home for all things lore within the groovy world of deceive inc.

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• what is deceive inc (an overview)
• the world
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• Characters
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• events
• who made this

site version v1.5 - public release 1.8

all images, names and assets used belong to Sweet Bandits
this site exists purely as a central hub and documentation for the game's lore and world, and will provide sources to origins
it will not feature leaked content.
© 2023 Sweet Bandits Studios

important, please read!

announcement b: october 31st

Not quite a large announcement as previous, however I would like to note: With Scoundrels & Sentinels, 2 new map variations were added to the pool - Hard Sell (Daytime) and Fragrant Shore (Nighttime). As I do not believe there to be enough major lore difference in these operations, they will not be getting seperate pages. They will be getting mentions on their respective pages and with their respective VIPs, however for now.These small details will include the Yacht's arrival onto Fragrant Shore, Luana and Sebastian being together on both of these variation maps, and the current polticial climate of Fragrant Shore (aka, Luana isnt PM)

announcement a: june 20th

Good day, Agents! Writer Iris here, with a small important announcement. As of June 20th, 2024, we got a few important lore facts surrounding the agents and how they identity in the LGBTQ+, if they identify within it!
While these facts may be canon, the devs have released a statement surrounding it, of which I will copy and paste here:Hello Agents!Before I give the floor to the mods for this announcement, I want to clarify a few things:
1) While we did set these canons orientations for our characters, we, in no way want to squander your fanon/headcanons orientations. I think I speak for everyone at the bandits when I say that we absolutely love the stuff you people make, and want you to feel free to keep doing that.2) You might notice a lack of a certain specific representation and it is not because we don't endorse these. Queer Rights, Trans Rights, LGBTQ+ RIGHTS for everyone. The reason we might have not included said representation is because we feel we want to make sure it's more than a label slapped unto a character, and we want to honor the representation and the character.While we may have the canon orientations, headcanons are still valid and welcome within the Deceive Inc communities.Happy Pride, Agents!-Iris

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what is deceive inc?

Deceive Inc is a competitive stealth action game developed by Sweet Bandits Studios and published by Tripwire Entertainment.Welcome to DECEIVE INC., a private corporation with complete monopoly over the international espionage market. You can disguise yourself as anyone you meet in an instant, have access to state-of-the-art gadgets the rest of the world can only dream of and possess skills that would make Hollywood super spies jealous.But you are not alone. Rival spies are after the same objective and every single one of them is as skilled, cunning and well-equipped as you are.Blend in, grab the objective and break out. In the end, only one spy can complete the mission and get the paycheck. Company policy.

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The WORLD

A lot of Deceive Inc.'s world intertwines. This is, in part, due to the nature of the groups and organisations within the world.Currently, the groups and their status' are as follows:ACES (dismantled)
ACES was a Private Military Company consisting of 4 members: the Ace of Diamond, Tamar "Ace" Zaken. The Ace of Heart, Selena "Red" Ivanenko. The Ace of Clubs, whose real identity is unknown. And finally, the Ace of Spades, whose real identity is unknown. This groups dismantling is speculated to be due to multiple failed missions. This disbanding is described as turbulant, but Tamar decided to keep the callsign of 'Ace' from the PMC era.G.H.O.S.T.S. (presumed dismantled)
G.H.O.S.T.S (full name unknown) is presumably a PMC that was lead by Hans Moritz. Another known member involved was Keiji "Sasori" Takase, a well renowned international assassin who served as a close henchman. This group presumably dismantled during Operation Siege.Deceive Inc (active)
Deceive Incorporated (often shortened to Deceive Inc. or DI) is an organisation originally founded by Ethan Chavez and Knight, and grew to hold a monopoly on espionage when the Global Espionage Dismantling Act occurred. This group has a strict guarantee, and it's practices are considered shady - but it's the best in the business. Currently, we know of 11 active operatives (or 'agents'), 1 former agent, and 2 non-agent characters associated with it.SG Telecoms (active)
Sebastian Garcia Telecoms (or SG Telecoms) is a technology company ran by former spy Antonio Ricci, under the alias of Sebastian Garcia. This company provides a lot of the computing seen around the world, including phones, laptops, computers, server racks, television cameras and presumably the vault terminals themselves. This group also is the forefront of the annual art auctions hosted by Garcia, within his mansion - the auctions of which hold private data. This data is acquired via quite literally sniping it out of the air via a satellite dish hidden within the mountain, though it could be theorised the devices have a form of spyware to copy data additionally.STARFISH (active)
STARFISH is a military fashion brand based in Norway, founded by twin sisters Rebekka and Nilfrid Evensen, who go under the alias' of Starling and Angelfish respectively. The two initially made a fortune selling a pair of red chic heels, fitted with both a poisoned tip and knuckle dusters - solidifying their place within the darker circles. The two have since launched a variety of other weapons, including reskinned assault rifles and rocket launchers, a hat with a bladed brim, a flamethrower hairdrier, a harpoon umbrella, and perfume grenades. The two often sell weaponry to the other VIPs.LUANA (active)
LUANA is a group representing Luana Cacilias Pérez, a feared name within the darker circles of society. Majority of it's initial wealth came from the perfume aspect of this company, notably having stores in locations such as the Valkyrie-V station. Luana aims to utilise the money provided by this groups success to break into the political circles, including dirty play.JBT Media(active)
Jati Bin Teh Media (or JBT Media/JBT) is a organisation including various groups and brands - all of which are owned by Jati Bin Teh himself in their entirety. This includes the FIT by Jati Gym, Jouvence, and Juice Brew Tea, to name a few. A lot of these involve his name or his motifs regularly, and are all often found within Jati's ASPIRE tower in Singapore, though brands like Jouvence are sold throughout the world.Hazen (active)
^{It's unknown if Hazen is part of an organisation/group, or simply a rich individual.}
Hazen serves as the front person for the Valkyrie-V Space Station Resort, holding clear influence and wealth into the station due to the statue of them in the Main Hall, as well as the opera hall and hidden technological facilities within the core pillar structure of the station.The Daily Watch (active)
The Daily Watch is an news outlet seemingly focusing on the rich and oppulent, detailing every detail about their lives, including securing exclusive interviews with stars like Hazen, or details regarding groups like JBT Media.

