Eidos Montreal is in freefall. The studio that gave us modern Deus Ex games and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy just cancelled at least four internal projects, laid off over 100 employees in the past week alone, and has been reduced to doing support work on other studios’ games. Employee resumes leaked on December 2, 2025, reveal the grim details – a Legacy of Kain revival, another Deus Ex game, a point-and-click RPG, and a competitive esports title all got the axe. Microsoft didn’t even renew Eidos’ contract for Fable support work after three years.
What Projects Got Cancelled
Resumes from Samuel Daher (Gameplay Director) and Stuart Wheeler (Associate Design Director) provide the clearest picture of what Eidos Montreal was working on before Embracer Group pulled the plug. The Dark Fantasy action RPG focused on reviving an established vampire IP with melee combat and parkour clearly describes Legacy of Kain. This marks the third time a Legacy of Kain project died at this studio – previous cancellations include Dead Sun and the multiplayer game Nosgoth.
The timing makes this cancellation especially painful. Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered launched in 2024 and performed significantly better than Embracer Group expected. That success should have greenlit a proper revival, but instead the company cancelled the exact project fans desperately wanted. The remaster proved market demand exists, yet corporate decision-makers decided the franchise wasn’t worth pursuing anyway.
A Sci-Fi Stealth Game also got shelved, which employee descriptions suggest was likely another Deus Ex project. One resume mentioned working on an “old protagonist in a Sci-Fi Stealth Adventure Game,” strongly implying Adam Jensen or another returning character. This represents at least the second cancelled Deus Ex game in two years – Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported in January 2024 that Embracer cancelled a Deus Ex title that had been in development for two years. Executives reportedly viewed the series as too niche to justify financial risk.
The other cancelled projects include a Modern Point and Click RPG featuring turn-based combat, and a 3v3 competitive esports game set in a futuristic universe. That esports title’s status remains unclear from the leaked resumes, but given everything else got cancelled, it likely died too. None of these projects were publicly announced, meaning Eidos spent years burning money on development that will never see commercial release.
Microsoft Pulled the Plug on Fable Work
Eidos Montreal had been doing outsourcing work on Playground Games’ Fable reboot from 2022 through early 2025. A team of over 100 people contributed to the action RPG, which uses a modified version of ForzaTech called FUEL. Internally, Eidos described Fable as a simulation action RPG, suggesting they helped build systemic gameplay elements rather than just art assets.
Microsoft chose not to renew Eidos’ contract after three years. This decision triggered the March 2025 layoffs when Eidos announced they were letting go “up to” 75 employees because one of their mandates was ending and they couldn’t reallocate those workers to other projects. Losing the Fable contract eliminated a major revenue stream and left over 100 specialists without work to do.
The studio still has some outsourcing work remaining. Since 2023, Eidos has contributed to Obsidian Entertainment’s Grounded 2, the survival game sequel that launched in early access August 2025. According to Obsidian’s game director Chris Parker, most of Grounded 2’s artists, designers, and engineers are actually located at Eidos Montreal. This makes the relationship more than simple outsourcing – Eidos is essentially co-developing the game while Obsidian retains creative control.
The Internal Project Nobody Talks About
Sources speaking to Insider Gaming revealed Eidos is working on one internal game that started development in 2019. Six years into development with nothing to show publicly is already a massive red flag. The sources claim this project “has no way of recouping development costs,” which suggests either the scope spiraled out of control, development hit serious problems, or market conditions changed so dramatically the game is no longer viable.
What this mysterious project actually is remains unknown. It could be a completely new IP, another attempt at reviving a Square Enix franchise like Thief, or even a smaller-scale game that somehow consumed resources for over half a decade. Whatever it is, insiders expect “additional staff reductions” once this project and the remaining outsourcing work conclude. That phrasing suggests Embracer plans to downsize Eidos Montreal even further rather than greenlight new projects.
How Embracer Destroyed Eidos
Embracer Group acquired Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics from Square Enix for just 300 million dollars in May 2022. The deal included iconic franchises like Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Thief, and Legacy of Kain, plus approximately 1,100 employees across both studios. At the time, it seemed like a bargain that would let these studios finally escape Square Enix’s notoriously poor management of Western developers.
Instead, Eidos jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Embracer’s disastrous acquisition spree – funded by a Saudi Arabian investment deal that fell through – left the conglomerate massively overextended. The company’s brutal restructuring program has devastated internal studios, resulting in over 4,500 job losses across the entire organization since 2023. Eidos Montreal alone has been hit with at least three separate rounds of layoffs totaling over 180 people.
Embracer’s executives cancelled promising projects at multiple studios based on financial projections rather than creative merit. The new Deus Ex game reportedly got axed despite being two years into development. Legacy of Kain died even after the remaster exceeded sales expectations. These decisions suggest Embracer views its acquired studios as assets to extract value from rather than creative teams worth investing in long-term.
