of the game, set in the poor district of the city, Adam Jensen wakes up after being caught in a devastating attack, allegedly perpetrated by augmented extremists, which is causing his augs to malfunction. He needs to see Vaclav Koller, an underground augmentation specialist, so that he can have a look at them and help him get back into shape."

A Rock, Paper, Shotgun editorial waxes philosophical about the transhuman world Adam Jensen lives in, and what it Deus Ex: Mankind Divided says about our own humanity.

Shower scenes seldom Make You Think, unless it’s about what exactly you’re getting for that Premium Netflix subscription, but if anything sticks out for me about the impressive yet oddly unexciting Deus Ex: Mankind Divided [official site], it’s the sight of Adam Jensen washing his hair. Eidos Montreal’s latest presentation begins in Jensen’s new Prague apartment – a casually affluent man-den where you can phone other characters, watch newscasts that track your decisions through the story, answer emails, tinker with crafting resources, and generally get acquainted with the sleek, cadaverous sort-of-human in your charge.

As in Human Revolution, this adds a welcome domestic dimension to a protagonist otherwise defined by his ability to hide from people, sweet-talk them or blow them to pieces. We see Jensen wake, activate his own heads-up display with a groggy command, swing his gleaming kneecaps out of bed and pad across a dim expanse of consumables, standby lights and the Renaissance oil paintings so beloved of Eidos Montreal’s artists. We see him trot into the bathroom and turn on the tap, and for the first time since I laid eyes on Mankind Divided back in early 2015, it feels like all that talk about the precarity of identity in a cybernetic world is coming to a head.

...

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks to tick every box its predecessor did, and the streamlining of the relationship between infiltration, exploration and battle is nicely judged thus far, but it’s rather telling that the thing I recall most vividly from my hour or two with the game is that thoughtful spell in the shower. Deus Ex offers up a lavish fiction – the art direction, as ever, brilliantly expresses social tensions in how it melds or bashes together a range of period influences. But it has yet to really capture my attention and rock my preconceptions, whether in terms of how I sneak and shoot, or as regards the overlap between its fraught, messy world and ours.

PC Gamer gets an in-depth look at some of Adam Jensen's new abilities and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's arcade mode.

Somehow, Adam Jensen stabbing people with giant retractable forearm spikes, turning himself into a giant fragmentation grenade, and stuffing a dozen dead police officers into an air duct hasn't led to a warm and fuzzy future where people completely trust augmented humans. In fact, even if you played Deus Ex: Human Revolution as a kinder, less-lethal Jensen than I did, the cyborg situation is pretty grim. In Mankind Divided, augmented humans have been, well, divided. They've segregated from the rest of the population after the "Aug Incident" in which their implants took over and turned them into rampaging killing machines.

Thanks, Illuminati.

I recently got a little playtime with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and even more recently I was sent some in-game footage. Instead of very quickly adding a track of my droning narration, I pulled out some animated gifs so you can take a peek at Adam Jensen's augs, some new and improved, some just plain new.

And, further down, I'll tell you about Breach, DXHR's new arcade challenge mode. First though: augs!

More.

At Red Bull they interview Mary DeMarle, lead writer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. They discuss the controversy present in the game and why shooting is necessarily a feature.

Even in its promotional materials, Mankind Divided is setting up exploration of some thorny issues. Besides the mechanical apartheid quote, its trailers focus on the radicals at the poles of its central conflict.

On the one hand, we have the police crackdowns - the shots of heavily armoured police beating down augmented civilians and dragging them off; the omnipresent AI newsreader, Eliza Cassan, warning of the dangers of enhanced citizens; the anti-Aug propaganda posters. But on the other, we have the terrorists delivering eloquent speeches defending violent uprising. "We will not sit idly by and allow our rights to be eroded... We will not be herded into ghettos."

In an echo of the original Deus Ex's twist, we're being shown terrorists and murderers not as interchangeable targets of Jensen's guns and nano-blades, but as freedom fighters, as three-dimensional. It's a bold, even provocative message in a time of real-world terror attacks.

"One thing we've always felt is that Deus Ex is supposed to be throwing up a mirror to today," says DeMarle. "We talk about the license being the near future, so we always want to look at themes that are relevant and that people are experiencing today. We want to show them to you from all different sides, and give you the opportunity to decide how you feel about it. So, as a writer, the one thing that you're very aware of is that you're dealing with a difficult subject and you're trying to show all sides of that issue, and allow the player to make up their own mind.

[...]

"The Aug Incident happened worldwide," she explains. "It was a tragedy for the whole world. But different areas of the world are dealing with it differently... We've focused our story on areas of the world that are having a very negative reaction, that were potentially more [badly] hit by the augmented catastrophe, and saw a lot of violence and death on that day."

It's a depressing picture of Humanity 2.0. The gameplay demo that was shown at last year's E3 ‒ in which Jensen arrives in Prague just in time to watch pro-enhancement terrorists blow up a train station ‒ is filled with tiny glints of environmental story reflecting public fear and irrationality. In the walk from the train to the station ticket hall, Jensen and another augmented agent are stopped not once, but twice, by police. As they walk, they pass rolling news screens running stories on the A.R.C. (the Augmented Rights Coalition) and augmented passengers being bag-searched on the platform.

The irony? The police conducting the checks are futuristic super soldiers. Some appear in bulky, heavily armed exosuits. In a sane, rational world, it would be the police enforcers, not a twenty-something traveller with a bionic leg, that would have people in uproar. But Mankind Divided's Prague is not a sane, rational place.

"One of the themes in the game is reason vs. emotion," says DeMarle. "When you look at it, one of the things that drives a lot of people is fear. And security is a very important issue for people, and having had this massive, unexplainable attack by people who were half-human or had had parts of their bodies changed, people see that as, 'We need security! How can we be safe? We don't want to enable humans to use the technology within their bodies, but we still have to be able to stop the awful power of someone who has that technology, so let's develop an alternative form of security, like technologically advanced combat suits'.

Deus Ex:Mankind Divided has released a story trailer examining the world through the lens of a mechanical apartheid.

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In 2027, mechanically-augmented people all over the world suffered from extreme psychotic delusions, lost control of themselves, and started attacking people. Millions died. Hundreds of thousands more were injured and maimed.
In the wake of this global catastrophe, society has become divided by hatred, prejudice, and fear, with many countries now enacting harsh laws.

It has been confirmed that renowned composer Sascha Dikiciyan will be contributing to the soundtrack for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.  Dikiciyan's past work includes Mass Effect 3, Might and Magic X: Legacy, Borderlands, and many other titles.

The music in Deus Ex: Human Revolution was nothing short of superb, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is looking at this new press release hoping that the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided soundtrack will be on par with it.  The good news is that well-known music artist Sascha Dikiciyan will be contributing to it, whose previous work includes Hellgate: London, Borderlands, Mass Effect 3, Might & Magic X: Legacy, and many other titles:

AWARD-WINNING ARTIST SASCHA DIKICIYAN TO COMPOSE TRACKS FOR DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED

Original Soundtrack to release this Fall

MONTRÉAL (May 18, 2016) – Square-Enix® and Eidos®-Montréal today announced that, in addition to Michael McCann returning to compose music for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, award-winning artist Sascha Dikiciyan (aka Sonic Mayhem) will also bring his talent to the game’s soundtrack. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s Original Soundtrack will be available worldwide this fall.

