Microsoft Studios acquires rights to Gears of War franchise/Black Tusk does the work

jelly said:
I think it scraped by 1 million or so. The first three did about 6 - 7 million each.
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750k in North America. World Wide probably did over 1 million.


They could easily go back in time and do a Pendulum Wars game. It would actually be a fresh take on the series. They need is some clever new mechanics to augment the cover gameplay to freshen up the regular moment to moment gameplay and have more vehicle based confrontations to up the ante.

There is no way this deal was done overnight either. This has probably been in the works for around 3 or 4 months.
 
JaxJag said:
I feel it's Microsoft taking a different approach with their gaming lineup. Instead of completing relying on 3rd party studios like they did during the 360 era, it seems this generation they're trying to bring more stuff in house.

I think it's a good thing. But I guess I can see how it's a bad thing for people who want to see the Xbox brand fail.
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It's not about a brand failing, I really don't think many people even care for stuff like that to happen. It's all about the fact that there's a reason why Bungie and Epic are no longer making games exclusive to MS's console.
 
Comet said:
It's not about a brand failing, I really don't think many people even care for stuff like that to happen. It's all about the fact that there's a reason why Bungie and Epic are no longer making games exclusive to MS's console.
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Epic isn't even Epic anymore. I don't feel they have enough talent over there to even turn out another quality Gears game, especially with it's creator gone.
 
Count me among the few nonplussed by this news.

Although it's good for MS and for Epic (going the way of Bungie, I see?), it feels like we'll still be getting our usual Halo/Gears/Forza rotation with Call of Duty and possibly Titanfall coming in annually/semi-annually.

I wonder if Tusk is going to finish their new IP first, or start work on the next Gears. The franchise never interested me personally, but I hope the sequel can revive the series.
 
Comet said:
It's not about a brand failing, I really don't think many people even care for stuff like that to happen. It's all about the fact that there's a reason why Bungie and Epic are no longer making games exclusive to MS's console.
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Probably money from multiple sources is more from a single source. See Call of Duty's sales across multiple SKUs. Also, if it doesn't hit on one platform it may hit on another.
 
JaxJag said:
I feel it's Microsoft taking a different approach with their gaming lineup. Instead of completely relying on 3rd party studios like they did during the 360 era, it seems this generation they're trying to bring more stuff in house.

I think it's a good thing. But I guess I can see how it's a bad thing for people who want to see the Xbox brand fail.
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Yeah, it is interesting to see MS open up internal studios . . . seems like they are flip-flopping on this one. They seemed to be closing down a lot of them for a while.

I don't want to see the xbox fail . . . I hope it does well . . . competition is good.
 
KnockOneOff said:
Yeah let's believe a twitter feed!

Business is business the person writing that is the drone that just read an internal press release

Anyone remember the leaked xbox 720 plans that stated GEARS OF WAR 5?
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They are a recruiter for Xbox studios, including Black Tusk. They should definitely know what is going on.

KnockOneOff said:
That ain't an official m$ twitter
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It is actually.
 
Side Speculation . . . Rod had just started at a 2K studio a few months ago. No doubt that he signed some sort of contract with Take-Two. Microsoft must have had to pay something to get him to break that contract. So I wonder if some other deal between Microsoft and Take-Two will be announced eventually (perhaps a time-exclusive on DLC or something). Or maybe MS just paid cash to break the contract. Who knows?
 
Warm Machine said:
750k in North America. World Wide probably did over 1 million.


They could easily go back in time and do a Pendulum Wars game. It would actually be a fresh take on the series. They need is some clever new mechanics to augment the cover gameplay to freshen up the regular moment to moment gameplay and have more vehicle based confrontations to up the ante.

