Deus Ex Dev Increasing Focus On "Online Experiences" In Its Games

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided developer Eidos Montreal has confirmed plans to further focus on online elements. In a post on the developer's website discovered by IGN, studio head David Anfossi said you can expect an "added emphasis" for online play in the developer's games going forward to better the experience overall.

"At Eidos-Montreal, we’re constantly working towards creating innovative and exciting experiences for gamers everywhere," he explained. "In turn, we are placing an added emphasis on the online experiences in our games, striving to continually provide players with content that is memorable and impactful."

Anfossi went on to say that online play, through its "inherent interactivity," gives the studio a chance for its games to "thrive both now and into the future." This sounds like the games-as-a-service approach, where a developer launches a game and continually supports its with new content and updates over time. Anfossi said Eidos Montreal, which is owned by Square Enix, is currently forming teams and tools to support these goals.

Eidos Montreal is reportedly working on the new Tomb Raider game, which was recently confirmed but not detailed at any length. The studio is also working on a new Avengers game in partnership with Crystal Dynamics and Marvel.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Square Enix put the Deus Ex series on hiatus after underwhelming sales of the latest entry, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. It's not true that the series is going away forever, Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda said in a new interview. In fact, plans--at least preliminary plans--are already underway for a new instalment.

Eidos Montreal has yet to give any specifics on any of its upcoming projects, so we don't know what kind of online/connected elements they might have at this stage. It is the industry trend for games to work on the games-as-a-service model, so it wouldn't be surprising to learn that Eidos Montreal's new games do some form of this as well.