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CHARACTERS

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THE AGENTS

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OPERATIONS

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OPERATION: SIEGE

Operation: Siege is a previous operation that is mentioned within the games various briefs and loading screens. It is an operation that occurred before Knight's disappearance, and featured Ace, Chavez and Knight.The operation was launched based off of intel provided by Madame Xiu, but part of the operation went horribly wrong ( "...Even though he was teaming up with top-of-the-line agents Ace and Knight, Chavez’ last mission went sideways: Operation Siege was a complete fiasco that led to a world-shaking debacle... " ) and may have led to majority of the espionage companies being dissolved ( "[...]when the collapse of the espionage agencies happened, partially due to a mission that didn’t end quite as well as it could have that Ace was involved with." )The true intent of this mission is not currently known, however this may be the same mission that led to Hans losing his arm and eventually being arrested by Deceive Inc. ( "[...] cut by one of his previous henchmen during a confrontation with Chavez, Ace, and Knight..."). They may have been seperate operations, however there is no way to confirm nor deny this at the moment.

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who made the Deceive Inc Lore site

Hi! I'm glad you're curious who made this. This site is compiled and maintained by Iris (they/he/it), who is known within the games main discord as the resident lore nerd.If you wish to contact them, their twitter is likely the best place you will receive an answer, but never be afraid to shoot them a message over on discord (even more so Discord, given Twitter's recent changes!)This entire project is maintained by a fan, for the community. Interest may wain, but if that occurs ownership will be passed along to someone with the same passion.
There is a dedicated Twitter account, if you want to keep up to date with updates for the site! (I am not calling it X).If you wish to support the project, word of mouth is fine! If you wish to support it /further/, Iris does have a Ko-Fi where they can receive donations. Said donations may go towards more custom assets for the site's use, or to fund other potential projects.See you in the field, Agent.

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THE NPCS

RANK: CIVILIANS

Occupation: Real Estate Agent | She's all about contacts & connections

Occupation: Pianist | Confident

Occupation: Investor (and a bad one at that) | A tad grumpy

Occupation: Travel Agent | Flirtatious & genuine

Occupation: Administrator of a non-profit | Kind & generous

Occupation: Translator | Always knows the tea

Occupation: Private Aerobics instructor | Serious & reserved

Occupation: Car Salesman | Proud & charismatic

RANK: STAFF

Occupation: Waiter | His work is never over

Occupation: Housekeeper | Ambitious

RANK: GUARD

Occupation: Security Guard | Takes her job seriously

Occupation: Security Guard | Pays for his sick sister's medical bills

RANK: TECHNICIAN

Occupation: Data Analyst | In love with Timothy, but too stressed to tell him

Occupation: Researcher | In love with Susan, but too shy to tell her

RANK: ELITE GUARD

Occupation: Security Guard | Redacted

Occupation: Security Guard | Redacted

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THE VIPS

OPERATION: SILVER REEF // NORWEGIAN SEA

Occupation: Military Fashion Designers & Weapon Manufacturers

Cold and fashionable, the Evensen Twins are known in the military industry as much as they are in the haute-couture world. Rebekka and Nilfrid Evensen, codenamed respectively Starling and Angelfish, are a deadly pair of militaristic entrepreneurs and fashion moguls. The pair made a fortune selling chic high heels outfitted with a deadly, venomous blade on their tips.Rumor has it that they're unveiling their next big thing for their military-fashion line "STARFISH" in the world-renowned underwater hotel the "Frozen Coral". The world wouldn't be the same if it went into mass production.
^{Random Fact: They are two of three VIPs to currently have 2 plots - Operation Silver Reef and Summer Splash. The other is Jati bin Teh}

OPERATION: HARD SELL // SPAIN

Occupation: Information Broker

Formerly known as Antonio Ricci, Sebastian Garcia is a powerful information broker and data collector. As the golden age of spy craft concluded, Antonio went into hiding to protect his secrets. To achieve his goal, he assumed the identity of Sebastian Garcia, an extravagant Spanish telecommunications entrepreneur with a taste for rare antiques. Sucessfully hiding in plain sight.Underneath his arrogant and proud demeanor hides a very nervous man, always living in fear that the ghosts of his past will catch up to him one day. Then again Garcia cleverly uses art auctions that he hosts to inconspicuously smuggle hard drives containing highly sensitive data to buyers around the globe, and this time it can't go public.^{Random Fact: Him and Luana Pérez are canonically dating - the two visiting each other on the others respective map variants, and owns a Yacht that is presently docked in Fragrant Shore. He, additionally, has ran into Vigil at some point canonically, as she is aware he is now selling security software.}

OPERATION: DIAMOND SPIRE // SINGAPORE

Occupation: Athlete, Stock Investor, TV Actor, Recording Artist, Influencer & Dreampreneur

Multi-Trillionaire, Jati bin Teh is an influential and insanely rich man that seeks power in most peculiar ways. His lifestyle and well-being brand propelled the media tycoon in the limelight all around the world. Now looking to extend his power (and his bank account) further beyond the reaches of the imaginable, Jati has been developing a lab-grown secret ingredient that is, reportedly, highly addictive.Seeing himself as the shepherd the people need, Jati's ambition has no limits. Now that he's running for office, he seems to be in a good position to conquer the world through sheer brand-power.^{Random Fact: He is one of three VIPs to have multiple plots - Operation Diamond Spire and JATIMANIA. The other two are the Evensen Twins.}