There is no way this deal was done overnight either. This has probably been in the works for around 3 or 4 months.
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id say reboot the franchise and this time dont leave fans with unanswered question at the end of the story
 
Steverulez said:
I think Black Tusk are going to end up a very big multi IP studio. They keep saying they're only talking about Gears today but what the studio said to me was interesting. They have moved all Big Park and MS Victoria's game development (Big Park still doing TV apps I think) into Black Tusk, I would bet long the plans is for a massive multi IP studio, I'm just not sure how short term they will work out with the new IP
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Let's hope so, but aren't they relatively small? I doubt we'll be seeing the stealth game any time soon. It's lost to the ether....

Dynopia said:
Glad I'm not the only one.
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I'm pretty pissed at this news, I'm almost tempted to boycott the next Gears. That may seem extreme and petty to some, but I was actually really hyped about their new IP. The prospect of a new stealth IP was very exciting and now it's gone...

badb0y said:
Agreed. But I like Gears so I don't know.
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I liked Gears too, but it's run its course. Not sure I want a reboot or a sequel, unless it's drastically different from what we've had so far and that's unlikely as MS won't be wanting to take too many risks...

chubigans said:
I agree that it sucks to lose out on an original IP like this but think about it...MS has this brand new studio set up, and they've seen what Black Tusk has worked on so far since 2012. Black Tusk has proven themselves, at the very least, to be very competent developers, and their project was still early in development. It makes more sense to trust them with their expensive IP than to build a new studio that has no such guarantees, which would take even more time to set up and execute a new project.
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Good points and I agree with most of them, but at the same time I feel it might have been better to allow BT to finish the stealth game and see how the final product turned out/was received. They are taking a huge risk by putting an untested developer on the task of developing their second biggest IP and we have a great example in 343i of what happens when a relatively untested developer is put to work on a big ticket IP..

Gears is already on unstable ground after Judgement, a second average entry will likely kill the series.

Shahed said:
This is how I feel. As much as I liked Gears of War, after three it felt likt it ran it's course. I would have loved it had Black Tusk targeted creating a new big franchise instead of using one that has lost it's shine
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Yep. It's anger inducing to see MS write off a stealth game when stealth games in general are in short supply and the few that are available are aiming for a broader audience...
 
LiK said:
Anyone still excited for Gears?
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I still play gears3 weekly. I was holding out for a multiplat announcement but it looks like I might be getting a Xbone sometime.

Subaru said:
Who is Black Tusk? I mean it, I know that is a Microsoft studio, but do we have any reason to trust them?
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who knows, they're unproven and this will be quite the risk for MS.

speculawyer said:
Panic desperation from the timing. They could have bought the Gears IP long ago or while they were preparing for the Xbox One launch. But they chose not to. Perhaps Epic was asking too much, perhaps they didn't think it was worth it.

Fast forward to now when the PS4 is beating them in sales (due to lower price, better specs, etc.) and has the momentum . . . QUICK! BUY SOMETHING TO BE EXCLUSIVE!
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this actually could have been slated for an E3 reveal but the bad press MS had had over the past week probably forced their hand. they needed something to counter that.
 
malfcn said:
Is this why Epic hasn't really been supporting the titles well lately?
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It's probably because they've gone as far as they can with the Gears series, and rather than keep churning them out, they'd rather sell the IP to Microsoft and go the way of Bungie, making their own 3rd party games.

Maybe BT can revive the series. It probably has a better chance at revitalization due to the hype behind the next gen consoles.
 
A great scoop for MS! Gears must be one of the biggest exclusive franchises, at least if you discard Nintys. And it's made by a gaffer! :D
 
Facism said:
I hope Black Tusk are given the freedom to do what they will with the property. It would be disheartening if they got locked into recycling the same old formula over and over every few years.

Let it be theirs.
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As someone who was never a big fan of the series, this is what excites me. New team and new hardware in a new generation. Now Microsoft owns it and pretty much has a clean slate.
 
Why are people saying Gears is going irrelevant. The series is up there in terms of sales. Only reason people didn't like Judgement is because it tried to be different for no reason at all, plus we were getting tired of it. Spin-offs typically don't do well.

