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Microsoft Studios acquires rights to Gears of War franchise


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http://news.xbox.com/2014/01/games-microsoft-studios-gears-of-war

 

http://news.xbox.com/~/media/files/gowlogo1020x540.jpg?h=498&w=940

 

Today we're excited to announce that Microsoft Studios has acquired the rights to the “Gears of War” franchise from Epic Games, including rights to all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise. In addition, we are excited to announce that Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver, BC will take over development of the “Gears of War” franchise and that Rod Fergusson, former Director of Production at Epic Games on the “Gears of War” franchise, will join Microsoft and play a key studio leadership role at Black Tusk on the development of the franchise going forward. We had a chance to chat with Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft Studios, Hanno Lemke, General Manager of Black Tusk Studios at Microsoft Studios, and Rod Fergusson about the big news.

 

Why did Microsoft purchase the “Gears of War” franchise?

Phil Spencer: It all comes back to our commitment to Xbox fans. The “Gears of War” franchise has a very strong, passionate and valued fan base on Xbox. Over twenty-two million units have been sold across all “Gears of War” titles worldwide, grossing over $1B dollars (US). This franchise, and these fans, are part of the soul of Xbox. By acquiring this franchise, Microsoft Studios will continue to offer them more of their favorite games and entertainment experiences from the “Gears of War” universe.

 

Why did Epic Games agree to this acquisition?

Hanno Lemke: Epic has been a tremendous partner to work with, and it has been a privilege for Microsoft to be Epic’s publishing partner and work together to achieve the phenomenal success of the “Gears of War” games. Epic remains great partners and good friends of Microsoft Studios. In fact we will collaborate closely with Epic to ensure the inclusion of the Unreal Engine technology into the “Gears of War” franchise going forward remains consistent with the high quality fans have come to expect from the franchise.

 

Why was an as-yet-unproven studio like Black Tusk chosen to lead the “Gears of War” development over a more established studio?

Phil Spencer: Black Tusk has assembled a world-class team with deep experience and passion for the shooter space, and specifically the “Gears of War” franchise. I am extremely confident that under the leadership of Hanno Lemke, Rod Fergusson and our other leaders in the studio, Black Tusk is well equipped to take on the future development of the “Gears of War” franchise.

 

Are there plans to bring anyone who worked on previous “Gears of War” games onboard to work on the future of the series?

Hanno Lemke: The news that Rod Fergusson is joining Black Tusk should be really exciting for fans of the franchise. Rod has played a leadership role at Epic on all of the “Gears of Wars” games, he understands the franchise deeply but equally importantly he understands the fans of the franchise – what they love, where they want to see the franchise evolve. 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.

 

When can we expect to hear more about the plans for the “Gears of War” franchise?

Hanno Lemke: We hope to be able to share more news about “Gears of War” later this year.

 

You’re moving back to Canada and back to working on the “Gears” franchise. Is it like a homecoming for you?

Rod Fergusson: I’m extremely excited to be joining Black Tusk Studios to oversee development on the “Gears of War” franchise. I’ve been privileged to work on a lot of great games with a lot of great teams, but “Gears” has had the most impact on me professionally and personally, so this really feels like a homecoming. I can’t wait to share more with you all soon.

 

Finally, Epic games shared the following statement on the acquisition:

“Epic Games has reached an agreement to sell the ‘Gears of War’ intellectual property rights to Microsoft. We’re very proud of the franchise we built in close partnership with Microsoft over the past decade and are happy that this agreement enables Microsoft to forge ahead with the ‘Gears’ universe on their industry-leading platforms as Epic concentrates its efforts on new projects,” said Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. “Epic remains totally dedicated to supporting Xbox One and is licensing the Unreal Engine 4 technology to Microsoft in support of their future projects.”

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I'm disappointed, if not particularly surprised, that they're going to continue to milk the GoW franchise. It's a shame, though, since GoW doesn't really have anywhere else to go. It's not like Halo with a large, in-depth universe to explore. 4 games from beginning to end of the war with the Locust and everything is resolved.

 

Plus it seems to be Microsoft's new game plan to purchase every IP they can and give them to new developers. Disappointed GoW is one of those mystery IPs Black Tusk is working on. I was really hoping for a set of original IPs from them. At least one of them is still original that we know of.

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Hmm, I see what people are saying story-wise...

 

 

But how about a Gears game where the focus is 100% Multiplayer? Keep OverRun, Horde, and even Beast, if people wanted, but mostly focus on a great MP experience with tons of maps, game types, etc.

 

 

Keep the GoW3 gameplay, stay far away from the control variations in Judgement, bring back down but not out, as well as 3 starting weapons.

 

 

 

 

I know that some people would shy away from a game that doesn't have a campaign, but this is their chance to make MP at its best. How many games suffered because there was a division between SP and MP? It works for some, but mostly either SP, or MP suffer because of it.