What Former Employees Are Saying
LinkedIn posts from recently laid-off Eidos employees paint a grim picture. At least a dozen people confirmed they’re no longer with the studio as of late November 2025, adding to the 75 who lost jobs in March. Verified Reddit user MikeStrawMedia, who appears close to the situation, stated more layoffs are expected in the future and described the studio as being in dire straits due to corporate mismanagement.
The employee resumes that leaked this information weren’t meant as public whistleblowing – they’re job applications. These experienced developers are desperately searching for new positions in an industry that’s already gone through over 25,000 layoffs since 2023. The fact that senior people like the Gameplay Director and Associate Design Director got cut demonstrates nobody is safe at Eidos Montreal right now.
Industry observers note the cruel irony that Eidos called laid-off workers “very talented, highly experienced experts” while simultaneously insisting the company doesn’t have capacity to reallocate them to ongoing projects. If these people are truly that skilled, why not greenlight projects that actually use their expertise? The answer is that Embracer has decided Eidos Montreal isn’t worth investing in anymore.
The Future Looks Bleak
Eidos Montreal currently employs approximately 15 people focused on internal projects, down from peaks over 300 during better times. The bulk of remaining staff work on outsourcing contracts like Grounded 2. Once those contracts end, insiders expect further downsizing. The studio that created critically acclaimed games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy has been reduced to a support house with no announced future projects.
Embracer could theoretically greenlight new games if market conditions improve, but the company’s track record suggests that won’t happen. They’re more likely to shut Eidos Montreal down entirely or sell it off to another publisher. Crystal Dynamics narrowly avoided this fate by getting sold to Amazon in October 2024, but that deal specifically excluded Eidos Montreal, leaving the studio trapped under Embracer’s ownership.
Deus Ex fans have essentially given up hope of ever seeing a new mainline game. Legacy of Kain supporters watched their franchise get cancelled three times. Eidos Montreal’s remaining developers face an uncertain future working on other studios’ projects while their own creative ambitions die on the cutting room floor. This is what happens when a holding company prioritizes quarterly earnings over the long-term health of the studios it owns.
FAQs
What projects did Eidos Montreal cancel?
Eidos cancelled at least four projects: a Legacy of Kain revival featuring melee combat and parkour, a sci-fi stealth game likely related to Deus Ex, a modern point-and-click RPG with turn-based combat, and a 3v3 competitive esports game set in a futuristic universe.
How many people were laid off at Eidos Montreal?
Eidos Montreal laid off 97 people in January 2024, another 75 in March 2025, and at least a dozen more in late November 2025. Total layoffs exceed 180 employees over less than two years.
Is Eidos Montreal working on any games?
The studio is doing support work on Obsidian’s Grounded 2 and has one unannounced internal project that started in 2019. Microsoft did not renew their contract for Fable support work. Sources claim the internal project has no way of recouping development costs.
Why did Microsoft stop working with Eidos Montreal on Fable?
Microsoft chose not to renew Eidos’ contract after three years of support work from 2022 to early 2025. Over 100 Eidos employees had been working on the action RPG, but the contract ended, triggering the March 2025 layoffs.
Will there be a new Deus Ex game?
Extremely unlikely. Embracer cancelled a Deus Ex game in January 2024 after two years of development, and recently cancelled another sci-fi stealth project that appears to be Deus Ex-related. Executives reportedly view the series as too niche to justify investment.
What happened to the Legacy of Kain revival?
Eidos Montreal was developing a dark fantasy action RPG focused on reviving a vampire franchise with melee combat and parkour, which clearly describes Legacy of Kain. The project was cancelled despite Legacy of Kain remasters exceeding sales expectations in 2024. This is the third cancelled Legacy of Kain project at Eidos.
Who owns Eidos Montreal now?
Embracer Group owns Eidos Montreal after acquiring the studio and Crystal Dynamics from Square Enix for 300 million dollars in May 2022. The deal included franchises like Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Thief, and Legacy of Kain.
What games has Eidos Montreal made?
Eidos Montreal developed Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Thief (2014), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. They also worked on cancelled projects like Deus Ex: The Fall and several Legacy of Kain games.
Will Eidos Montreal shut down?
While not officially confirmed, insiders expect additional layoffs once current outsourcing contracts end. The studio has been reduced from over 300 employees to a skeleton crew, with no announced future projects beyond support work. The situation looks dire.
Conclusion
Eidos Montreal’s collapse represents everything wrong with modern gaming industry consolidation. A talented studio with beloved franchises got acquired by a holding company that treated them as disposable assets rather than creative teams worth nurturing. Promising projects like Legacy of Kain and Deus Ex died not because they lacked quality but because spreadsheets said they weren’t profitable enough. Over 180 experienced developers lost their jobs while executives blamed market conditions and claimed they had no capacity to keep people employed. What remains of Eidos Montreal is a shell of its former self – a support studio doing outsourcing work with no visible future beyond the next contract. Unless Embracer sells the studio to a publisher that actually cares about its legacy, fans should probably accept that franchises like Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain are dead. The studio that could have revived them is barely alive itself.