OPERATION: FRAGRANT SHORE // SAN FLORES

Occupation: Elected Official & Perfumer

In the dark market circles, few names evoke as much fear as Luana Pérez. Always roaming in the elite rings, her thirst for power and prestige led her to a cavalcade of schemes and ventures to extend the reach of her influence.Her latest enterprise is a rather aromatic one: a flower-driven pheromone enhancer sold as a perfume, named “Agua De Flor”. This product would basically allow her to mind-control anybody sporting the fragrance. If this cologne goes global, the result could be catastrophic.^{Random Fact: She and Sebastian Garcia are canonically dating - the two visiting each other on the others respective map variants.}

OPERATION: SOUND ECLIPSE // SPACE... LITERALLY

Occupation: Singer, Artist & Writer

A true artist in every sense of the word, Hazen has made a name for themself as an immensely talented musician, a performer in experimental theater, and more recently as an opera singer. Disgusted by the utter disrespect of Arts significance for humankind, Hazen's upcming show will be the final curtain call for the information age.By using an experimental sound system powered by a vocal note that only they have mastered, Hazen will disable all of the earth's electronics in an instant. As necessity breeds true creativity, Humanity will then return to an age of darkness, an age of boundless creativity.^{Random Fact: Hazen is canonically non-binary, using strictly They/Them pronouns.}

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STORY CHARACTERS

IRIS

IRIS (short for Integrated Recon and Intelligence System) serves as the games Narrator, as well as the connection between the Agents and Deceive Inc via the standard issue Deceive Inc watch. It is implied that it is the reason the agents are able to blend into their surroundings, hack electronics and change their appearance.IRIS is also capable of remotely hacking the vault itself if the agents appear to take too long for its taste - and will additionally provide live feedback throughout an operation, almost as if trying to cheer on each agent, or sound disappointed in an aim to motivate.It is implied IRIS isn't just one AI, however a collective, with how it treats itself in describing itself ("Welcome, Agent. We are IRIS"). It's unsure if the IRIS we hear speak is just one of many voices it can take on, or the collective entity as a whole.The AI, however, can be deceived and hacked into, as discovered by an unknown attacker. On an undisclosed date at 14:47, IRIS was hacked into by someone simply known as 'Error Code 404.' This attacker was able to mimic a machine's voice, and due to a perfect storm of events, caused IRIS to have an identity crisis. It's unknown if anything else was done to IRIS, or if it was a hack 'for fun'.

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YU-MI'S MOTHER

Not much is known about Yu-Mi's mother. The only details known is that she is responsible for majority of gadgets used by spies today, and that her family line (presumably, the Kwons) have a legacy due to her.She is supportive of her daughter's different path and wanting to go into fieldwork rather than R&D. It is confirmed that while Yu-Mi was growing up, the pair travelled a lot.Her code-name is "Bishop", as hinted at by Vigil herself.

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WIP

this content is under construction! <3

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SEASONAL ARCHIVES

SEASON 1 - MISERY EMPIRE
_{Start Date: April 20th, 2023. End Date: July 20th.}

MAIN CHARACTERS
SELENA "RED" IVANENKO / TAMAR "ACE" ZAKENDESCRIPTION
A mysterious lady is on the run, and the dark underbelly of the whole city is scrambling to get a hold on her, leaving no stone unturned. Like a ghost of her past, a red mark she can't erase, the Sniper needs this fair lass in her sight, before she gets away.

SEASON 2 - NEON NIGHTS
_{Start Date: July 20th. End Date: October 19th.}

MAIN CHARACTERS
HANS MORITZ / KEIJI "SASORI" TAKASEDESCRIPTION
Selling third-rate augmentations to cyber-junkies, Ionjaw Corp holds a firm grip over this neon-drenched hellscape of a city. Betrayed and down on his luck, a cyber-augmented assassin leads a ragtag crew to take down Ionjaw Corp, by any means necessary.

SEASON 3 - OF QUEENS AND KINGS
_{Start Date: October 19th. End Date: May 27th, 2024.}

MAIN CHARACTERS
MADAME XIU / OCTODESCRIPTION
Serpentine's longstanding reign as the most iconic fashion house has never been questioned... until today. The audacious Pieuvre Atelier is starting to make some waves, and Serpentine wants none of it. After all, the world of Haute Couture is a ruthless one: Become the ruler, or be a subject.^{Important Note: Season 3's duration was considered extended due to Operation Overhaul being the primary focus over Season 4.}

SEASON 4 - WORLD'S FINEST
_{Start Date: May 27th. End Date: October 31st.}

MAIN CHARACTERS
RUPERT "SQUIRE" REID / MARYAM "VIGIL" SAADDESCRIPTION
The return of the legendary hero Light Mass sends a shockwave through the superhero community as her old apprentice, Shadow Mask, must find his place in a world where they both exist. Will he rise to the occasion or crumble under the pressure? All will be revealed in this new issue of SHADOW MASK!

SEASON 5 - SCOUNDRELS & SENTINELS
_{Start Date: October 31st. End Date: Unknown}

MAIN CHARACTERS
FRANÇOIS "LARCIN" CLAUDET / FLORENCE "CAVALIÈRE" JACQUESDESCRIPTION
A terrible darkness is brewing in Bardkeep... Jataal, the Dreaded One is rising once more. Fearing the return of the legendary Dark Lord, old rivals must put aside their differences and unite their strength. Gather your party of valiant heroes and embark on a perilous journey against treacherous foes, to vanquish evil once and for all.

