Microsoft Buys ‘Gears of War’ Rights From Epic Games. What Does That Mean For Us?
It’s no secret now. Microsoft has purchased all rights for the Gears of War franchise. This is big, as it will probably have a ripple effect on the video game industry. The franchise will be heading to Black Tusk Studios, located in Vancouver, Canada, far from North Carolina, and relatively close to Washington, where the headquarters of Microsoft Games is.
Immediately following the announcement, Rod Fergusson, better known as of late to have lent a helping hand to Irrational Games as the VP of Development during the tail end of Bioshock Infinite‘s production, was named Partner and Studio Manager at Black Tusk Studios. This will not be Fegusson’s first rodeo in the Gears franchise. Many remember him to be Director of Production at Epic Games during the Gears of War trilogy.
Developers Leaving for Black Tusk
Hanno Lemke, General Manager over at Black Tusk also expects to be a small shift in where developers will go following the purchase. Lemke states, “Once the news spreads about the opportunities at Black Tusk, I’m confident we’ll see interest from a number of talented developers who share the same passion for the “Gears” franchise as the developers at Black Tusk.”
This is similar to when Microsoft purchased the rights to the Halo franchise. This lead to the creation of 343 Industries and a large recruiting process for seasoned developers and anyone involved in the production process, most recently Joe Statan at the beginning of this month. As Microsoft decides what the do with the IP, we’ll see more prominent positions being filled early on.
Gears of War Original Programming
During E3 2013, it was revealed that the Xbox One would be a platform for original programming based on existing IP’s and as well as yet-to-be-announced IP’s. Most notable of these IP’s is of course, Halo. While this transmedia venture hasn’t happened, nor has recent news been made available, it’s important to note Steven Spielberg is attached. Still, the project is still under development and the public is unaware of any progress that has been or not been made. Still, expect to see at least talk of some kind of Gears of War original program launching on the Xbox One.
Expanded Universe
I’m aware that novels and comics belonging to the Gears universe exist, but since the franchise has gone cold, we’ve haven’t really seen any canonized expansions into the universe. Should Microsoft plan for another trilogy or a layout of several games, we should expect to see a rise in novels and/or comics pertaining to the franchise. Karen Travis, a regular author for Microsoft IP’s, is sure to return to this universe should her trilogy in the Halo universe end well enough that she wants to stick around.
By now, it’s an eventuality that we’ll see a Gears of War AAA title on the Xbox One. But in the mean time, don’t be surprised if we see a sort of arcade-based game releasing onto the Xbox Live marketplace as a downloadable title. It’ll be interesting to see what route Microsoft takes to start getting fans hyped again. Here’s to hoping we’ll see something at E3!
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