14 DAY TRIAL // Gears of War 5 has been announced by Microsoft, alongside Gears Tactics and Gears Pop, both of which signal either a departure from the series or a new direction.
Fans got to know and love the Gears of War franchise as it was created by Epic Games, but back in 2014 Microsoft bought the rights and is building a new future for it. The latest release title was Gears of War 4, which remained within the barriers set by Epic Games, but Microsoft wants to move further.
The development if headed by a studio explicitly created to work on new Gears of War titles, called The Coalition, and this is exactly what happened with Halo. It’s easy to infer that a similar trajectory is planned for this franchise as well. The E3 2018 announcement from Microsoft paints a clear picture.
Moving to a more serious tone
One of the first things that you’ll notice after watching the trailer is that the game adopts a much darker and serious tone. If we didn’t know any better, we’d think that it’s some sort of a horror or survival game. In any case, it’s way different than the previous titles, and it’s difficult not to want to like it.
Equally interesting was the reveal of Gears Tactics and Gears Pop. First of all, Gears Tactics closely resembles the X-COM series, but with different characters and abilities. Its development is being headed by the UK studio Splash Damage.
And then there is Gears Pop, a funky mobile game that turns all characters in exaggerations and strips any kind of a serious tone from Gears of War 5. It looks like Microsoft is branching out and wants to see what sticks.
Gears of War 5 is headed to PC and Xbox One in 2019, Gears Tactics will be available on PC only, and Gears Pop on mobile devices, probably Android and iOS.