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EVENTS

EVENT 1 - HOLIDAY RUMBLE
_{Start Date: December 10th, 2023. End Date: January 10th, 2024.}

Holiday Rumble is the titular, original mid-season update of Season 3, Of Queens and Kings. The first event Deceive Inc had, it introduced the premise of events and free rewards, and how the game would inevitably handle those rewards once the event ended.The event required players to go aorund the map and collect presents of varying sizes for Event XP. This event XP progressed an entirely free event tracker, featuring rewards relating to the general holiday season. The gifts were described to be as gifts "from Deceive Inc." There was also festive items added to the event pose, generally relating to the thematics but are not considered event items.

The event pass consisted of 10 tiers, and featured the following rewards.
- 1 XP booster.
- 3 Weapon and Gadget Inks.
- 3 Intro Poses for Yu-Mi, Red and Chavez
- A bundle of Epic Skins called "Naughty List" for Ace, Chavez and Squire.
- 1 Bundle of Bonds
- A legendary skin for Hans, called "Santhans."Once the event concluded, all items were moved to the in-game store year round.

EVENT 2 - JATIMANIA
_{Start Date: April 11th 2024. End Date: May 7th}

Jatimania is an extended April Fools and comedic event centred around Jati bin Teh. In world, this is another scheme of his for world domination. The plan failed, however, due to the agents and a mysterious figure.Similarly to how Holiday Rumble functioned, agents are tasked with locating and grabbing 3 different items for Event XP. The event pass remains entirely free to players of the game, and features 10 levels.

The rewards for Jatimania are as follows:
- 1 intro pose for Octo and Ace
- 4 Weapon and Gadget Inks
- 1 Title (Jatified)
- 2 Avatars
- A bundle of skins for all 11 agents upon release called "Jatified."With the closure of the event, majority of the items moved into the store. The only items that are no longer available are the avatars and the Title.

EVENT 3 - SUMMER SPLASH
_{Start Date: July 26th. End Date: ???}

Summer Splash is Deceive Inc.'s first summer event, focusing on a new line the Evensen twins are trying to launch - new 'water' guns that are stealth weapons.Similarly to how Holiday Rumble functioned, agents are tasked with locating and grabbing multiple items such as posters and weapons for Event XP. New to the events, however, are VIP exclusive interacts where agents disguised as the VIP can interact with the new catwalks on each map, to gain xp towards the 15 tiers of rewards.

The rewards for Summer Splash are as follows:
- 1 intro pose for Cavalière, Larcin, Sasori and Red
- 6 Weapon and Gadget Inks
- 1 Title (Wave Maker)
- 1 Avatar
- A skin for Octo, Madame Xiu, and Sasori all called "Starfish Summer Collection".With the closure of the event, majority of the items will be moved to the store. If it is similar to Jatimania, this means the only exclusive items will be the title and the avatar.

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TEASER ARCHIVES

SEASON 1 - RED, THE TREACHEROUS SEDUCTRESS

Red, actually, got leaked by the developers as they showcased the new Catalog feature that this major update would bring. This image was lost to time, as they quickly rectified the mistake, but Red got revealed much earlier than planned.Aside from that, there were not as many teasers compared to future seasons. This could be in part to the fact it was the first Agent.There was a few kisses and the like, shared by Tripwire staff, but there was no major teases to Red; just the kisses, her silhouette, and the accidental leak of her.

SEASON 2 - SASORI, THE VENOMOUS ASSASSIN

Sasori's first tease actually started with the 'Deceive Inc Lo-Fi beats to extract briefcases video' that released on April 28th, 2023. At the time, people didn't actually realise quite that a teaser was there, but people did point out the dart at first and brushed it off.Then, on July 7th, the Deceive Inc account posted a clip of the video, focusing in on the dart. Bringing something we had ignored to the forefront.

Sasori's second tease started with the May roadmap; we saw a few things that at the time we didn't really put together well enough. A green mark, now we're aware to be poison, the shadow of a knife, and the Japanese text that translated becomes "Knight is gone."
The cypher in the bottom right comes out to the same answer.
Nothing else specifically alluded to Sasori here, however this did start the teasers for Season 3's map.

After the Tweet made on July 7th, they started posting more and more images. Next was a teaser that also showcased the thematics for the next season. A cyberpunk setting, with 'Ionjaw' at the antagonistic helm. The main teaser here was the bolded names of the companies in the first paragraph, taking the capital letters spelled out SASORI; the first major hint at the agent's name.

Two days later, on July 12th, they posted this image of a younger Hans with both arms and a man sharpied out with the caption '#throwback'. Solidifying this new agent's connection to Hans, as well as giving us the hint that he very likely was the Henchman that went rogue and cut off his hand.It was noticed that he held a dart and a katana; our first look at the FULL weapon. It also was noticed in the top right the 'G.H.O.S.T.S' logo, implying that Hans' former organisation was called this.

Another two days later, on July 14th, they posted a 2 second long video with the caption 'pǝɹınbǝɹ ʎlqıssod sısʎlɐuɐ lɐɹʇɔǝds :˥∀N⅁IS ⅁NIWOƆNI'. When flipped correctly, it goes 'INCOMING SIGNAL: spectral analysis possible required.' This led the community to put the video into an audio software, such as Audacity, to see the 'spectrograph', allowing us to see the thematics of the agent - a Scorpion - and the Japanese characters for his name. Sasori. Which, translated to English, is 'Scorpion'.

Finally, on the 19th of July and going onto the 20th of July, the Deceive Inc X account and the Tripwire YouTube and Twitch accounts all started a series of streams; these streams, ultimately, ended up being looping videos. The Twitch stream was one, long stream, the Deceive Inc X account was a stream that got broken up, but kept the title.The YouTube streams, however, were slightly different in name. The first and second one (Far Right and Middle, in the image) were named 'The Scorpion is Arriving'. The third, however, was a time. 11:00am ET.This was the update time for what we would learn that day to be Season 2: Neon Nights, and Sasori's arrival.

