‘Deus Ex’ creator Warren Spector announces his retirement

Spector says 'the game business has changed and it's just not as much fun for me anymore'

Warren Spector, the creator of Deus Ex and a veteran of the Ultima series, has announced his retirement from video game development.

He broke the news in a lengthy LinkedIn post published last night (August 17). “Let me cut right to the chase. I’m retiring from game development,” he writes. “At least I think so. I’ve been here before and changed my mind but this time I’m pretty sure I mean it. I’ve had a great career. Wouldn’t change a thing even if I could.”

Spector goes on to note that he is now “a month away” from his 44th year as a video game developer and is now “feeling like I’ve done what I set out to do”. He cites his age, 70, and unspecified health issues (“my business”) as potential factors in his decision, too.

“I definitely have mixed feelings about this,” Spector adds. “I mean there are three games in particular I’d still like to make. (One is very big… one is very small… and one I don’t know how to make which scares me.) But the game business has changed and it’s just not as much fun for me anymore. Plus there’s a new generation of developers coming up who deserve their time in the sun.”

However, Spector stops short of ruling out a return to the fold further down the line. “Will I come back? Never say never,” he writes at the end of his post. “But I think it’s time to ride off into the sunset.”

Spector directed and produced the original Deus Ex action role-play game, which was released in 2000. He also produced six games in the Ultima series,  three Wing Commander games and served as a creative consultant on Underworld Ascendant. He currently serves as studio director at OtherSide Entertainment, which he joined in 2016.