At E3 last month, Eidos showed off a new game that, in some respects, seemed awfully familiar. Called Snowblind, the tactical first-person shooter contained elements that seemed plucked right out of the Deus Ex series. It followed a special-ops commando equipped with high-tech weapons and ability-bio-modifications that gave him superhuman powers. Although Snowblind's squad-based tactical gameplay was new, its setting--a war fought in a sprawling urban wasteland with robots and cyborgs--had a futuristic sheen reminiscent of Ion Storm's action role-playing game.

As it turns out, the similarities between Snowblind and Deus Ex are no coincidence. Sources close to the game's development confirmed today that the game began as Deus Ex: Clan Wars, the tactical "Deus Ex 'Action' game" mentioned in an Eidos financial report in April. "It did begin as Clan Wars," they said, "but it began to take a direction of its own."

Despite the rampant spread of this rumor, Console Gold has the inside track on the Deus Ex: Clan Wars / Snowblind debate. Reported by Gamespot earlier this morning and then spread like wildfire after that, the rumor was that Deus Ex: Clan Wars became the game Snowblind due to Eidos wanting to take the game in a different direction rather than the Deus Ex universe. After being in contact multiple times with Ion Storm, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos I can safely say that these games are in no way related, nor have they ever been. Of note, the argument is completely illogical. Why would Ion Storm hand Crystal Dynamics their most prized series after a less than stellar reception for the previous title? Wouldn’t they want to take that feedback and spearhead the next iteration of the Deus Ex universe? Why isn’t Eidos trying to debunk this rumor? Because fighting rumors on the internet is a lot like wrestling a pig. You get dirty and the pig enjoys it.