10 Amazing Video Games That Killed Franchises

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided released to strong reviews in 2016, and while fans are firmly divided on whether it's better than its direct predecessor Human Revolution, most agree that it's a great game in its own right.

But Mankind Divided launched to significantly lower sales than Human Revolution, attributed in part to it releasing on newer PlayStation and Xbox consoles with smaller install bases, while Human Revolution released late in the "PS360" era.

Within five months of its release, reports emerged that developer Eidos-Montréal refused to greenlight a sequel to Mankind Divided due to its softer-than-expected sales, even though the company refuted claims that the series was cancelled.

In late 2022, it was then reported that Eidos-Montréal was in the "very very early" stages of a new Deus Ex sequel, though by early 2024 it was cancelled by the developer's new parent company Embracer Group.

We're now almost a full decade removed from Mankind Divided and because its sales didn't satisfy the corporate overlords, it's not outrageous to deem the property dead, or at least close to it.

It's highly unlikely at this point that the Adam Jensen story will ever be picked up again, and the best fans can probably hope for is a slate-clearing franchise reboot years from now.