Overseen by Executive Audio Director Steve Szczepkowski, the music direction of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided represents an evolution of the score created for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The world of Deus Ex has dramatically changed since the final events of Human Revolution, which culminated with the Aug Incident. The golden age of augmentations is now over, and mechanically augmented humans have been segregated from the rest of society. Mankind Divided deals with heavier subjects and, as a result, the music has been adapted to reflect the new state of the world. It plays a key role in immersing players within the more mature and darker atmosphere of the game, while still staying true to Deus Ex’s distinctive and signature style.

Hear Sascha Dikiciyan’s work in action in both the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 101 trailer and the Adam Jensen 2.0 trailer.

“It was important for us to build upon the strong foundation of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but also to let it stand on its own. Along the way, we realized this game was much vaster than anticipated and we made the choice to add another composer to the team. Sascha Dikiciyan’s music stood out,” said Steve Szczepkowski. “After talking with Sascha, it became clear that we shared the same vision and passion for what musically drives Deus Ex. Sascha’s influences mirror ours in many ways, yet he also brings a whole other set of influences to the table. Sascha is completely immersed in the musical feeling of Deus Ex; he’s a huge fan of the franchise, and that comes through loud and clear in his compositions. We can’t wait for people to hear the work that he’s done and we are all thrilled he’s now part of the Deus Ex family!”

Source.

A new Deus Ex: Mankind Divided trailer that has some lite plot spoilers and shows different ways to progress through the game. You can get an HD version here.

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Thanks to azarhal who spotted this in our forums.

In the lead up to Deus Ex Mankind launching and being a thing a new propaganda themed website has popped up. The website is titled AUGAWARE: Helping to Keep Humanity Pure.

Autodesk visited Eidos Montreal to look at Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

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"Ultimately, we want to make sure that the creators of the game have the tools they need right away.”

We caught up with the folks at Eidos-Montreal to talk HP tools and their upcoming and highly anticipated sequel, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Thanks Couch

Voice Over actor Elias Toufexis (voice of Adam Jensen) claims that the next Deus Ex will please everyone in a video interview with Video Game Sophistry.

Strong words from this gravelly voiced man, Elias Toufexis the voice of Adam Jensen in the Deus Ex series and several other well known characters joined the program to discuss his life in the world of videos and MOST importantly what to expect in the upcoming game.

We cover what didn’t work in Mankind Divided, what changes are expected.

Why this time around Adam Jensen has much more of a voice.

Running away from Boss battles is BACK!

How combat is actually FUN this time around!?!

Thanks Couch.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will have a lot of static lights, says WCCF Tech, and will run on the newly-developed Dawn Engine.  More tech-speak (and an engine demo) below.

Thanks, Couch.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided will make use a of a lot static lights, and a cached static geometry visibility is used to improve performance. The game runs on the newly developed Dawn Engine, and uses Umbra tech.

The next-generation Dawn Engine was presented by Square Enix and Eidos back in December of 2014, and is based on a heavily modified version of IO Interactive’s Glacier 2 engine. The engine features new technology that allows for improved rendering capabilities, real-time physics, and advanced artificial intelligence programming. According Square Enix and Eidos, the Dawn Engine was specifically built for the recent generation of consoles and PC.

A tech demo, displaying the graphical prowess that is possible for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, was published back in June last year.

More information.

In "Reconquering the FPS/RPG Genre", GamingBolt discusses the evolution of the Deus Ex series and how it stands as a misfit among shooter titles.

Deus Ex has never had an easy time fitting into the gaming world. It’s ironic, considering the game’s themes centre around augmentation, diversity in humanity and the divides created when science goes too far. Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be the latest edition in the series and it’s arguably the “big budget” iteration. While Deus Ex 1 and 2 had more humble origins, Human Revolution saw the series step up on the previous generation of consoles, offering a more action-oriented experience combined with a deeper cinematic story-telling. Sure it was more a testament to what was possible with today’s technology but Deus Ex: Human Revolution still stood out as an odd-ball in today’s era of third person and first person shooters.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn’t seem all that different, oddly enough. It’s visually more pleasing, yes, but it’s also incorporating a grittier, messier atmosphere befitting Deus Ex. The third person cover system will be balanced by a more fluid first person perspective that allows for more frequent usage of powers. The action is all there and multiple storyline decisions, branching missions and customizable abilities are all present and accounted for. We won’t debate about whether this is really Deus Ex or not as we know it.

But is it Deus Ex as we knew it long before? The first game’s release seems like ages ago, born from a concept by ION Storm’s Warren Spector that featured a heavy emphasis on conspiracies and authoritarian future not unlike Blade Runner. The vibe was further reinforced by the absolute freedom that players could exhibit when building their character, much like System Shock 1 and 2. At the time, FPS/RPG hybrids weren’t very common. Everyone was still trying to be the next Half-Life when they weren’t concerned about emulating the success of Counter-Strike or Unreal Tournament. It’s crazy that we’ve come to a point where those mechanics are expressed in a wholly different fashion than before but is it really?

More information.

PC Gamer's Tom Senior plays a bit of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and comes away with some interesting impressions about power and choice in cyberpunk Prague.

Deep in a theatre in rainy Prague, bionic commando Adam Jensen is trapped in a closet. The door is the only exit, and that’s guarded by a bipedal robot loaded up with machine guns. There must be a way out; Deus Ex is all about choice.

I search for a vent, because there’s always a vent. But with the exception of a big bin, the room is empty. I have fled into the most featureless and poorly ventilated space in the Deus Ex universe. I consider my abilities: my electric dash will get me killed slightly faster than ambling into fire. Cloaking isn’t going to help either. I press a button to bring up my gun. From here you can switch ammo types, add silencers and tweak your scope. No armour-piercing rounds. Damn. 

A frag grenade! Robots hate frag grenades. I open the door, toss the egg and close it again as the robot opens fire. WHUMP. I use my augmented vision mode to see through the wall and spot the robot lying still on its side. I crack the door. There’s a terrible whirring noise. The robot stirs, righting itself in a hideous tangle of legs. It’s not dead. It’s not dead at all. 

I retreat into the room. This is Adam Jensen’s life now, this room. It’s an incongruous end for a man who has dedicated the two years since the events of Human Revolution to becoming the perfect walking weapon. Human Revolution Jensen was the improvised, slightly buggy prototype who could only punch two people before having to recharge his batteries. Mankind Divided Jensen is colder, harder and deadlier. Eidos Montreal refer to him as Jensen 2.0. 

Jensen 2.0 has just come up with a very stupid plan. With the right upgrades Jensen can lift huge objects, like the massive bin sitting in the corner. I open the door and grab the fridge-sized object, hugging it against my belly for dear life. The robot opens fire, and the bin soaks up the bullets—it’s working! I bump the robot backwards. The robot’s guns fire point blank into the bin as we perform an absurd rotating waltz into the corridor. I’m a genius. I silently thank Prague council’s commitment to bin sturdiness and slowly back away. I make it fi ve steps before the bin breaks. I’m an idiot. 

I’m also dead, but laughing. In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, even a tiny and almost featureless room can create moments of emergent absurdity. “That’s exactly the kind of story that we look for,” gameplay director Patrick Fortier tells me. “We really believe in the strength of spontaneous moments. They’re really powerful, and we believe that they’re as exciting for players as the big scripted moments.”

More information.

What does Adam Jensen's apartment say about him?  PC Gamer attempts to answer that question with some new concept art released by Eidos Montreal.

Just in time for Christmas, Eidos Montreal has released two new pieces of concept art for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided showing our hero's living quarters for the new game. In Human Revolution, the apartment was packed with little environmental details that hinted at Jensen's lifestyle and mental state. Secrets included a hidden weapons cache and a heartbreaking story about his dog, Kubrick. 

