14 DAY TRIAL // Gears of War 4 is finally a reality and set to launch on the Xbox One before the end of the year. However, it seems that, before The Coalition took charge of the franchise, the original team at Epic Games had worked on their own take on the concept for a new title for about six months.
Game Informer quotes Rod Fergusson, who worked for both companies in the past few years, as saying, "Epic's initial Gears 4 engine was very mobile- and PC-centric more than it was console-focused. You can see their focus shift towards games like Fortnite and Paragon and stuff like that."
It seems that the original team was the one that created the idea of jumping ahead in time to focus on the son of Marcus Fenix and made the Swarm a key part of the action, although none of the original monster designs are now featured.
Epic Games received a big investment from Tencent, and that's when the company decided to shift to a new development approach, and some key developers, including Cliff Bleszinski, who worked on Gears of War, decided to leave the studio.
Because the team did not have a clear plan for the third-person shooter franchise, Microsoft became interested in picking it up as quickly as possible, with Phil Spencer, who leads the Xbox division, involved in negotiations to buy it.
The transaction that moved Gears of War as a series to Microsoft took place in early 2013, and the amount of money that changed hands was never disclosed.
The fourth core title is coming before year's end
The Coalition and Microsoft have only recently started offering details about their plans for the video game, explaining that they are focusing on a 24-hour-long period and want to recapture some of the survival tension that was part of the first title in the series.
Gears of War 4 will star JD Fenix and two comrades who are operating outside of GOG-controlled areas and have to deal with the changes that Sera has gone through, including new weather patterns and the emergence of new fauna linked to the events at the end of the previous game.
The game will feature classic third-person action mechanics and a re-designed take on the cover system, with two players able to engage in local coop.
Microsoft says that launch will take place only on the Xbox One before the end of the year, and a beta will be delivered to those who have played Gears of War: Ultimate in April.