Gears of War fans may not have to wait another seven years. In an interview with BBC Newsbeat, The Coalition’s studio head Mike Crump said Gears of War: E-Day gives the team “a great foundation” for future games, and that “the next game will not take nearly as long” to make.
E-Day arrived seven years after Gears 5, and it was largely built from the ground up rather than on top of earlier games. Crump didn’t say what the studio is making next, and The Coalition hasn’t announced any new projects.
He was less direct on the question hanging over the studio. Eurogamer recently reported, citing sources, that some developers at The Coalition fear layoffs now that E-Day has shipped. Asked about it, Crump said: “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.”
The BBC notes that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told staff in July there would be 3,200 job losses across Xbox-owned studios this financial year, and that the company has said it is about three-quarters of the way through that plan. The Coalition has mostly avoided cuts so far, though E-Day story director Juan Vaca was let go shortly before launch. Crump pointed to the studio’s leadership team, which he said has “worked together for upwards of 20 years,” as a source of continuity.
E-Day is an Xbox console exclusive, with a PC version also available. Crump called it a “natural choice,” saying Gears “has been an exclusive franchise to Xbox for 20 years now. It’s sort of entwined deeply with the brand.” Asked how the studio measures success, he said there are financial and player targets, but the team also asks whether it is “showcasing what the Xbox is capable of.” “Our goal basically is to be the best-looking game on the Xbox,” he said.
So far, E-Day is doing well with critics, holding an 87 on Metacritic. RCG covered the director’s exit before launch: Gears of War: E-Day story director Juan Vaca laid off.