"The core of Adam's apartment is once again inspired by the cyber renaissance theme, although darker than what it was in Human Revolution" explains EM on the Deus Ex site. "These two concepts are only the tip of the iceberg and there will be a lot more details to find".

Here's the first image of Jensen's living room. This one shows Jensen's bedroom.

Who would live in a flat like this?

More information.

The Deus Ex: Mankind Divided team hosted a panel at New York Comic Con, where they discuss the production of the upcoming cyberpunk thriller.

As always, thanks, Couch.

Gamespot informs us that the preorder campaign for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has been canceled.

The publisher said it initially wanted to give customers more choice with the scheme, which offered multiple tiers of rewards depending on how many people preordered the game.

For a certain number of global preorders, the publisher would give away DLC, ranging from in-game costumes, to soundtracks, to extra missions. At the highest tier, the publisher would have dispatched the pre-ordered copies some four days ahead of its general release date.

"When it was first conceived, we wanted the program to give you more choice about what you received in terms of preorder incentives," it explained. "In the past, when we chose those packages ourselves and split them across regions, it has caused frustration.

"We quickly noticed that this [new] approach created even more frustration, resulting in a resounding amount of negative feedback," it added.

Thanks Eye.

All the content will now be available to all customers who preorder, regardless of how many do, Square Enix said.

Kotaku has interviewed Jean-Francois Dugas, game director of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, about the topics transhumanism, racism and prejudice:

Racism and Prejudice in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

There's an apartment in Deus Ex: Human Revolution where you can break in and read the occupant's emails. The messages tell a story of someone who wasn't able to compete as a trader without getting an implant that would hasten their thoughts, allowing them to buy and sell at the same speed as their augmented colleagues. They had to go to a loan shark to afford the implant. Yet, they couldn't keep up with the repayments, and the shark came looking for his money. In lieu of cash, the shark takes the implant, killing its owner. It's a simple, sad story, one of many that weave the political and philosophical ideas of transhumanism into a real-seeming world.

In Russia last month, when I spoke to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's game director Jean-Francois Dugas, it was that side of the game I wanted to know more about: what everyday stories would it be telling to flesh out the politics of the world?

"It's called 'Mankind Divided' for a reason," Dugas tells me. "It's set after the events of Human Revolution, [where] augmented people went into a killing frenzy. It was like a 9/11 kind of moment. Now in this world augmented people are feared. They're looked at as dangerous and the normal people, the naturals, they want to shield themselves, protect themselves."

This fear drives some countries to take a hardline stance on the augmented. "All over the world it's an issue, but some places are faster than others to take action on it," says Dugas. Prague is one of those places. When you visit it in Mankind Divided, its government has carved the city in two: the 'normals' can stay in their homes, the augmented must move into a ghetto called Golem.

[...]

Rocket Chainsaw interviewed lead writer Mary Demarle about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Jarrod: With something like Deus Ex you have so much narrative written, constructed, like Adam Jensen as a character who has relationships and is taken through scenarios. But Deus Ex, as a video game, is a series built where there’s a lot agency in how you act and behave. As a writer is it difficult to reconcile constructing narrative that is deeply focused, with the reality that players can do whatever they want?

Mary: There’s definitely challenges inherent in it. When we created the character of Adam Jensen…within the game industry there’s always the debate “Should the main hero be an avatar, blank slate that the player decides? Or should they be a fully fledged character who is your friend, that you’re guiding on a journey?” And for us, when we started, we looked at that and we said we’d like to see if we could do a little bit of both. We’d like to have a character who has a strong background, strong character traits, strong history, strong personality. Somewhat rooted in the world. And yet has something happen to them in the beginning, and when that happens they become a blank slate and it’s the player who gets to guide them. So we can use the personality traits that we decided for him to keep him on a focus, but allow him to do whatever the hell the player wants. And you can take that character and you can make him a serial killer.

Jarrod: Yeah, the serial killer…as you’re playing Adam Jensen, you’re embodying this character, and through a mission you could be somebody who is very patient, chooses not to kill, careful and methodical. Or you could be a total nutbag, punching and killing your way through. I imagine that’s quite difficult to balance from a narrative perspective?

Mary: It is, but it isn’t. Because we’re really looking at it as…you have to look at it less as the authorial vision, like you get in film and television. And it’s really more about, let’s look at storytelling in terms of; we know our plot, we know our beats you have to get through, we know the character has to get there. And we let the player do it. Then we use the rest of the world to reflect on what the player is doing in a non-judgemental way. We don’t want to judge you, we want to show the consequences of what you’ve done. So we can have things like, for instance, you go through and you kill everybody. And then you have a newspaper pop-up, or you’ll have people who know you respond. It’s recognising your behaviour, calling it back to you. And some of the people might judge you for it. Like a character in the game might sit there and say “I can’t believe you killed everyone, that’s terrible”, then maybe there’s another character who’ll say “You killed them all? They deserved it.”

Thanks Eye.

With this title GamersFTW tries to get you to read their article on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, which is related to the recently announced delay.

At this moment, Square Enix and Eidos Montreal look like they’re ironing out the creases in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This will definitely result in a better performing, smoother looking game. There’s no doubt about that. My doubts lie in whether Deus Ex is heading in the right direction. Deus Ex used to be the king of sci-fi RPGs, and is still considered by a lot of people to be one of the best. Human Revolution was a departure from the RPG genre for the franchise, but it retained RPG elements (for better or worse). With Mankind Divided, it’s possible that we may be departing even further from what made the original Deus Ex so popular. The original Deus Ex was not about creating an immersive world with beautiful visuals- it was about giving the player a choice. Mankind Divided has been given time to make sure it’s the best game it can possibly be- let’s hope that Square Enix don’t interfere any further, and that Eidos Montreal deliver an experience that Deus Ex fans deserve.

Thanks Eye.

New release date for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - August 2016:

No Compromise on Quality - New Release Date for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

As you may have already seen by reading and watching the many previews for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, our aim is for it to be a worthy successor to Human Revolution, and to improve upon that game in every way possible. I know that expectations are extremely high, and we not only want to meet those expectations, but exceed them.

We’re confident and proud of the game so far. However, as we are now playing through the game in full we can see that it will require more time in post - production for tuning, iterations, and refinement to meet our high standards. In order to achieve this, we need to move the release of the game to August 23rd, 2016.

We are sorry to disappoint you with this news, and also thank you for all of your support and comments. This game is a huge part of our lives, and we don’t want to compromise on its quality.

So please be patient with us a little longer, and thanks as always for your passion and support – through thick and thin. It’s a huge responsibility to work on Deus Ex Mankind Divided - we know, but also a huge privilege. We’re determined to deliver the best game we can.

David Anfossi – Eidos-Montreal Head of Studio

VG24/7 interiews Eidos' Mary DeMarle about the ending of Deus Ex: Human Revolution (contains spoilers) and Mankind Divided.

Every man and his robot dog have had a go at Human Revolution for the boss battles. You can barely mention the game without somebody bringing them up as a point of contention. But the ending of the game was an equally out-of-place decision, leaving the player wrong-footed just as everything is supposed to be coming to a world-changing conclusion. Heading into Mankind Divided in 2016, Eidos Montreal’s narrative lead Mary DeMarle looks back and admits that things could have been better.

...

I asked DeMarle if she ever feels any conflict writing about how beneficial technology is out of the reach of the masses, while working for a large company that’s flogging a full-priced AAA entertainment product. “Sometimes,” she says, sighing a little. “Sometimes.”