GeoW 4 on a new console will sell gangbusters, mark my word.
 
EightBitNate said:
Why are people saying Gears is going irrelevant. The series is up there in terms of sales. Only reason people didn't like Judgement is because it tried to be different for no reason at all, plus we were getting tired of it. Spin-offs typically don't do well.

GeoW 4 on a new console will sell gangbusters, mark my word.
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If it went multiplat they wouldn't be saying this

Basically the majority with Xbox ones are excited :)
The rest are, how to put it? Haters...
 
Sad to see Gears depart from Epic. They have done a wonderful job with the franchise. But this is good news for X1 owners as MS is lining up it's stable of multiplayer/co-op games for it's new system. Hopefully Black Tusk and Rob Fergusson make a good game and are allowed to work on a new franchise.
 
I once worked in the building that Black Tusk now takes residence in. I think they have two floors and there is enough space for around 200 people. They just hung the Microsoft sign on the building.
 
IcyRhythms said:
Isn't Black Tusk working on something else?

Didn't Judgement prove people have grown tired of Gears?
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Like i said a page back. I was done after Gears 3. No more just no and yes people are tired of gears and judgment was pretty mutch a lackluster so i have read. Gimme something new and fresh. But not planning to buy a Xbox One anyway to me this is such a shame for not only Epic but the people who worked there for all 3 of them after all these years. Sure Rod is on the helm there but to me it feels like a new CoD milking is on the rising and i just don't feel for it that it is belonging to another studio.
 
I honestly hate it when this happens. I wanted to see the gears series go to a newer audience (specifically Sony) because it is a good series with a sound game design but now Microsoft bought this and Titanfall. Wouldn't be surprised if they just buy out epic back from China and Respawn..... Sad days.
 
So they just canned the huge AAA new IP these guys were working on and turned them into a studio just churning out the fifth, sixth, and seventh (and so on) Gears titles?
 
I'm excited about a new Gears too.

If we lose a new IP in the process, I guess that stinks as well, but I didn't have any real attachment to a 30-second teaser.
 
Smart get by MS, but Black Tusk being the guys working on it is underwelming. So much for their new IP, I can't see them being big enough for multiple projects yet.
 
Although I have since switch to PS4, the fact Xbox has the finances of Microsoft behind it always made me feel secure in my purchase with them. Will look again at the Xbone when it gets its inevitable price drop. Really enjoyed my time with the first Gears.
 
sixamp said:
Its funny seeing all the "why, shouldn't they just end the series""milking continues"

gears sells well and the games are above average. "milking gears is no different than milking uncharted, killzone, halo, AC , Mario ,Zelda or any other game that gas multiple titles. There's obviously a core audience who loves these games. Personally I like the single player but hate the multiplayer
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Except many of those series have been critiqued as well. And not all of them have been running out of steam or had previously crappy titles.

Not to say Gears won't do well, but the comments are without some merit.
 
Hmmm... Gears with its current cast is played out. But pull a KotOR or Legacy -- possibly with the idea of a repeating cycle -- and I could be down for more.
 
Shtof said:
I seriously hope Microsoft understands that Halo and especially Gears of War ain't gonna cut it anymore. Same goes for Sony with Uncharted and God of War.
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This. I want other forms of gaming entertainment and gamers who also want this, I think we'll see some cool things outside of Sony and MS this year.
 
Get a good writer to do the story. Get Cliffy in somehow, as an advisor or something like that to not stray too far off from the original vision. Get Unreal4 to make it's X1 debut on it. Do a teaser TV commercial like the first one with Donny Darko's music. Have a teaser/target render trailer at E3 this year. Watch the hype do it's magic and help it become a million seller franchise yet again.
 
EchoChamber said:
Mexicans will buy xbones in droves when the next gears is released
I will do that too
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Strangely enough yesterday I played both Ryse and COD online and in both games I was partied with spanish speakers. I'm actually surprised that people are actually talking in online games again.
 
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