SEASON 3 - OCTO, THE BOISTEROUS HACKER

Season 3's agent, codenamed by people as 'The Hacker', started with the August Roadmap. The immediate focus, past the text, was the binary at the bottom and the various pixelated Octopi - of which there was 7.The binary was translated to "22;9;7;12;0;9;19;0;3;15;13;9;14;7", which when decoded further gives us 'Vigil is Coming'.This also confirmed the VIP for that Season's map; Hazen, a character seen dotted across maps already.

On August 27th, the Deceive Inc account posted this image. The image itself did not give anything additionally to us at the time that made sense. All it showed to us, however, is this 'Hacker' had the skill to hack the Agency itself, and it's main AI system.

On August 28th, the Deceive Inc account then posted this image. Three things became immediately noticeable. The XP disk on the table, the binary - colour coded, though the community believes the colours to be a red herring - and the logo overlaying the entire image. The same symbol as on the roadmap.The binary at the top, when translated, becomes b8;c8;d7;d6;C5;b5;a6;a7;. The hex, when decoded using UTF-16, gives us the Korean characters of 좸훗뗅Ꞧ, or the simple emoji of 👅.A theory at the time, as this is the most recent tease as of this update, is that this message is something intentionally left by the Hacker.An alterantive solution to the binary translation is that translating it into longitude and latitude, which placed the final result into North Sinai, Egypt. There is nothing else confirming this, though.A third alternative solution was discovered, initially brushed off, but came back to the front with the second binary image. The binary translation, when put onto a Chess board, made a circle (accounting for the colours that the binary provided). At the time, the community didn't think anything of it, but the second binary teaser brought that theory back.

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On August 29th, the account posted a looping 9 second video of code. This ended up being a teaser for the agent progression in the mid-season, however Yosh confirmed this to be the work of the Hacker. There is nothing leading to their identity or anything else, however, so there is not much else to go off for this teaser.

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Additionally, on August 29th, we got another Binary image and another tease for the Upcoming Mid-Season update. An image of the extraction computers, with a different symbol, and more Binary. The binary came out to f8;g8;g5;f5;e6;e7;, which couldn't be decoded further. This led the community back to the chess board idea, after a member noticed the images themselves could be put together.Putting the pieces on the board from both teasers, two symbols appeared. A circle, or an O, and a C. This led the community to believe this was the right path, due to the idea this may spell out something down the line.

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A bit of time passed between any teasers, but we soon got our first notable look at the new agent himself, in images posted initially by Alienware's socials. This image, posted on October 5th, was initially posted as part of previews for Alienware's October Game Vault. A higher quality one was then added to the October Field Operations Brief that was posted the same day.This was the first major image of the new agent AND the new catalogue, showing a connection to him and Madame Xiu, alongside the title 'Of Queens & Kings'. Something noted is the grammatical swap, something the community believes to be due to the Queen being the most powerful piece in Chess.

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On October 7th, the Deceive Inc twitter posted this image; a black and white zoomed in photo of the upcoming agent, with the binary translating to f4;h2;g1;e3;g4;h3;F1;e2;. With the text "THE BOARD IS SET", it is safe to presume that the binary translations were indeed positions on a chess board; especially considering the updated board now spelling out OC[x]O.A running theory is currently that this is spelling out the agent's name, and a theory is that the name may be OCTO, due to the running thematics of octopi in the original roadmap and teasers for him.

On October 10th, the Deceive Inc account posted an 8 second long video with a red, black and white aesthetic. It zooms out of the agent, pans over the gun, and pans around the agent-- as the agent speaks. "[The] wheel of fortune says... we'll win." In the background, there is new music; community members are presuming it may be the basic theme for Of Queens and Kings.

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On October 12th, the Deceive Inc twitter posted this image; a watch perspective of what the community has presumed to be the new map's vault. Binary exists at the top, that which translated gives us a4;b4;c4;d4;b3;C3;b2;c2;b1;c1;. This gives us the final letter to the chess board puzzle - OCTO. Safely presumed to be the agent's name. A running theory is that the map will be coming in season 3, as the previous teaser in this 'camera' lens style showcased new content and features.

Finally, on October 16th, a Work In Progress brief for Of Queens and Kings was published -- officially announcing Octo's arrival and confirming him to be the hacker, with "a rumour" floating around he was recruited after the attack on Deceive Inc.'s security systems. This official reveal concluded the teases for Octo and Season 3, but did not provide a date.

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­Season 3 Map - Hazen // Operation: Sound Eclipse

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Hazen has been a character mentioned ever since the game's release. They have been spotted in the various maps on a Newspaper, leading folks to believe they would - down the line - be brought into the world as a fully fledged character. Many presumed to be a VIP.In the May roadmap, we got a more specific detail about the operation. An Out of this World OPERATION is afoot. This, to many, confirmed Hazen as the VIP; both having thematics of space and vastness, not being on the 'world.'In the August Roadmap, it was confirmed that Hazen is the VIP leading the new super-villain plot. The specifics of it are not yet known, though it could be inferred it is something to do with world destruction - 'I just want to watch the world burn. Literally.' from the newspaper. This confirmation also solidified the concept that the thematics of the map would have something to do with Space, Stars and things other-worldly, as Hazen is described to be 'setting the stage for a Stellar Operation', as well as the event the agents would be inserting into: the Space Opera.

The community got the first look in the map at question on October 12th, in the Octo teasers. A camera perspective of the vault room, with binary. When translated, it gave more chess positions for the Agent Teaser.