“To be honest a lot of the time I’m not thinking about those kind of things, because I’m fighting against the cliche. I’m one writer on a team, I’m overseeing all the writers, and a lot of times what my biggest struggle becomes is ‘Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t go for the simple explanation.’ So instead of focusing my angst on what you’re saying, I focus my angst on ‘Why can’t we make something meaningful?’ But now you’ve given me something really hard to think about!”

“(Technology) is a mixed bag,” DeMarle continues. “I saw something the other day and it did actually make me very depressed. It was saying that social media, the great social media, gives everyone the power to suddenly have a voice. And that’s great, so many people who never had a voice have a voice now through social media, through tweets and everything.”

Thanks Eye.

A trailer featuring the new Adam Jensen in Deus Ex: makind Divided has been made available.

Adam Jensen is the next step in human evolution. In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, he is now an experienced covert operative, forced to operate in a world that has grown to despise his kind. Armed with a new arsenal of state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations, he must choose the right approach, along with who to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy. This new in-game trailer highlights the Titan shield, as well as his new gun-arm augmentations: the Tesla, the Nanoblade and the PEPS.

Thanks Eye.

Forbes has interviewed Executive art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided about the art design of the game.

Clcik the link to watch the video as we can't embed it.

Thanks Eye.

Dualshockers have interviewed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Game Designer Antoine Thisdale about balancing, stealth and shooters.

Thanks Eye.

The Deus Ex Universe homepage provides a list of hands-on previews for Deus Ex Mankind Divided:

The first previews for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided have started making the rounds, and we're very proud and excited about the feedback we're receiving. Here is a quick summary of some of the previews that are currently available:

PC Gamer - "It still feels like Deus Ex, but with all of Human Revolution's flaws addressed. It's going to be great."

IGN - "It may feel familiar, but it’s iterating on and evolving in so many ways – and on a foundation that was already beyond excellent."

The Verge - "I completed the Prague level half a dozen times, and each time I took a different path, used different tools, and found new places that told me more about this universe. If I went back to play it again now, I’d probably find even more."

GameSpot - "Really the fact that I was able to so fully explore Mankind Divided’s stealth, combat, hacking, and exploration pillars within a single, self-contained area speaks volumes about the complexity and elegance of its design."

Game Reactor - "Deus Ex is not a yearly franchise and for that we can only be grateful. Eidos Montreal has spent their time carefully looking at Human Revolution (revisiting it with the Director's Cut) and listening to their fans, and they have gone on record admitting that mistakes made."

Rock Paper Shotgun - "Mankind Divided may well be the game that lives up to its protagonist, both in plotting and in action, but everything depends on the quality of those environments. In the small slice I’ve seen, that repurposed theatre is reminiscent of Blood Money’s density and the warm glow of a deteriorating Dubai, that all the signs suggest this will be an improvement on its predecessor in every way."

GamesRadar - "The options in just this one little spot, one building in just one small chunk of the game’s final Prague, were deeply impressive."

Keep an eye on the site for further updates!

News huntress Eye has collected the latest news about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Examiner:

If you skip side content in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, you will be sorry

Hands-on: Meaningful choice isn't always in a story

Eidos talks doing Human Revolution justice and pushing choice forward in Deus Ex

Gamespot:
Hacking and Attacking Gameplay video:

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The Verge:
Exploring Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s massive new cyberpunk world
- We go hands-on and find a sequel that’s deeper and darker

Reddit:
First Hands On impressions list

IGN played some demo levels of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided:

The Smart Evolution of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Sometimes, subtle improvements are the best kind.

My first time playing Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has me a little tongue tied. Not only is it the sequel to what is, in my opinion, one of the great games of the last generation, making it hard to bring realistic expectations to the table, but Human Revolution had this wonderfully thick, sexy sci-fi atmosphere, which is pretty hard to get a sense of from sitting down to play a mission or two of Mankind Divided out of context. Probably the best compliment I can pay it is that as a big Deus Ex fan, it hasn’t let me down, which really is high praise given how extraordinary the series has often been.

In my demo I had access to two full missions, and I was free to play and replay both of them as many times as I wanted – and I’m really thankful for that last bit. Especially played in a vacuum, it’s natural to jump into a vertical slice of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and just bull-rush through the most obvious path laid out ahead of you, especially since direct conflict has been improved so much. But once I started replaying and exploring, I found that Mankind Divided’s level designs, at least thus far, are even more dense with alternate paths and solutions than Human Revolution’s were.

This is, of course, great news. Level design is the unsung X-factor of a Deus Ex game, as providing the proper context for the different augments is the key to making character progression choices feel meaningful. The Dvali Theater level (which takes place roughly two thirds into Mankind Divided) does this with great success, providing both obvious and more subtle opportunities to leverage Adam Jensen’s many new wonderful toys.

I wasn’t really sold on the new Icarus Dash until I figured out I could use it for traversal in addition to its combat applications. Sure, quickly zipping out of an open, exposed space into a distant piece of cover in an instant has its uses, but not quite enough to get me to spend precious upgrade points. However, using it to quickly mantle up to a nearby landing without dealing with the guards on the steps, or even better, to dash between the rafters lining the ceiling, made it seem like a worthwhile investment.

The remote hacking aug is similarly useful in both combat and non-combat scenarios. Some cameras in Mankind Divided simply don’t have big enough blind spots to effectively sneak past, which means some paths through the level are out unless you want to let everyone know you’re there. That makes the ability to temporarily disable security cameras from a distance incredibly valuable – being able to bring a menacing security mech to its knees from the safety of cover is admittedly a nice cherry on top though.

Could I say that these tweaks and additions make Mankind Divided a wildly different experience than Human Revolution? Honestly, no – but I’d posit that wasn’t and shouldn’t be the point. There’s nothing “lazy” about this sequel. It may feel familiar, but it’s iterating on and evolving in so many ways – and on a foundation that was already beyond excellent. We still don’t know how all this will play once the hubs that connect these mission areas are in place, but so far Eidos Montréal is doing a great job of providing a solid framework within which to show off Mankind Divided’s many significant, if subtle additions.

The press was invited for the first time to play Deus Ex Mankind Divided:

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This new episode of DXTV focuses on one of the most important milestones in the development of the latest instalment in the series, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – the first time that members of the press were invited into the studio to play the game.
Join the development team as they nervously await the reactions of those who played two early levels from the game – the initial Dubai tutorial and a classic Deus Ex-style level from later in the game that sees Adam Jensen infiltrate the Dvali Theatre in Prague.

Thanks Eye!

The Deus Ex blog reports the following

Join us tomorrow on www.twitch.tv/deusex for a 1-hour DXTV program! We'll have new info on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and more to share.

Seeing as the stream is over watch it here.

Forbes has interviewed Executive game director Jean-Francois Dugas about the combat in Deus: Ex Mankind Divided.

As the video can't be embedded, here is the link to it.

Thanks Eye.

Wired brings news on the cancellation of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's pre-order program.

Videogame pre-orders are a mess, which is why it's a welcome surprise to see Square Enix announcing that it's going to discontinue the controversial "Augment Your Preorder" scheme for the upcoming Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Square Enix cited "a resounding amount of negative feedback" as the reason for canceling the program.

It's become standard operating procedure in the past couple of years for videogame publishers to offer incentives like downloadable content to fans who pre-order their games.

Mankind Divided‘s pre-order scheme was more Byzantine than most, which is saying something. It was tiered, providing increasing amounts of rewards based on the total number of people who pre-ordered the game.

The final tier even offered fans who pre-ordered a chance to play the game four days before the official release date, the "everyone has to clap to bring Tinkerbell to life" of advertising gimmicks.

