Deus Ex, the iconic PC game, was almost a Command & Conquer RPG

Warren Spector, the creator of Deus Ex, recently confirmed that he almost signed a contract with Westwood to create a Command & Conquer RPG.

Deus Ex, the iconic PC game, was almost a Command & Conquer RPG
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TL;DR: Deus Ex, a pioneering cyberpunk immersive sim, redefined PC gaming by blending RPG, stealth, and first-person action. Creator Warren Spector nearly developed it as a Command & Conquer RPG before securing funding from John Romero, enabling the iconic game's unique vision and lasting influence on game design.

Deus Ex is akin to the PC gaming world's Blade Runner, a genre-defining release that has gone on to influence designers and developers for decades. Blending cyberpunk role-playing, stealth, and first-person action helped create the 'immersive sim' genre of shooters, which offered a lot more than just simple run-and-gun action.

In a different timeline, Deus Ex was released as a Command & Conquer RPG.
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In a different timeline, Deus Ex was released as a Command & Conquer RPG.

The first two games in the series were developed by Ion Storm, with creator Warren Spector at the helm. Deus Ex took half a decade from concept to become the game PC gamers love, with it starting as a near-future shooter called Troubleshooter. A game that would blend first-person science fiction and the immersion of role-playing games like Ultima Underworld.

The project was rejected by a couple of studios, which led Warren Spector to try to figure out a way to make his dream game. In fact, according to a new interview with PC Gamer, he got close to signing a contract with Westwood to create a Command & Conquer RPG that he planned to turn into Troubleshooter, or Deus Ex, in the Command & Conquer universe.

"I was about to sign a contract with Westwood to make a Command & Conquer RPG," Warren Spector explains. "My plan was just to take the genre-mashup, player choice elements from Troubleshooter and set it in the C&C universe. From a gameplay perspective, I was at a point where I was going to find a way to make it one way or another, even if it meant making another damn sci-fi game!"

Yes, in an alternate timeline, a Command & Conquer RPG could have been one of the most talked-about and enduring PC games ever made. This would be the case if it weren't for Doom co-creator John Romero, who gave Warren Spector the money and resources he would need at Ion Storm to create his dream game without compromise.