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On October 13th, Yoshiro initially posted a clip of a line from Red Alert 2, with the clip stating that the character would be retreating to the one place capitalism hasn't corrupted; Space. Later that day, the community received the map brief - confirming the map's release for Season 3, and showcasing off SOUND ECLIPSE - as well as the item being stolen, and confirming yet again the VIP. It also confirmed the VIP's gender, specifically only using They/Them for the villain.

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­Season 3 Event - JATIMANIA

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JATIMANIA initially got teased when Phase 1 of the Operation Overhaul Update release, on February 29th of 2024, with an updated newspaper from the Daily Watch. The proposed 'mania' initiated due to a brand new deal with the JOUVERNCE energy drink from the JBT group, but the details were not known to the Daily Watch nor the public.Then, on April 1st, the "I am a Dreampreneur" Jati song got released and posted on the Deceive Inc. Twitter. The Discord's server banner also got updated to an image of "JATI INC.", with the keyart from Overhaul now having Jati's face very literally duct taped over every agent. A few of the developers, publishers and notable community members also joined in on the April Fools 'joke', changing aspects of their name to feature Jati in some way (pacini became jatini, for example.)

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On April 4th, a preview blog showing off aspects of map updates was posted, but the images had a few surprises. Within each image... was Jati. It took a few days for the community to notice every single image had a Jati hidden, but it did.On April 8th, an image was posted of a Jati Coin in a stand going over the diamond spire sun - a reference to the Solar Eclipse that happened that day. This coin would, when the event released, be featured as an Avatar reward on the event track.

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April 10th was the preview notes for the April update, a content update part of Overhaul. Notabley, however, there was a few things about the preview brief that was 'peculiar'.

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Firstly, a distinctive name had not been given to this update - despite it being much larger than a small balance adjustment or hotfix. The preview was simply called the REDACTED update.Secondly, when you took the first letter of each line of the intro section, it spelt JATI.Going into the general changes section, the first aspect is actually right underneath it - a section with nothing in it, simply called REDACTED.The update released the following day, where the mystery was dropped - Jatimania is the title of the update, a new 'for fun' event, alongside the rest of the April patch content.

SEASON 4 - VIGIL, THE PRECISE PROFESSIONAL

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The first teaser for the Season 4 agent - whom many believe to be the mysterious figure, actually came during the Misery Empire season. Majority of this agent's teasers came from before we even realised they were connected, and due to this post - it was realised.The roadmap that teased Sasori also featured kanji that, when translated, stated: "Knight is gone." A fact we already knew, due to loading screen tips and various Character bios and briefs, but it was mentioned again here.

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The second teaser was similar, coming during Neon Nights and was a simple phrase that we did not realise was connected (one user within the discord did actually theorise this, far earlier, but there was nothing being concrete at the time).The binary in the corner, when translated, gave us "22;9;7;12;0;9;19;0;3;15;13;9;14;7", which when decoded further (using the 'A1Z26 cipher' gives us 'Vigil is Coming'. Another phrase that caught people's attention, but no one really understood what it meant.

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The teasers died down, initially due to the Overhaul initiative, but then due to the re-emerging threat of Jati Bin Teh, in his newest plot, Jatimania. This Mania, however, brought the third teaser - seemingly unrelated again, but catching peoples attention.The paper detailed a Mysterious Figure seen lurking events and parties, with a picture attached. The picture is of the Diamond Spire vault, angled upwards with Jati taking up most of the shot. Behind him, however, is this "mysterious figure". A figure of unknown gender, but present - with only really a discerning feature of a coat. This prompted the community to really try to figure out who, but at the time there wasn't much reason to look back over 8 months for teasers, as no one really understood why.

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Following the conclusion of Jatimania, on May 21st, a brief detailing upcoming extraction changes was posted, with an image showcasing a potentially reworked extraction point on Diamond Spire. Initially, people passed over the image, but different community members spotted 2 things.

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Firstly, a small square device on the pad. People initially presumed it to be a skin, but realised that nothing in the game has this shape. This led people to believe it is tied to the Mysterious Figure in some what.Secondly, the name of the file was peculiarly named vigilantextraction.png. A unique name, not really detailing the extraction but describing it. With the knowledge of the Agent's name, the file name actually alluded to it, the act of being "vigilant" is incredibly similar to the act of "vigil", as to be undergoing vigil you are typically vigilant.
(Vigilant: alertly watchful especially to avoid danger || Vigil: an act or period of staying awake at times when one normally would be sleeping).

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On May 23rd, the Deceive Inc account posted this image with the caption of "Can we talk about the numbers please, Agents?"
"I've been dying to talk about the numbers with you all day, okay?"This image is what made the community realise the 'lack of teasers' regarding the Season 4 agent wasn't true, but rather the teasers have been planned months in advance. The image features Cavalière in front of a whiteboard, with various images - previous teasers - and text, with her herself holding a pad with more numbers.The initial sequence on the top - 22 09 07 09 12 - is a A1Z26 cipher (something the image also hints at with A=1? B=2?). When translated, this gives us a name we heard before -- Vigil. This lead the community to believe the name for the agent to be Vigil. With the other roadmaps on the board, this leads the community to believe that Agent Knight is Vigil.The various questions the board asks -- Who? Where? Why? To Stop Jati? When? - are various prompts and questions the board gives answers to.Who refers to the figure -- Vigil.
Where can refer to a few things, but a common conclusion is where this figure is first seen by us -- Diamond Spire
Why is answered by another question -- "To Stop Jati?"
When is believed to be answered by the notepad the agent is holding - 28524 and 30524 are believed to be dates due to the same ending 3 digits. This leads many to believe the brief is on Tuesday, May 28th and the update on Thursday, May 30th.
To Stop Jati is the most obscured question. While the figure did help to stop Jati's plot, the Agents - and the Community - do not know if this is her sole reason for returning.A few community members noticed the background - a location that hasn't been seen yet. The community doesn't quite know where this is, however.