In place of the old program, all pre-orders and purchases of the Day 1 Edition will now come with all available rewards, and the game will be made playable to everyone at the same time, on the official release date of February 23, 2016.

From the Deus Ex website

Shutting Down Augment Your Pre-Order
2015-10-01 12:53:50

At both Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal, we've been listening to everything you've had to say about the Augment Your Pre-Order program. When it was first conceived, we wanted the program to give you more choice about what you received in terms of pre-order incentives - because we've seen in the past that when we choose those packages ourselves, and split them across regions, it has caused frustration. We quickly noticed that this approach created even more frustration than before, resulting in a resounding amount of negative feedback.

We've spent a lot of time reading through all of your comments, working to understand how we can try to make things right for you. After much thought and reflection, we decided to close down the program and make all of the incentive content available to anyone who pre-orders Deus Ex: Mankind Divided or purchases a Day 1 edition of the game. Additionally, the release date will no longer be changed in accordance with pre-order numbers, and everyone will gain access to the game on February 23rd, 2016.

Your feedback and input is of the utmost importance to us-- as it's your loyalty and passion for our franchises that gives us the opportunity to continue providing you with great gaming experiences.

To our faithful fans who've already pre-ordered: we will be taking care of everything necessary to ensure that all of the changes to the program will be automatically applied to your purchase. Meanwhile, we'd like to thank everybody for their feedback - we know this wouldn't have happened with a game that nobody cared about, and we're just focusing now on delivering a game that lives up to your hopes and expectations.

Thanks for your support!

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has interviewed gameplay director Patrick Fortier about ownership over Deus Ex, expanding the language of its level design and politics.

RPS: It looks perhaps like you’re expanding the language of Human Revolution, in terms of movement and abilities. How does that impact level design; are you doing things to expand beyond the dichotomy of ‘vent route’ and ‘ceiling beam route’?

Fortier: We are trying to expand it, mostly in the way things are laid out. In Human Revolution you tended to have things that were a little bit piecemeal. You’d have a room with a challenge in there, and that would be closed off with a corridor, and then another room and then another corridor. We’re trying to look at it and create these more circular areas where not only is it this 360 degree base you can infiltrate from the top, the basement, or by making your own hole in the wall, but also architecturally make it a bit more recognisable so it’s easier to project yourself. Who is living there and what are they actually doing there. It’s not just a compound with a series of rooms. That brings its own set of challenges from the gameplay perspective, but there’s been effort put into that.

But are there vents? Yes, there are vents.

RPS: Are the missions more integrated with the hubs, or is it still a case that you get on a VTOL and fly to enclosed locations?

Fortier: There’s still some of that, but there’s a lot of locations like the police station in Detroit [in Human Revolution]. That was its own self-contained little thing within the hub. We really like that approach, so there is a lot of that.

Thanks Eye.

Techtalk checked out Deus Ex: Mankind Divided at EGX 2015:

EGX 2015: Deus Ex Mankind Divided

Fifteen years after it was first released, the original Deus Ex is still viewed as one of the greatest games ever made. While the sequels may not have created the same impact as the original, they’ve all been great games and it’s arguable they’ve even improved on the first game in some respects.

The latest in the series, Mankind Divided, looks set to improve the experience once again. We were lucky enough to get a seat at Square Enix’s presentation of the game at EGX 2015.

Set two years after the events of Human Revolution, the presentation opened with Adam Jensen arriving in Prague by train. The first thing that strikes you is the level of detail. As Adam steps from the train and meets up with his contact, this feels like a living, breathing world. People are coming and going, rushing for their connection, emotionally saying goodbye to family and friends, sitting bored waiting for the next train, all under the watchful and oppressive eye of the heavily armoured security guards. There’s graffiti on the walls, signs and maps are in Czech, nothing looks out of place.

It’s reminiscent of the iconic introduction to Half Life 2 and the sense that the scene is building towards something terrible is palpable. By the time you reach a checkpoint and the security droid hovers in front of you, scanning, you’re a bundle of nerves and it’s quite a surprise when you’re let through without incident. It’s a false sense of relief, though, as moments later terrorists strike and you’re knocked to the ground in the resulting explosions.

The second part of the presentation sees Adam moving deeper into his investigation, tracking down the leader of a group associated with the terrorists. Here we see some of the new cybernetic augmentations at work.

We see the trademark Deus Ex stealth and branching paths around the level as Adam moves through a complex constructed from cargo containers. The verticality is impressive, and you’re constantly having to check above you for possible routes. This is where we see the new Icarus Dash move in action – you move supernaturally fast a short distance in the direction you’re facing, even if there’s nothing below you. This allows Adam to dash in unexpected directions, up to open windows, and avoid guards. [...]

Thanks Eye!

NDTV Gadgets interviewed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's Gameplay Director Patrick Fortier about choices, consequences and the overarching narrative:

You will not experience all of the game in one playthrough

One of the hallmarks of the Deus Ex series has always been stellar level design, to the point where fans are still finding new ways to complete missions that were created almost two decades ago. Fortier said that Mankind Divided will feature a wealth of content, more that what you can uncover in a single playthrough.

"When we plan our levels we have a certain time allocation and budgets for each level but we plan ahead with the fact that not every player will see 100 percent of the level," said Fortier, adding, "and we build more content as depending on the play style they might see different things." Fortier told NDTV Gadgets that the branching choices also make the game difficult to test, due to the many ways to play the game, and the different choices (and consequences) that can be made. [...]

Equal opportunity for pacifists and warmongers

The previous game in the series, 2011's Deus Ex: Human Revolution, rewarded stealthy, non-violent gameplay over outright killing, by granting you more experience points and perks for playing in a sneaky fashion. It's something Fortier says the studio is looking to avoid this time around.

"We've removed part of that. I think that sent the wrong message in Human Revolution because you got experience points from stealth and not combat. I don't think the team realised it was sending that message back in the day. We've been careful of that," he confessed. "That's why we've worked on the whole combat aspect of the game as well to bring it up to par with the stealth."

Pacifists need not worry about this either. Mankind Divided will not favour violence. Rather it allows for what Fortier described as "equal opportunity" gameplay. [...]

Thanks Couch!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released on February 23rd, 2016 - pre-ordering will give you rewards:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will launch on February 23rd, 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC! Pre-order now to choose your own rewards and help release the game early, with Augment your Pre-Order.

Taking place in Prague, the ‘Desperate Measures’ extra in-game mission has you playing as Adam Jensen, returning to the epicenter of the Ruzicka train station explosion that recently rattled the city to its very core. With tampered security footage hampering the investigation behind the attack, you must rely on both your augmentations, and skills as a covert operative, in order to unveil the true culprit responsible for the bombing.

There has been some confusion about the boss battles in the new Deus Ex: Mankind Divided game. An excerpt from the interview at Eurogamer.

By Robert Purchese Published 11/08/2015

There's been some confusion: you cannot talk through all boss encounters in the new Deus Ex, Mankind Divided. There are debates with key figures, such as the one shown in the 25-minute E3 gameplay video, but they're a separate thing. Boss encounters require some form of action. Boss encounters and 'debates' are two distinct types of gameplay.

Gameplay director Patrick Fortier explained this key point to me in length at Gamescom last week, and his explanation can be read below. I also discovered developer Eidos Montreal will use outsourced help to build Mankind Divided, but, and this is a key but, the boss encounters themselves are being made in house. Fortier had a lot more to say about that as well.

