Following on from Eidos Interactive’s recent unveiling of its new Canadian development studio, the renowned games publisher (Tomb Raider/Hitman series) has this week stepped forward to trumpet that the first project in production at the Montreal-based facility is none other than Deus Ex 3.

Speaking to the game gurus over at Gamasutra, Eidos Montreal general manager Stephane D’Astous outlined that an Eidos Q&A group responsible for international titles and an in-house development team has been already been formed for Deus Ex 3. He added that the new studio has now passed proof of concept for the upcoming third iteration of the popular FPS/RPG series.

“This game was very highly rated at its release in 2000,” commented D’Astous, “and we have this great huge mandate to do the third one, and everybody is very excited.”

For those next-gen hardware owners crossing their fingers, toes, and eyes while hoping for the best from Deus Ex 3 after the somewhat disappointing original sequel, D’Astous insists that the Montreal studio will only be working on “major, AAA games, using only next-gen technology.”

The GM also revealed that production cycles for new Montreal-based titles will be “at least 18 to 24 months” and representative development teams will be around 80 strong at their maximum, which D’Astous describes as “human-sized.”

“That’s music to a lot of ears over here,” he said. “Some developers are really trying to push titles out the door within 12-15 months; we’re working on plans for our first few titles that will only be released after 24 months.”

Good news for developers, good news for gamers? Offering teams as much as twice the time some studios are willing to invest in a new title should (and we stress ‘should’) lead to better final products; yet Deus Ex 3 will likely prove or disprove that ideal when it finally rolls into sight sometime over the next two years.

And, talk about timing, here’s a brief teaser trailer for Deus Ex 3 (courtesy of GameTrailers.com) that appears to suggest mankind is evolving into some kind of super being. Intriguingly vague.

Deus Ex will be released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Games for Windows.