Deus Ex: Invisible War wasn't what it should have been because the studio moved to an engine that was really built for Thief: 'A super-boneheaded call, very bad decision… it really tanked development'

Deus Ex: Invisible War wasn’t what it should have been because the studio moved to an engine that was really built for Thief: ‘A super-boneheaded call, very bad decision… it really tanked development’ | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Assassin’s Creed Former Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry director says Ubisoft ‘became very allergic’ to new games, which contributed to a ‘talent drain’ RPG Cara Ellison, senior narrative designer on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 before Paradox switched developers, discusses her love of Troika’s original RPG: ‘Everyone on the team helped really make that maximum goth’ Action Just Cause dev co-founder says the studio got too big and ‘numbers focused,’ so he quit and made a $25 open world crime brawler Puzzle Devs behind GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters are done with big shooters after getting burned by Embracer, so their next game is a Balatro-like twist on Scrabble—and you can try the demo now FPS RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular FPS Highguard’s failure is emblematic of something that has tormented videogame investors for years now: past live service hits do not equal future live service hits FPS Highguard didn’t flop Assassin’s Creed Assassin’s Creed 3’s greatest feature was pushed to the side until Black Flag because Ubisoft was worried that ‘the tech wouldn’t work’ Assassin’s Creed The director of the first Assassin’s Creed with naval battles found it ‘bizarre’ to watch Skull and Bones’ agonisingly long development, because it was ‘essentially the same stuff re-shipping 14 years after we made it’ RPG The new game from Disco Elysium’s studio feels like the first Christmas after your parents’ divorce Fallout Fallout 3 lead Emil Pagliarulo tried to stuff it to the gills with Deus Ex DNA: ‘As much immersive sim as was humanly possible’ Action The devs on Deus Ex: Invisible War knew its most-hated part was a ‘terrible idea,’ and they give the director ‘sh*t about it all the time’ Games PC Gamer’s Game of the Year Awards 2025 FPS Laid-off Highguard developer cuts loose on the reaction to the infamous Game Awards reveal trailer: ‘We were turned into a joke from minute one’ FPS ‘Ultimately, we could have made a different trailer’: Highguard CEO responds to that poorly-received Game Awards reveal PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Resident EvilArc RaidersBest PC gearGame Quizzes Games FPS Deus Ex: Invisible War Deus Ex: Invisible War wasn’t what it should have been because the studio moved to an engine that was really built for Thief: ‘A super-boneheaded call, very bad decision… it really tanked development’ News By Rich Stanton published 4 March 2026 “I wish we could redo that project and just stitch the maps together.” When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Ion Storm) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Deus Ex: Invisible War has its defenders, including PC Gamer’s own Joshua Wolens, but even the most stout-hearted of them would never go as far as saying it was a worthy sequel to the original. Where Deus Ex ripped up the rulebook and set an example that the immsim genre has struggled to replicate ever since, Invisible War was a much more trammelled game that, for all the good ideas, felt less expansive and ambitious.Is it a decent game? I’d say yes. Is it the Deus Ex 2 we should’ve had? Not in a million years. Sorry Josh.In a new retrospective in Edge magazine, the game’s developers discuss the various issues Invisible War faced. Fear was not one of them: the Ion Storm Austin devs were itching to get to work on it. The original game’s designer Harvey Smith is asked if he ever felt intimidated about following up such a well-loved title: Related articles The devs on Deus Ex: Invisible War knew its most-hated part was a ‘terrible idea,’ and they give the director ‘sh*t about it all the time’ Dishonored co-creator says it was ‘a shock’ when Microsoft closed Arkane Austin after Redfall’s release: ‘We were working on something really cool’ The Deus Ex remaster that everyone thinks looks awful is delayed, there’s no new release date, and preorders are being refunded “The truth is, no,” says Smith. “We finished Deus Ex and everyone loved it, and we just thought, ‘Well, the games we want to make are the right kinds of gam