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On May 24, the Deceive Inc account posted this image.The image shows a somewhat obscured image of the upcoming agent and their weapon - a drum mag pistol - with the tagline "GUESS WHO'S BACK?". This solidified the theory that Vigil, the agent that is upcoming, is someone who left the field but returned - or Agent Knight.

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^{Spotted by Community Member 'official' in the Deceive Inc Discord Server.}

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A community member actually noticed that the lines in the background of the image spell "VIGIL", further confirming the agents name.

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The community got their first, unaltered look at the upcoming agent on May 26th, where the account posted this tweet with the caption of "The signal has been lit. Only the World's Finest will answer the call." This served as a teaser for the seasons thematics, pulling from the world of superheroes and comic books - and the community noticed the two other figures in the front were Squire.

Ultimately, on May 27th, the community got their first look at the upcoming agent - Vigil - and aspects of her kit. This also was a voice reveal for her. The video let the community begin to theorise about her kit, and one thing caught everyone's attention. At the end of the clip, it stated one word. Tomorrow. This, ultimately, would be the release date for Season 4, or World's Finest.Leading up to the Update, on May 28th, Community Manager Yoshiro gave bits and pieces of the patch notes, including her full tagline - Vigil, the Precise Professional - and her name, Maryam Saad. This led to the trailer for the season being posted alongside the update and it's brief.

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­Season 4 Event - Summer Splash

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The community got their first teaser for the event - which placed a focus on the updated pre-game lobby - on July 19th on Twitter. While nothing else was shown for the event, the teaser ended panning over the Banner - Summer Splash.

The next teaser gave a look at an event cosmetic, as well as a hint at who would be behind it. On July 22nd, there was an image of the upcoming Madame Xiu skin with the tagline of "Some fresh new fits are making their debut on the Silver Reef runway🪩". The skin was evidently a swim suit, implying some form of summer event - and the focus on Silver Reef brought the Twins forward as the likely masterminds behind whatever ploy comes next.

The final teaser for the event was on July 24th, featuring a short video detailing both Security Feed from Silver Reef, and Madame Xiu encountering the Twins - with a caption of "Two heads are better than one... sometimes". The video, in specific, showcased the Twins being behind the new items - and the fact these items had caught interest of the Agency. The items seemed to be weapons and posters, though this wouldn't be confirmed until the preview brief the next day

SEASON 5 - SCOUNDRELS & SENTINALS

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Scoundrels & Sentinels had very little teasers relating to it. The community had been informed the update would not feature a new agent, instead focusing on two titular characters already present within the game. The community had very little idea on the thematics until D Va posted an image. At the time, it seemed unrelated, but it was confirmed to be related to the update in some capacity.It was not until the stream announcement that was posted on the 30th of October that we got to see the first signs of the update, confirming the thematics to be a High Fantasy aesthetic, pulling from and heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. The stream later that day announced the update would be "before the end of the week", and folks correctly assumed the update would be out the day following - October 31st.

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Season 5 Update A - ???

Alongside the brief teaser for Scoundrels & Sentinels, the community had received teasers fot content to come not long after the Catalogue's release. The initial teaser was provided by D Va, who posted a screenshot of Metal Gear Solid and claimed it to be a future update.

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During the stream for Scoundrels & Sentinels, it was noticed that one of the participants was wearing a Squire Skin and Pose not yet seen. It was not included in the initial update, which has led folks to believe it to be part of the upcoming content update. It isn't clear if the two are linked, however - though as a common trope and joke within Metal Gear Solid is stealth movement via a box, it is likely.

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TIMELINE

^{This should be taken with a grain of salt - this is based off of a theoretical timeline based on Loading Screen Tips, Agent/Season Briefs, and when maps were revealed to players.}

Before the Dismantle

While it is not certain when events happened in relation to the game, or when certain groups were formed - this details the order of events that is believed to be correct, and makes note of everything.The timeline notably begins when ACES disbands. ACES was the mercenary group Tamar "Ace" Zaken leaded under the alias of 'Diamond'. With her was 3 other members, Selena "Heart" Ivanenko (who later joined as an agent called Red), and presumably Clubs and Spades. The last two's status is unknown.Deceive Inc founds as a private espionage group, initiating would be a monopoly on the espionage scene in time. It's initial founding pillars are Ethan Chavez, and Knight. Rumours circulate Madame Xiu was involved in it, but there is nothing confirmed on if she helped found or actively was involved in operations at this period.Madame Xiu provided intel for Operation Siege, which was headed by pillars Chavez and Knight, and they were joined by - at the time - free mercenary Ace. This operation featured the capturing of Hans Moritz, presumed Leader of G.H.O.S.T.S., but has some hiccups. Hans lost an arm due to his former closest henchman, Keiji Takase (later known as Sasori), having a mental breakdown during the Operation. It is speculated this operation led to the Global Espionage Dismantling Act (GEDA). This speculation is due to Ace's brief, detailing the collapse was "partially due to a mission that didn’t [...] that Ace was involved with."

