New Commandos, Freedom Fighters, and Deus Ex titles planned

With games poised to become the most profitable form of media, it's little wonder news about upcoming ones now often arrives inside the publisher's financial reports. However, since mention of new titles is often buried underneath dozens of pages about earnings guidance and pre-tax losses, they don't often surface until weeks or even months after the reports are released.

However, a keen-eyed reader e-mailed tech site Slashdot about new installments in several new Eidos series. The news stemmed from a once-public, now-pulled presentation that listed a new "Deus Ex 'Action' game" on the schedule for the publisher's next financial year, which begins on June 30, 2004.

The game in question is likely Deus Ex: Clan Wars, a prospective title mentioned in another Eidos report last year. At the time, rumors swirled that Clan Wars was being developed at Crystal Dynamics as a console-only shooter with an online component. That was apparently confirmed by a post on game site Evil Avatar, allegedly made by Invisible War developer Chris Carollo. "I simply don't understand the vitriol being directed at this title," read the post. "Personally, I think an action game set in the Deus Ex universe-- incorporating some of the ideals of emergent gameplay, utilizing simulated sandbox worlds, having diverse toolsets, including multiplayer--could be totally fun."

The Eidos report also mentioned a "Commandos 'Tactical Shooter'" as planned for Eidos' FY2005. While it's possible the title could be the fourth installment in the Commandos PC strategy series, the term "Tactical Shooter" indicates that it could be a console spin-off.

Besides confirming that the next Backyard Wrestling, Championship Manager, Hitman, and Tomb Raider would arrive as expected, the report revealed that Eidos is readying two all-new games--Crash N' Burn and 25 To Life.

As of press time, Eidos had not commented on the Deus Ex and Commandos spin-offs. They also did not weigh in on the Freedom Fighters sequel, which was revealed in another presentation last month. According to that presentation, Eidos will distribute the follow-up to Io Interactive's alternate-history tactical shooter in the first half of its financial year 2006, which would mean the latter part of 2005.