Deus Ex turned 20 yrs old couple of days ago on June 17. A timeless masterpiece that still holds its own ground 20 years later.
The genius mastermind Warren Spector struck gold with it but it wasn't without its own fair share of difficulties that almost resulted in the game getting cancelled at one time.
I couldn't play the game on release because I was having my final exams at the university at the time, and had to wait a whole month until mid-July 2000 to get my hands on the game and play it religiously for another month; good times ![]()
Here's a very interesting article about the rise and fall of Ion Storm studios, the larger than life character of John Romero, the failure with Daikatana, the addition of Warren spector, and the redemption with Deus Ex.
Very interesting details of the development of Deus Ex are spilled in this article.
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-history-of-ion-storm/
And for extra anniversary bonus, here's @[HP] 10 year anniversary thread from 2010 where he links to an interview with Deus Ex lead designer Harvey Smith