Joxer spotted this article at GamesRadar:

Deus Ex Mankind Divided lets you defeat bosses with combat, stealth or a chat

Despite being one helluva great game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution's boss fights were a nasty bottle of plonk next to the balanced vintage of the main story. Eidos Montreal has already promised that it's leaned from its boss battle boo boos while still pushing itself to ask some really hard questions with its latest effort, Mankind Divided. In the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, gameplay director Patrick Fortier and narrative director Mary DeMarle discuss the importance of giving you the same freedom of choice you have in boss encounters as you do in the main game.

Considering the stark difference of quality between those dust-ups and Human Revolution's engaging story, it's so surprise to learn those battles were actually developed by a separate studio. Thankfully, for Mankind Divided, Eidos Montreal is firmly in charge. "It’s all about supporting all the different play aspects," says Fortier. "That was the main thing that was missing from the boss fights. Thematically, I think they were interesting, but certain players found a challenge there that wasn’t really catered to them." Mankind Divided’s bosses are much more balanced in this regard. "There are ways to stealth them, there are ways to beat them in combat and there are conversations you can have that maybe give you a different means of dealing with the situation altogether."

"You can also decide to do it lethally or not," adds narrative director Mary DeMarle. "For Human Revolution, because of the way we designed it, [the bosses] always died in the cutscenes. You had no choice. But we rectified that in the Missing Link DLC, and we’ve rectified it in this game." This means the outcome of your boss fight will directly affect the story going forward. Finally, true Deus Ex choice is ours!

Philippa Warr (Rock, Paper, Shotgun) has interviewed Jean-François Dugas, Patrick Fortier at the E3:

“Deus Ex meets District 9″ is how the company described Deus Ex: Mankind Divided during a demo I attended at E3. Set two years after Human Revolution, Mankind Divided showcases a society still deeply fearful after the Aug Incident where mechanically augmented people turned violent, stripped of self-control after a signal deliberately interfered with their in-built bio-chips. The scale of the incident means augmentations are now viewed with suspicion and augmented people treated as outcasts. Adam Jensen himself is working as a counter-terrorist agent fighting some of the resultant crime. Well. That’s his day job. He secretly believes the task force was set up by the Illuminti for a different purpose and is working to take them down.

“He’s a tool and a weapon,” is executive game director Jean-François Dugas’ analysis of this Adam Jensen.

“In the first game he was more a blue collar kind of guy who got caught in something way bigger than him. Like the famous meme ‘I never asked for this’. But it’s true. The guy was not necessarily going to get augmented, to jump on the band wagon, even though his former employer David Sarif wanted him to do so.

“A big important choice was removed from him. It’s not that he hates [being augmented] but he didn’t choose it. He had to go through a journey to take back what he lost and take responsibility and do something about it. This time around we go for an Adam Jensen that’s fully embracing what he is today. He has a lot of possibilities. He’s a tool and a weapon so what does he choose to do? You know you are a weapon so how are you going to use that.”

According to Dugas the shift towards ownership of his augmentations should be reflected in increased fluidity of gameplay using Jensen’s new abilities. None of what I saw during my trip was hands-on so I couldn’t get a sense of that but it’s an interesting idea and one which was picked up by gameplay director Patrick Fortier.

“He’s the Jensen 2.0 and we have all these cool augmentations,” says Fortier. “How do we make that a little more visceral? A little bit more reactive so you can use a lot of these things really fluidly into combat? There’s a lot of work put into that. Even the low-level stuff like how we frame the weapon and what’s the recoil and the muzzle flash and all those little things that make it feel right. But also moving through the environment, cover to cover, or doing takedowns from cover – all these things so you never have to start fighting with the controller to do what you want to do and to push a little further from Human Revolution.” [...]

Alex Donaldson (RPG Site) has interviewed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Producer Olivier Proulx - some snippets:

RPG Site: Human Revolution sounded like it was quite an iterative process during its development in how you figured out what a modern version of Deus Ex looked and felt like. How soon did you know what direction you wanted to take with the sequel?

Olivier Proulx: Well, the first thing we did was -- we started working on the project after The Missing Link, which was the DLC that we did for Human Revolution. The first thing we really worked on was our engine. That's the Dawn Engine - that's basically our own engine at Eidos Montreal.

We decided to work on the tech first to make sure that we could bring the Deus Ex world to the quality level you've seen today. We wanted to give ourselves the tools to build that world at that quality. So we worked on the tech first, but after that, we started working on the story and figuring out where in the lore and world we'd fit in.

We wanted to come back with Adam Jensen and we started setting up the world - two years after Human Revolution - building on the back of the huge aug incident that happened. That incident really divides the world and becomes a catalyst, with augmented people being segregated and naturals sort of fearing them. For us that was a really interesting premise and we've built upon that over the last few years.

RPG Site: Based on the demo I just saw, gunplay looks to have been a major development focus. Did you get a lot of feedback from Human Revolution that a lot of people played it like a shooter and thus, that had to be a priority for improvement?

Proulx: That wasn't the reason... We really invested in it because we felt that we weren't really happy ourselves with how shooting handled in the last game, or the combat in general.

A Deus Ex game is about playing the way you want. If you want to be a stealth player, great. If you want to be a combat player or a mix of both, we need to support it - it's about player choice. We wanted to bring the combat up to the same level that stealth was.

Now it's a far more viable option. For a player that likes a mix of both - for a stealth predator type - now I can have more fun with the game. The augmentations are much more fluid to use, easier to control, and well-integrated with Jensen.

Gameplay demo:

Polygon talked with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's gameplay director Patrick Fortier at E3 and processed their interview in two articles about the different gameplay paths that make Deus Ex games what they are.

The first one primarily deals with the action / stealth duality in Deus Ex: MD:

In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, players' options are in service of what Fortier calls "flow." And it's not just a philosophy. It's also a reflection of how he likes to play games.

He's making the game. He doesn't have the luxury of just playing angrily or stealthily. He has to do it all. And that's sort of a reflection of what most players do. As far as he can tell, most play a mix of stealth and action. His responsibility, he says, is to make both choices satisfying. For a developer to choose one over the other is a "trap" he refers to constantly.

Personally, he might prefer stealth in the abstract, but he's not the kind of player who gets spotted, pauses and reloads a checkpoint. He likes to see how it plays out. If he gets into a station where stealth is no longer an option, he'll bring out the guns. In the best games, he thinks, these things flow into one another, like a narrative wire weaving its way throughout the game.

The second article is about the four pillars that make a Deus Ex game, which are combat, stealth, hacking and social interaction.

"Those are fundamental things to the game experience," Fortier told Polygon at E3 2015. (..)

There may be four pillars, but as fans of Deus Ex should expect, they're all set against he backdrop of an unfolding story whose outcome you, as the player, will determine.

"Overall," he said, "they're all wrapped up into this tight rope of freedom and choice and consequences." (..)

Player choice, in other words, is the molten core of a Deus Ex game. Everything else, from the toolbox of weapons and superhuman powers to the unfurling narrative set in a cyberpunk future, serves that master. They're more than arbitrary augments. They are the tools players use to construct personalized outcomes in a world developers create.

They are, as Fortier says, links on a chain.

The full 25 minutes long "E3 World Premiere Demo" of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has been released.

Note that the video shows alpha footage, was played in God mode to ensure a smooth play-through and contains story spoilers from 18:25 to 22:20.

Previews

• Deus Ex: MD is beautiful, brutal and seriously ambitious @ arstechnica
• Deus Ex: MD left me obsessing over cyborg oppression @ The Verge

Video Interviews

• Activism & Terrorism in Deus Ex: MD, interview with the game's narrative director @ IGN
• Getting to the Bottom of the Sunglass Implants @ Polygon
• Deus Ex: MD makes Adem Jensen even more Baddass @ ZomminGames

A new trailer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, was shown at E3 with some gameplay footage.

