Adam Jensen was almost killed off after Deus Ex Human Revolution, but he ‘resonated well with fans’

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be the first game in the action-RPG series to double-down on a protagonist from an earlier entry. Human Revolution‘s Adam Jensen will once again be our primary protagonist, continuing on his tale of espionage and revolt against the shadowy Illuminati.

Set two years after the events of Human Revolution, Mankind Divided takes place in an era of “mechanical apartheid”, a world where augmented humans are outcasts, products of a secret campaign by the Illuminati to control ‘Augs’ and divide society.

Jensen’s return should come as no surprise to fans of Human Revolution. His design, demeanour, and just all-round badassery made him a fairly popular character among Deus Ex fans and gamers more broadly. Interestingly, and perhaps as a means to carry on the tradition of changing protagonist with every new Deus Ex, Mankind Divided developer Eidos Montreal almost killed the character off according to game producer Olivier Proulx.

“Mary DeMarle, our executive narrative director, wanted to kill Adam after Human Revolution,”  Proulx told Fenix Bazaar, “but that idea didn’t last for too long! It’s extremely challenging to develop iconic characters in any work of fiction, and Adam resonated so well with fans, we definitely wanted to bring him back.”

Thankfully, that story idea never came to fruition. Jensen’s story in Human Revolution also seemed to be merely the “beginning” of his tale, as Eidos Montreal always had an urge to continue growing him as a character, according to Proulx.

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“In Human Revolution,” Proulx continued, “we had the ‘I never asked for this’ Adam Jensen, [and] he was forced to be augmented as a result of a violent attack. In Mankind Divided, Adam has fully embraced his enhanced abilities and feels more comfortable using them. The events at the end of Human Revolution had a major impact on him, and made him realise that the world is not as black and white as he used to think. As a result, we have a more focused Adam, who’s much more assertive and determined to find the people who he knows are responsible.”

Star tuned for a full interview with Deux Ex: Mankind Divided game producer Olivier Proulx.