Gears 5 studio The Coalition is seemingly working on a brand-new IP.
Though not formally announced by the studio, a LinkedIn profile by one of the team's level designers detailed that they'd been employed as a multiplayer level designer since August 2020, and as a "level designer on a new IP" since February of this year, too.
The designer has since revised their LinkedIn profile and removed all references to the new IP, but fortunately – or unfortunately, depending upon your viewpoint – not before canny internet folk screencapped and shared the information.
"It looks like The Coalition could be working on a new IP alongside Gears of War, if this LinkedIn description is accurate," tweeted Klobrille, a verified Twitter account that posts news from Xbox Game Studios (thanks, VGC). "This kind of was hinted at before already as well."
It looks like The Coalition could be working on a new IP alongside Gears of War, if this LinkedIn description is accurate. This kind of was hinted at before already as well.https://t.co/XZkjZRDSSd pic.twitter.com/bpUmg391xxJuly 17, 2021
It's a particularly interesting find because The Coalition recently moved over to Unreal Engine 5 for future games and warned Gears 5 fans that “[s]hifting to a new engine is a big undertaking, so we want to be clear that we will not be announcing any new projects or titles for some time”. Naturally, it takes years for games to be fully developed and not all come to fruition, but hopefully, we'll be seeing a new adventure from The Coalition sooner rather than later. It's even possible we'll get a teaser at The Coalition GDC panel demo, Alpha Point, later this week.
If you haven't yet dipped your virtual toes in Gears 5, why not?
"For the Xbox faithful, Gears of War has been a constant – a port in a storm. After more than a decade and four games – not including spin-offs Gears of War: Judgment and Pop! – it provided top-flight visuals and predictably fun roadie running and chainsaw-gunning for everyone. It’s never wavered and rarely changed much," we wrote in 12DOVE's 4-star Gears 5 review.
"Gears 5 – Developer Coalition has cut down the title – is mixing things up a little bit. There are open-world style hubs, an upgrade system, and other nods to larger trends that have found their way into the biggest game franchises. Despite its overtures towards evolution, Gears 5 persists in the tradition of its predecessors: filling arenas and corridors with gunfight after thrilling, hectic gunfight. I went into Gears 5 craving change, but was surprised to find that the parts I enjoyed most were tried and true – every fight constantly challenged me and consistently drew me in. Classic Gears still feels good, even five games later."
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