Its expected release date is sometime in early 2016.

Thanks Couch.

Update

azarhal found more gameplay material:

• IGN (combat approach)
• Stealth approach - It's the same mission, the interview is different though and they show different parts.
• Some character concept arts
• Dawn Engine Tech demo
• This is totally awesome too

There's also a video interview relevant to gameplay changes at gameinformer we reported about back in April.

• Building a better Deus Ex with Mankind Divided

Best video of week

It's almost E3! What do we have in store for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided? Play as Adam Jensen's actor in this interactive video to find out!

Trailer:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided directly follows the aftermath of the Aug Incident, a day when mechanically augmented citizens all over the world were stripped of control over their minds and bodies, resulting in the deaths of millions of innocents. The year is now 2029, and the golden era of augmentations is over. Mechanically augmented humans have been deemed outcasts and segregated from the rest of society. Crime and acts of terror serve as a thin veil to cover up an overarching conspiracy aimed at controlling the future of mankind…

In-case anyone is curious it seems based on a new post this week that developer Nixxes will once again be handling the PC port of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Release date: TBC

Nixxes project: PC Conversion (Windows)

NIXXES

We have teamed up with our partners at Eidos-Montréal to create the best PC experience Deus Ex: Mankind Divided™.

GAME OVERVIEW

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided™ directly follows the aftermath of the Aug Incident, a day when mechanically augmented citizens all over the world were stripped of control over their minds and bodies, resulting in the deaths of millions of innocents. The year is now 2029, and the golden era of augmentations is over. Mechanically augmented humans have been deemed outcasts and segregated from the rest of society. Crime and acts of terror serve as a thin veil to cover up an overarching conspiracy aimed at controlling the future of mankind… Deus Ex: Mankind Divided™ is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

GameInformer closes their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with a new podcast with a few various Eidos Montreal developers about a variety of topics.

All month long we've been revealing information on the next installment in the Deus Ex franchise from Eidos Montreal. We've looked at the series past, we've explained how the studio creates a believable future, and we've explained why people get augmented in the first place. As a way to patch any holes in this extensive coverage, we turned things over to the community for any questions about this exciting new title and then spoke with game director Jean-Francois Dugas and asked them dozens of your burning questions.

Listen to the podcast below to learn more about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided's gameplay, why Eidos-Montreal has moved the action to Prague, and whether or not you can expect to download some mods for the game when it releases.

GameInformer released a new video from their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided that talks about Jensen's quest for redemption in the new game.

Adam Jensen is a man surrounded by conflict. After he failed to protect the world from chaos in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, governments and freedom fighters collide over the human rights of mechanically augmented citizens.

Executive narrative director Mary DeMarle (Myst III: Exile, Deus Ex: Human Revolution) explains how Jensen has changed since the last time we saw him, embracing what he has become.

Warning: Contains spoilers for Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

GameInformer has released another article from their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with on how fashion designers improved the Deus Ex games.

One of the many things that Eidos Montreal is hoping to convey with Adam Jensen is that he’s a cool guy. Sure, the Deus Ex hero is powerful, smart, and loaded up with an arsenal big enough to make Inspector Gadget envious, but he doesn’t just roll out of bed and head to work. He might not care to admit it, but you can tell he spends a bit of time in front of the mirror every day. His wardrobe is not only functional, but also stylish. The art team designed Jensen’s trademark coat for Human Revolution, but for Mankind Divided they turned to people who make clothes professionally. Here’s the story of their collaboration with Acronym as well as a look at the new coat’s hidden functionality.

Let me start off by being absolutely clear – before we visited Eidos Montreal’s offices to take a look at the game, I never would have guessed that I’d be writing about fashion, let alone a coat. I come from the “good enough” school of style. For me, dressing up typically means that I’m wearing clean pants and my hoodie is zipped all the way up. Note: I am not endorsing this lifestyle.

GameInformer has another video interview from their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with information on how Eidos Montreal is building a better Deus Ex.

The original Deus Ex is one of the most beloved PC games of all time, so the team at Eidos Montreal had a lot to live up to with their first entry in the series, Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Now the stakes feel higher for the follow up, Mankind Divided.

Executive game director Jean-François Dugas explains what made Deus Ex such an important landmark in gaming, and how Deus Ex: Mankind Divided improves upon its predecessor in everything from boss fights to production values – bringing the cyberpunk experience to the next level.

Warning: Contains spoilers for Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Game Infomer continues their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with a new interview with the games Art Director about the games hidden world.

During our last day at Eidos Montreal, we sat down with Martin Dubeau, the art director for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. We sorted through the screens and pieces of concept art that we’d be getting for our magazine and online coverage, and he provided context for everything we were seeing. Rather than let his insights go to waste, we’re sharing them with you today. Read on for additional details on the environments, people, and symbolism that you might not otherwise have known from simply looking at the pictures.

As the news-bit title says I found two more interviews for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The first interview is from twinfinite who talks with Elias Toufexis the voice actor for Jensen.

When did you find out that you were going to be reprising your role as Adam Jensen, and how excited were you to step back into the role of the augmented protagonist?

Toufexis: About two years ago I got a call from some of the creators and they told me that Adam might be coming back. Of course, I’m incredibly excited and I love playing Adam. I think we stumbled onto something that isn’t easy to do with Jensen. Between his great design, the gameplay, the writing and the music, Jensen has become somewhat iconic in the videogame world. I think it surprised everyone how popular he became. It was a no brainer to bring him back. As a gamer, I wanted to see where his story would head. When we were going over the story, I would bring up things that, as a fan, I wanted to see resolved. The story this time around is very complex.

The second interview is a video form GameInformer who talks with the development team about how Rembrandt, and Da Vinci helped design Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

One of the first things players notice about the Deus Ex revival are the distinctive black and gold hues that glow throughout the dystopian landscape, along with the clear roots of Elizabethan and Renaissance era culture. 

In this video the executive art director at Eidos Montreal Jonathan Jacques-Bellette reveals the wealth of historical artists that had a dramatic influence on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Warning Contains spoilers for Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Daniel Hindes of Gamespot put together a new article that recounts what happened in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and how it leads to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

The backstory and continuity of the Deus Ex series are complex to the point of confusion. When you have multiple shadowy organisations, mysterious characters controlling puppet governments, and a cornucopia of conspiracies running alongside all of this, things can get confusing.

With Deus Ex: Mankind Divided picking up two years after the end of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, it's worth refreshing your knowledge of what happened at the end of Adam Jensen's first adventure, and what the state of Deus Ex's world is.

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the original Deus Ex.

A site called whatculture has another top ten list this time for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

After four years, the fourth instalment of the mighty leather-clad sci-fi opus Deus Ex is back, and Eidos’ Matrix-meets-Blade Runner genre-bender has always had a special place in plenty gamers’ hearts – mostly thanks to losing entire weeks of game-time in the 2000 original.

Thanks to some graphics that haven’t aged too well considering the focus on gunplay, character interaction and a slew of incredibly detailed (for the time) environments, it was over to 2011’s Human Revolution to relight the fire underneath the franchise’s behind, as although 2003’s Invisible War was serviceable enough, it didn’t have the same spark that only the original team can bring.

Over to Mankind Divided and a sequel that’s going to take place two years after the conclusion of Human Revolution, seeing returning-hero Adam Jensen heading up crime-hounds Task Force 29 as the world lives up to the game’s title – the split between people who favour augmented limbs and those who don’t creating violent rifts in the populace.

