Warren Spector, the director of Deus Ex, believes that a new version would be very different.

Warren Spector is a man you can't talk to without asking him about Deus Ex. It's a little over a quarter century old, yet it still feels relevant today. It's also important to note that it is still a great game, despite its age. So, of course, our itinerant reporter Jeremy Peel brought up the subject in a conversation you'll be seeing more of next month.

Deus Ex is not in a good place right now. Embracer killed a Deus Ex 2 sequel earlier this year after two years of development. Spector, whose involvement in the series he created ended back in 2004, believes that Embracer's Deus Ex sequel still has relevance.

"I have no idea, at least for the moment, why Embracer would leave the Deus Ex series," he said. "From my perspective the gameplay is still relevant but the world and the situation need some updating."

Spector "doesn't like trying to convince people that they should be interested in something," which is why when Ion Storm made Deus Ex, he chose a subject matter that was already on people's minds.

"Y2K was just around the corner. AI was a thing. Conspiracies were everywhere. Terrorism was on the rise. Bioengineering was still in its infancy. Techno-augmentation was in progress. All of that was in the zeitgeist. It was obvious to make a game out of it.

Now Y2K has become a distant memory, and the Global War on Terror is already a thing of the past. Deus Ex was released a year after 9/11. AI is being pushed on us whether we like or not. We live in a time when some of the most prolific conspiracists are also the most influential people on the planet. Your Elon Musks, and Donald Trumps. One could argue we're living in a version of the future Deus Ex envisioned (albeit with a little less cyberpunk).

"Frankly," said Spctor, "if someone were to make Deus Ex today, it might be perceived by some as a documentary." I wouldn't remake Deus Ex as it was in 2000, when it could have been read as a believable fiction.

If Spector revisited Deux Ex he would want to explore "other concerns which are more relevant, pressing and worthy of exploration". Spector does seem to be open to revisiting the world that he and Ion Storm crafted in 2000.

It's always nice visiting your children and seeing how they've grown.