 

 

New Gears + Exclusively MP = Win!

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Hmm, I see what people are saying story-wise...

 

But how about a Gears game where the focus is 100% Multiplayer? Keep OverRun, Horde, and even Beast, if people wanted, but mostly focus on a great MP experience with tons of maps, game types, etc.

 

Keep the GoW3 gameplay, stay far away from the control variations in Judgement, bring back down but not out, as well as 3 starting weapons.

 

I know that some people would shy away from a game that doesn't have a campaign, but this is their chance to make MP at its best. How many games suffered because there was a division between SP and MP? It works for some, but mostly either SP, or MP suffer because of it.

 

New Gears + Exclusively MP = Win!

 

You argue this, while DarkReign and I argue all future Halo titles to be Single Player only :p How ironic.

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Hmm, I see what people are saying story-wise...

 

 

But how about a Gears game where the focus is 100% Multiplayer? Keep OverRun, Horde, and even Beast, if people wanted, but mostly focus on a great MP experience with tons of maps, game types, etc.

 

 

Keep the GoW3 gameplay, stay far away from the control variations in Judgement, bring back down but not out, as well as 3 starting weapons.

 

 

 

 

I know that some people would shy away from a game that doesn't have a campaign, but this is their chance to make MP at its best. How many games suffered because there was a division between SP and MP? It works for some, but mostly either SP, or MP suffer because of it.

 

 

New Gears + Exclusively MP = Win!

 

Is that really what the industry needs though? ANOTHER generic online shooter doing away with the only element that makes it even remotely unique or appealing? We already have games like Dust 514, Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament and Titanfall abandoning single player gaming while others like CoD, MoH, and Battlefield have obviously shafted players with a less-than-mediocre single player experience in favor of pushing they bland and generic competitive modes on the masses. And lets not forget the last game that was going to "brilliantly fuse the single and multiplayer elements of a game into one seamless and amazing experience." We all know how Brink turned out.

 

Gears had a gorgeous universe with a rich and interesting history, sans the bland and predictable plots that encompassed the 4 games. It would be a terrible blow to ditch that in favor of pumping out another mindless multiplayer-only title. Better to put the series to rest and focus on crafting another gorgeous world around it, but seeing as it's not, what the series really needs is a capable team of writers that can flesh out the details of the universe and drive them further as is. Similar to how the allegiances of the Covenant in Halo have shifted and we see each species in-depth as a civilization and not just cannon-fodder, why not go in-depth on the Locust species' and maybe switch around their goals and focus. Perhaps an alliance between humanity and the Locust against a greater threat (I thought they would do this against the Lambent in GoW3, but that obviously wasn't the case.) I don't remember the ending to GoW3 since I only played and beat the game once before I sold it off, but if they really want to drive the series forward, there are ways...

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Is that really what the industry needs though? ANOTHER generic online shooter doing away with the only element that makes it even remotely unique or appealing? We already have games like Dust 514, Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament and Titanfall abandoning single player gaming while others like CoD, MoH, and Battlefield have obviously shafted players with a less-than-mediocre single player experience in favor of pushing they bland and generic competitive modes on the masses.

 

First off, Gears is not just another generic online shooter. To say just because there are guns, and the principal of the game is to shoot one another is naïve. Gears has many additional elements that other games lack, and because of such features, the game requires a different type of skill, wall bouncing/evasion come to mind. Of course other games have things that make them unique as well, but until GoW, I've never seen such techniques used in a MP game.

 

 

 

 

 

Gears had a gorgeous universe with a rich and interesting history, sans the bland and predictable plots that encompassed the 4 games. It would be a terrible blow to ditch that in favor of pumping out another mindless multiplayer-only title.

 

 

It would be terrible, in your opinion. Just curious, do you play GoW on the regular? If so, I wouldn't think you'd think it would be so terrible to have a MP exclusive Gears game. Especially given that the game is still alive to this day because of the MP. People come and play the SP, and if they don't like it, it goes on the shelf, or sold on. The people that are still playing are the ones that are playing for the MP... and it would be nice to have a game catered to that community.

 

 

why not go in-depth on the Locust species' and maybe switch around their goals and focus. Perhaps an alliance between humanity and the Locust against a greater threat (I thought they would do this against the Lambent in GoW3, but that obviously wasn't the case.) I don't remember the ending to GoW3 since I only played and beat the game once before I sold it off, but if they really want to drive the series forward, there are ways...

 

 

Actually, that was sort of the point. No actual alliance was made, but the no one wanted the Lambant around. In fact, if it wasn't for the notion that all locusts would die with the use of that weapon that destroys the micro-organism within immulsion, I believe that Myrrah would have given Adam Fenix the go-ahead to detonate long ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of this is to say, I personally wouldn't mind another SP experience. I loved playing through the series, and when I mention that it was one of my favorite stories to play, I often get ridiculed and criticized, because hipsters, and one-minded opinionated people could never fathom the idea that someone is actually enjoying the story in Gears.