Jensen’s design is looking just as fantastic as ever though, with his repurposed body also bolstering a huge number of additional abilities and weapons – however as Human Revolution’s weaker aspects proved, concept and execution can occasionally be miles apart, and it’s up to Eidos to deliver on 100% of their potential this time around.

You can also download a free e-novel called Deus Ex: Fallen Angel.

A big thank-you to everyone out there for your enthusiasm following the announcement of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided! If you haven't already seen the awesome announcement trailer, take a look Here!

To reiterate, I am indeed involved once again in the writing on this blockbuster game, and very proud to be so. I've also had a lot of people asking me if I'll be writing another Deus Ex tie-in novel as I did with Icarus Effect back in 2011 (which, I hasten to add, is still available in all good bookstores in UK, US, Hungarian, Italian and German editions...)

But to answer the question - I can't confirm anything right now; however, I will say we are in discussions about future fiction ideas under the Deus Ex Universe banner, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can click Here to download a free digital ebook of my novella Deus Ex: Fallen Angel directly from Eidos Montreal!

Game Informer released another update from their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with more information why people get Augmented in the game.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is our latest cover story, and the Human Revolution sequel explores what Eidos Montrel dubs "the mechanical apartheid." The studio says that players can go into the game without any prior knowledge of the series. That may be, but it never hurts to have a little background knowledge. Today, we're going to explore what's at the core of the game's central conflict – augmentations.

The term (often shortened to "augs") are used to describe a wide array of technologically advanced implants in Deus Ex’s world. Their use is also quite polarizing. Knowing that, why on earth would anyone undergo such risky operations? The explanation is complicated and tragic.

During Human Revolution’s story, Adam Jensen worked for a company called Sarif Industries, which was on the forefront of manufacturing these sophisticated Augmentations. If you played it, you might recall incidental conversations between NPCs discussing the augs. In one, a business professional remarks to another that he’s tired of getting passed up for promotions, and that he’s considering a neural upgrade to make himself more competitive. Other upgrades are more overt, such as the limb replacements Jensen received following a terrorist attack.

Game Informer released another update from their month long coverage of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with  more information on the main players from the sequel.

Adam Jensen is more driven than ever. Two years after the catastrophic events that marked the end of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, he’s determined to expose the group and people behind the so-called Aug Incident. While the Illuminati may have pulled those strings and are the focus of Jensen’s investigation in the upcoming Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, they’re not the only organization that he becomes involved with. Today, we’re taking a look at some of the other factions Jensen – and players – will meet.

They also released a second video update about creating the futuristic world.

In this video we sat down with executive game director Jean-François Dugas, executive narrative director Mary DeMarle, executive art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, and executive audio director Steve Szczepkowski as they brought us through their journey of creating the dark and mysterious future that embodies Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Dualshockers also has a few Twitter posts from the new game Director who wants combat to be as good as stealth, and promises he won’t repeat the boss battles.

A new trailer for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was released that gives a more detailed look at what the game is about, and how Jensen has changed since the first game.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided directly follows the aftermath of the Aug Incident, a day when mechanically augmented citizens all over the world were stripped of control over their minds and bodies, resulting in the deaths of millions of innocents. The year is now 2029, and the golden era of augmentations is over. Mechanically augmented humans have been deemed outcasts and segregated from the rest of society. Crime and acts of terror serve as a thin veil to cover up an overarching conspiracy aimed at controlling the future of mankind.

Game Informer is the first site to announce Deus Ex: Mankind Divided with a short video interview, and some new game details from their upcoming magazine issue.

The original Deus Ex is one of the most critically acclaimed shooter/RPG hybrids of all-time. In 2011, Eidos-Montreal resurrected the dormant franchise with Human Revolution, giving the series an updated look while remaining true to the player choice-driven gameplay. Eidos-Montreal knew its game wasn’t perfect, and has worked to improve the series' combat systems and boss encounters for the latest entry in the series – Mankind Divided.

Set in 2029, two years after the events of Human Revolution, Adam Jensen returns and joins forces with an Interpol-funded task force aiming to hunt down and capture augmented terrorists in a world that now hates and fears transhumans. Jensen has a new suite of augmentations that allow him to cleverly navigate stealth, combat, and social interactions, but how Jensen chooses to solve every problem is entirely up to you. 

At the end of Human Revolution, the Illuminati caused every transhuman to go into a fight-or-flight response and attack anyone near them. In the next issue of Game Informer, you can find out how this event caused humanity to hate and fear those with augmentations. We spent two days in Eidos-Montreal's studio, talking with the team and learning about how they build a realistic future. We go in depth on some of Jensen's new augmentations that help improve the stealth and combat systems, such as the ability to remote hack electronic objects, fire off his nano blade from a distance, and surround himself with a nearly indestructible nanoshield. We also got some great examples on how the game will be as open ended as ever, allowing players to carve their own path through the world. You can only get these details in the latest issue of Game Informer.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided doesn't yet have a release date, but it's headed to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

PC Gamer has an article with some more information on the engine that is used for the next Deus Ex installment, named Dawn.

"As you can imagine, the Dawn Engine will form the cornerstone for all Deus Ex Universe projects at Eidos-Montréal," Ramtohul writes. "Some of you have had concerns that 'Universe' meant 'MMO'. Rest assured, it does not.

"Deus Ex Universe is the name we are giving to the fictional world and the rich lore we are creating for it, which will of course include core games, as well as any other projects that will help bring the world of Deus Ex to life."

Thanks Trasher.

While we haven't heard that much about Deus Ex: Universe yet it seems there are some new rumors the series will be a new trilogy. Playstation Trophies has more information.

New details have emerged regarding Deus Ex: Universe, the Square Enix project announced last year as an “ongoing, expanding and connected game world built across a generation of core games.”

Square Enix hasn’t elaborated on what these core games are, but we’ve been chatting to some insiders who have shared a few interesting bits of info.

According to one of our sources, Deus Ex: Universe was initially conceived as one huge game, but was split into a trilogy because the project was considered too ambitious.

Across these games, we're told that player decisions will be carried over in much the same manner as the Mass Effect trilogy. Indeed, the idea is to transfer even more info between instalments than BioWare’s celebrated sci-fi RPG series.

Our source also says that the core Deus Ex: Universe games will be coming to consoles, although Square Enix has already said that further “experiences” will be released for “other media such as tablets, smartphones, books, graphic novels, etc.”

The source adds that all of the information shared is accurate as of last year, but may be subject to change. In particular, the number of console games released under the Deus Ex: Universe banner could shift according to a variety of factors.

In addition to this, further information has emerged from a separate source who has seen promotional material for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, a trademark for which was filed by Square Enix back in March.

We’re told that the promotional material featured Deus Ex: Human Revolution star Adam Jensen and Deux Ex: The Fall protagonist Ben Saxon. Deus Ex: The Fall is a mobile (and Steam) title released last year.

Could Deus Ex: Mankind Divided be the first Deus Ex: Universe release, with Jensen and Saxon as the lead men? It's possible, although our sources would not confirm or deny.

When Deus Ex: Universe was announced, Square Enix released a piece of concept art representing a “'ghetto-city' voluntarily built in order to separate the classes.” You can see it below.

“The people in this segregated class have reshaped their environment, nostalgic for their ideal of Cyber Renaissance,” said Square Enix. “This dark and dystopian vision sets the tone for things to come in Deus Ex.”

A Deus Ex: Universe logo appeared in an EU trademark database last week, sparking speculation that a proper reveal would come at E3 2014. But it wasn't to be. Square Enix has yet to formaly elaborate on its plans.