The Global Espionage Dismantling Act

GEDA is the act of which all government owned espionage agencies were to be dismantled and made illegal. Deceive Inc. existed as a private entity, and avoided this dismantling - leading to them to slowly build up a monopoly.Shortly after the act was put into place, Ace was recruited as one of the first agents into the agency. Xiu is rumoured to have joined around this time additionally, but her place is unknown.This act also, likely, prompted one Antonio Ricci to go into hiding, taking on the new alias of Sebastian Garcia.During this time, 4 other agents are recruited into the agency in the following order:- Hans, where each successful operation takes years off of his prison sentence.
- François "Larcin" Claudet, who joined with an unknown motive.
- Florence "Cavalière" Jacques, who joined to uncover shady practices of Deceive Inc., and to locate Larcin once and for all.
- Yu-Mi Kwon, who did not want to follow her mother's footsteps and insisted on Field Work rather than Research and Development. While it is unknown when her mother made majority of the gadgets used by spies, it is before this moment of her daughter's recruitment.During this time, Knight is training a protégé, a British recruit by the name of Rupert Reid, who would take up the alias of Squire (presumably, to fit his mentor).Unfortunately, before Squire can conclude his training and take the test with his mentor present - Knight goes missing. This does however drive Squire to pursue the test earlier, as he has shoes to fill. This disappearance also prompts Chavez to hold off retirement, believing he can help locate Knight.

The Test and the Operations

Squire proceeds to take the test, passing it and making him the 8th Agent. Knight's locker has her name removed, leaving there now a gap in the row of lockers.It is then believed the first operation to be HARD SELL, wherein agents slipped into former spy turned information broker Antonio Ricci's 13th annual art auction, the pieces of which hold private and government data. The Bull's Eye art piece is successfully secured for the client.SILVER REEF follows, with the agents interrupting a runway showcase for the military fashion brand STARFISH, led by twins Rebekka "Starling" and Nilfrid "Angelfish" Evensen. This showcase, if unsuccessful, would have announced the Pendant to the masses - but the blueprint's to it were secured.DIAMOND SPIRE then follows, having agents inserted into a Dreampenur party hosted by billionaire (and egomaniac) Jati Bin Teh to break into the upper floors of the ASPIRE tower's labs, as Jati had planned to get the masses addicted to his drinks using a secret ingredient.Concluding the original cycle of operations, FRAGRANT SHORE has agents inserted into San Flores to break into the Capitol, prevening Luana Perez's prototype pheromone enhancer titled "Agua De Flor". If it was allowed to hit shelves, it would have let Luana influence and control any of it's wearers - something that needed to be stopped before the next political campaigns made by the LUANA group.Throughout the operations, there have been newspapers detailing an interview with a singer by the name of Hazen, who had a space opera that was extremely popular and, presumably, expensive.Red and Sasori join - in that order - at staggered points, though it is unknown when they join, only their order.Octo hacked into Deceive Inc's systems and network, though the motive is unknown. This hack caused the Integrated Recon and Intelligence System (also known as IRIS) to malfunction due to an identity crisis. This hack also got into various cameras within the network, leaking (or, more proving he had the ability) the agency's re-evaluation of Multi-Agent operations, as well as a scout/recon agent's exploration of the upcoming location - the hidden layers of the centre of the Valkyrie-V Space Station Resort.Due to the hack, IRIS is out of commission for a few days, however upon it's restoration, Octo is added as the 11th agent to the Database, though no one recalls how he got there.Not long after, SOUND ECLIPSE takes place - sending agents to the Valkyrie-V to interrupt Hazen's latest opera, the Age of Darkness. Within the show, the opera singer would hit a note that only they had mastered, enabling an EMP to strike the earth and cause a technological blackout due to their belief that humanity no longer could see true art due to technology. Agents, however, were able to stop this, stealing the core of the device.The newspapers now report that the JBT media group is hinting at a new deal involving his JOUVENCE line - claiming it to be a new MANIA - and that is came from an investor meeting like no other.

The Mania and its Mysterious Visitor

This mania is confirmed some time later, and the Agency recognises this as another scheme done by the JBT CEO. The mania in question, Jatimania, is the result of a brand new deal undertook by Jati Bin Teh’s JOUVENCE energy sports drink - the result is merchandise with a hypnotic lure embedded in them. This is another attempt from the JBT CEO for world domination - the general public is compelled to buy the merchandise, and to get stuck back into the JBT ecosystem; Something his original scheme, foiled in OPERATION: DIAMOND SPIRE, also aimed to achieve.The agents are tasked with re-infiltrating the locales, grab the merchandise - consisting of posters and 2 bobblehead variants - and bring it back to the base for analysis. He had started a mania, and the agency needs to stop it - before the mania becomes too much. This event, however, caught the eye of an external figure - even the Daily Watch spotted this figure in a photo provided in an article, but no one knows quite who they are -- or why this event in particular drew them into such public notice.The plan was thwarted by the agents - and this mysterious figure - and Jati's mania is over. The figures involvement, however, caught the interest of the agents, leading Florence to launch her own investigation into it, putting together what Deceive Inc. knows on who this could be.Eventually, the figure revealed herself - former Spymaster Knight, now under the handle of Vigil. Deceive Inc's hour of need called for her return, with Jati's ongoing mania being the pushing force she needed. The mania was stopped with her help, however she uncovered something more sinister. Jati Bin Teh was starting to meet with the other VIPs, and she encountered him entering the Capitol of San Flores - home to Luana Cacilias Pérez.

Making Waves

While the agency tried to understand why Luana and Jati met up - Deceive Inc was hit with information about a new plot from the Evensen sisters. While it is not sure if Madame Xiu initially found out the information, or confirmed it's truth, it was noted by the Twins her presence and the fact she knew. The Evensens were trying to launch a new line of 'water' toys - weapons disguised as water guns - and the Agency had to stop them. The fact however that Madame Xiu was caught in person and on camera feeds currently remains a mystery to how it will be resolved.The agency had successfully stopped the mass selling of the weaponry, with little to no impact upon the Twins' influence. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Luana both have been observed visiting each other, Sebastian owning a Yacht that remains docked within Fragrant Shore.

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