By Paula Beaton In an interview with the BBC, Gears of War boss Mike Crump promised players wouldn’t have to wait seven years for the next game, but declined to offer specifics about the studio’s future or possible layoffs.
The Coalition, the studio behind the Gears of War franchise, has largely avoided the impact of Xbox’s restructuring and sweeping job cuts so far, though Juan Vaca, E-Day‘s story director, was laid off the week before the title launched in early access.
Following the release of Gears of War: E-Day, many team members fear layoffs.
In response to questions about the studio’s future, Crump’s response was vague:
“What I say to myself, what I say to the team, is we just we need to focus on the things that we can control. For us that’s about shipping a great game that people are going to love and I feel like, as a team, we’ve done that.”
Fans of the franchise had to wait seven years for E-Day, the sequel to Gears 5 (2019), to land.
Crump was quick to reassure players that they wouldn’t need to wait as long for the next game, saying that it “will not take nearly as long to develop.”
Gears of War: E-Day is one of the franchise’s most ambitious entries, and has been well-received so far by critics and players, with an 88 score on Metacritic.
But is that enough to protect jobs at The Coalition? Crump spoke about the latest game being “a great foundation” for future games, but didn’t mention whether the next game will continue the Gears 5 story, resolving its cliffhanger, or be another prequel.
This year has been a difficult one for Microsoft and Xbox, with 286 roles cut in the most recent round of layoffs, including at Ninja Theory, the studio behind the Hellblade games. Its future — and the future of Senua, the third game in the series, looks uncertain.
We also saw job cuts at State of Decay studio Undead Labs, which announced its independence from Microsoft but confirmed a “significant number” of layoffs.
As to what the future holds for The Coalition and the next Gears game, watch this space.