 

 

If they can make it work without looking like they're grasping strings, or without making it look obviously rushed, then I'm down for sure. Otherwise, I feel that a focus on the MP game types could potentially be beneficial, monetarily, and for the long-standing MP community that still enjoys playing to this day.

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I just feel as though the concept of "Multiplayer Only" is a plague that shouldn't be allowed to popularize and catch on like Microtransactions or DLC (Note I'm not against DLC entirely. It has the potential to be amazing as Bioshock: Infinite and Skyrim have proven.) You argue that the multiplayer isn't generic and, when compared to a lot of other franchises, I could say you are, arguably, correct, but when you consider it, there are 4 Gears of War games just on the 360 alone. They're generic amongst themselves because on a base level, every single entry is the same thing. Sequels might improve on their predecessors in minor ways, but ultimately what you get is the exact same game with some new maps and re-balanced weapons that could just as easily be provided as an update or DLC for an existing variant rather than a whole new game that divides the fanbase and, in cases like the Halo franchise, actually takes the overall formula and makes it work (Every single Halo multiplayer has grown gradually worse and worse since Halo 2 struck gold in 2004.)

 

Releasing a multiplayer-only Gears game is going to be finanically successful, yes, but it boils down to either warranting the addition of entirely new functions and gameplay to avoid redundancy or sticking with the pre-existing formula of the current titles and rendering itself irrelevant.

 

Now just as a favor for those fans who did enjoy Gears Multiplayer (I played only 3 or 4 matches of Gears 1 competetive, Gears 2 Horde, and Gears 3 Beast and ended up hating all of them and never looked back) I will suggest what I did for those obnoxious Halo brats. With Next-Gen consoles on the market, they should take the formula for a pre-existing Gears game, bundle every map, weapon, and gametype onto one disc, and release a multiplayer that is given persistent title updates and Map Packs throughout the Xbox One's lifespan. That way everybody has their Gears of War Multiplayer and the developers don't have to worry about rebuilding it every couple of years when they pump out a sequel.

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It's about time. It made no sense for MS to not actually own their second biggest franchise.

 

I just hope Black Tusk is allowed to work on non-Gears games, since they weren't created JUST for Gears like how 343 was for Halo.

 

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Black Tusk is supposed to be working on 3 unannounced projects, at least one confirmed to be an original IP. Since they just announced the purchase, it's anybody's guess how long it's been since the deal was made and if they were working on a GoW even before the deal was made, which is likely since PCF worked on the previous entry.

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If I'm not mistaken, I believe Black Tusk is supposed to be working on 3 unannounced projects, at least one confirmed to be an original IP. Since they just announced the purchase, it's anybody's guess how long it's been since the deal was made and if they were working on a GoW even before the deal was made, which is likely since PCF worked on the previous entry.

 

They're only working on Gears now, it's not that big of a studio. They were working on the spy game until very recently, it's now been shelved in favour of more Gears.

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Hmm, I see what people are saying story-wise...

 

 

But how about a Gears game where the focus is 100% Multiplayer? Keep OverRun, Horde, and even Beast, if people wanted, but mostly focus on a great MP experience with tons of maps, game types, etc.

 

 

Keep the GoW3 gameplay, stay far away from the control variations in Judgement, bring back down but not out, as well as 3 starting weapons.

 

 

 

 

I know that some people would shy away from a game that doesn't have a campaign, but this is their chance to make MP at its best. How many games suffered because there was a division between SP and MP? It works for some, but mostly either SP, or MP suffer because of it.

 

 

New Gears + Exclusively MP = Win!

 

with you on this. as much as i loved the gears campaign thats not what kept the game alive for me. the mp is so fun and unique.

 

Is that really what the industry needs though? ANOTHER generic online shooter doing away with the only element that makes it even remotely unique or appealing? We already have games like Dust 514, Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament and Titanfall abandoning single player gaming while others like CoD, MoH, and Battlefield have obviously shafted players with a less-than-mediocre single player experience in favor of pushing they bland and generic competitive modes on the masses. And lets not forget the last game that was going to "brilliantly fuse the single and multiplayer elements of a game into one seamless and amazing experience." We all know how Brink turned out.

..

 

i disagree i cant think of any other game that played like gears of war did. i loved the way gears mp plays. nothing beats wall bouncing multiple players and owning them with the good old gnasher

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Again please no exclusively MP, this Isa flagship title, we already have titanfall taking thatawful approach

 

i am interested in what they will do for the campaign. good campaign or not tho once its complete i wont play it again unless i have a reason to or someone needs help. other than that id be on mp

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