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The next 'Gears of War' won't be a reboot, but a return to series' roots
By MATTHEW ARCILLA
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After Microsoft acquired all rights to the 'Gears of War' franchise from developer Epic Games earlier this year, many in the gaming community have wondered about its future. According to Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Spencer, who serves as head of Microsoft's Xbox division, the series still has legions of dedicated fans, in spite of the less than stellar reception and disappointingly average sales of 'Gears of War: Judgment' last year.
Speaking in an interview via IGN's Podcast Unlocked, Spencer stressed the importance of recapturing the essence of earlier titles. "I wouldn't call the [next Gears of War] a reboot because I don't think the franchise necessarily needs that," said Spencer. "The thing that was great about the [earlier games] was the epic scale," he opined. "The story, the setting was a lot more soulful and maybe even a little dark."
'Gears of War' is a third person shooter series set in a dark and ravaged world, where the only civilization that remains is a militaristic government. The series, launched in 2006, is famous for its intense cover-based shooting, thrilling action set-pieces and brutal gore. Alongside 'Halo,' it was one of the flagship brands of Microsoft's Xbox platform and sold over 22 million units, generating over a billion dollars in revenue across four installments.
Subsequent installments saw the mechanics and controls achieve a kind of precision and perfection unseen in other shooters to follow, but increasingly over the top levels and nigh comical set pieces has drawn mixed reactions from 'serious' quarters of gaming. Spencer expressed similar concerns about the series' future. "I think the game over time became almost more of a parody of itself; not for any kind of horrible reasons. It's hard to continue to manage the IP," he said.
The most recent installment, 'Judgment,' was a prequel set before the first 'Gears of War.' In a way, that got around the question of how future stories would be addressed following the relative finality of 'Gears of War 3.' But for Spencer, the story and setting ought to provide the keys to the series' future. "Gears of War--the name of the game, it really meant something to what that game was about," he said. We've got to get back to that. The feeling of those individuals."
The next 'Gears of War' is currently in development under the roof of Vancouver-based Black Tusk, one of Microsoft's subsidiary game studios. The company later hired Rod Fergusson, former director of production at Epic Games, to oversee the project. Outside of Epic, Fergusson helped in the final stages of completing Bioshock Infinite for 2K Games . Of the project, Spencer had this to say:
"I know Judgment didn't hit everybody's needs and desires in terms of what they wanted," said Spencer. "But we have a new team, [Fergusson] is there to really help with the continuity. I think we can make sure that we're investing in this thing for the next decade, which is how I want to think about it." — TJD, GMA News
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