Deceit 2: Everything We Know

World Makers' Deceit, a well-versed asymmetrical social horror game, is set to receive a sequel over on consoles and PC later this year. So, what can we expect from it? Well, according to CEO James Thompson, “Deceit 2 ambitiously expands on the gameplay of the original Deceit while overhauling and enhancing features according to feedback from our devoted community.”

Besides a major graphics overhaul and a set of new characters to boot, the genre-defining sequel will also expand on the original with all-new content and an even bigger nine-player narrative, all of which will be built in Unreal Engine 5. And if that doesn't pique your interest, then be sure to read on. Here's everything you need to know about Deceit 2.

What Is Deceit 2?

Deceit 2 is an upcoming asymmeical social deduction horror game by World Makers. In the same style as the first, the sequel will center its premise around the Ritual of Deceit, a sadistic trial that involves upwards of seven unfortunate souls and two of the Game Master's deceitful imposters. Like before, your objective is to whittle down the suspects until only but two remain. Think Among Us, but as something of a first-person shooter and perhaps a little gloomier, and you'll be right on the money.

From the horse's mouth: “Deceit 2 is a 6-9 player social deduction horror game where two among you have been Infected. Whilst the Infected do the Game Master's bidding, the Innocent must work together to escape the Ritual whilst deducing who is plotting against them. So who can you trust?”

Story

Deceit 2 will take its players to Milhaven Asylum, a once-prominent landmark known for housing a myriad of dark secrets. In the eventual aftermath of an occult ritual gone wrong, you will take control of Truth Seekers Anonymous, a team that's hell-bent on the idea of threading together its questionable history. Upon arrival, however, two of your squad will ultimately fall under the influence of the Game Master's trickery. Either as an Innocent, or as an Infected, you will need to decide who to trust, and who to kill. Your ultimate goal: escape the Ritual, or die trying.

“Milhaven Asylum, 1979,” the blurb begins. “An occult ritual goes horribly wrong, killing all but one member of a once prominent family. The case was left cold for decades until the fearless Truth Seekers Anonymous stepped in. Now, you’re imprisoned, forced to participate in the Ritual of Deceit at the hands of the malevolent Game Master.”

Gameplay

Like the first Deceit, Deceit 2 will be a nine-player first-person shooter-type game. Although combat won't be its primary element, it will feature as a secondary ingredient alongside its social deduction-style gameplay. At its heart, though, it's more or less a co-op game that works in a similar fashion to Among Us; you work to either convince others that you're not one of the two Infected while crunching down a variety of objectives, or you maintain your disguise and gradually whittle down your former teammates.

“Deceit 2 is designed as a social sandbox with unique and creative ways to play both roles,” the descriptions adds. “Social deception is at the core of this game—you’ll have to study other players’ behaviour and evaluate the situation before making any hasty decisions. There are plenty of tools to assist but with item and map variations between games, you’ll need to adapt strategies on the fly.”

Development

Having been labelled the pioneering game for such a niche genre, it was only natural that a sequel would come knocking sooner or later. Although six years a little too late, Deceit 2 is a welcome addition nonetheless, and if executed correctly, it may just secure World Makers' foothold on the monopoly for what could very well be another prosperous year. Here's hoping, anyway.

Of course, we still don't quite know when Deceit 2 will come out. Fortunately for us, though, there is a roadmap outlining a lot of the details over on the website. Question is, will there be another announcement before Q2 2023? Only time will tell on that one.

Trailer

The good news is, World Makers has in fact shared a trailer since making the formal announcement. And boy, does it look like a totally reimagined upgrade compared to its 2017 original. You can catch a glimpse of the game's fresh-faced Ritual-goers and its general, albeit surprisingly creepy tone in the embed above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Deceit 2 will be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam at some point in 2023. According to World Makers, Deceit 2 will serve as the first-ever game in the franchise to land on consoles, a milestone which is expected to be reached shortly after its PC launch. As for when exactly that'll be is still anybody's guess, though.

As it's still relatively early on in the timeline, it's hard to say whether or not there'll be special editions. Chances are, though, as this is the series' breakthrough console debut, it'll come with something of the sort. That said, until World Makers unravels the roadmap a little more, we'll have to settle for the bog-standard digital copy. You can add it to your Wishlist on Steam here.

Generally speaking, it isn't all that uncommon for games like Deceit to find their ways to platforms such as Game Pass or PlayStation Plus. This isn't to say it will feature as a day-one exclusive on either, but it's definitely worth thinking about. That said, we probably won't find out for certain until its next development update.

For more information on the Deceit 2 launch, you can follow the official social handle here. If anything even the slightest bit interesting pops up, we'll be sure to let you know all of the details right here on gaming.net.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Deceit 2 when it eventually drops? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.