Gears of War 5 is happening - as long as Gears 4 doesn't go "horribly"

"Microsoft investment makes more Gears games likely."

[-Foxtrot]

Basically "Buy Gears 4...or else"

[Overload]

Pretty much.

[TheCommentator]

Not really. I'm sure that the game will sell well enough that there will be a 5 and 6 so there's nothing to worry about. I may be misremembering, but I'm pretty sure they planned this as a trilogy just like the first set was.

Foxtrot makes it sound like a threat but the reality is it's just business. If for some reason Gears 4 sells horribly maybe MS will shelve it and let The Coalition make something else, like the game Black Tusk showed briefly at the XB1 reveal.

[Thatguy-310]

I mean they bought the IP so I doubt they'll abandon it like nothing quick

[Overload]

Of course. But it doesn't have to be the Coalition making it and it doesn't have to be console game. IP's can be used for many things, look at Konami.

I'm not saying this will happen, but I'm just saying.

Microsoft owns many great IP's they do nothing with.

[dcbronco]

Thatguy you haven't been watching Microsoft. They will spend billions and walk away months later. Look at the studio that they spent far more buying. Nokia. They spend billions each year trying stuff to walk away. Illumiroom. If it does poorly they just might clap their hands like a blackjack dealer and walk.

[Gazondaily]

Buy Gears 4 or else what? We don't make Gears 5? Well duh...its common sense.

[vickers500]

Wait, are you telling me that game developers need money for their work in order to make games? We aren't entitled to sequels whether they sell horribly or not?

They're totally threatening us! How despicable. They OWE us. They should be making high budget games for us WHETHER WE BUY THEM OR NOT, whether they make a profit or not.

I am entitled!!!

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Buy xyz game or else. This can be said for any game and series. Hell if Uncharted suddenly went belly up and had a really horrible release I doubt you see them continue that franchise further. If Mario games stopped selling.... wait...who am I kidding... Nintendo will ride Mario to the grave.

Anyway, I think the overall sentiment here is one that is industry wide and understood.

[otherZinc]

Lol! M$ pumped millions into buying Gears from Epic, Getting Rod Ferguson, & creating The Coalition Studio...just like 343 Industries.

There'll be plenty more Gears games afterGears 4.

[sammarshall102]

Yup the heading makes it sound bad out of context but after reading the article it sounds like they're brimming with confidence about making more Gears games

[rainslacker]

Or else what? MS will create a new staple IP?

Gears 5 is definitely happening. MS spent too much money on the IP to just get one game and some merchandising/licensing rights. They'll use it for as long as it makes them money.

Halo, Gears, and Forza aren't going anywhere. MS proved that when they were willing to buy the Gears franchise, because they know how important it is to the Xbox brand. With Fable likely a no show anytime soon, becoming the console known for Halo and Forza just isn't going to cut it for them in the long term.

If it flops, all MS will do is likely close down the studio, or get their act together and produce a game that people actually want if they can figure out why it flopped.

That being said, I doubt the game is going to do poorly.

[FallenAngel1984]

I really doubt that Microsoft would cancel the Gears of War franchise, or that Gears of War 4 will be so bad that Microsoft would want to cancel the franchise.

[Overload]

One of Gears pulls last gen in my opinion was being a very impressive visually, this definitely doesn't have that going for it. It will be interesting (TM) to see how it does in a very very crowded window this fall with all the regular heavy hitters launching and PlayStation VR.

[Gazondaily]

This doesn't have impressive visuals going for it because of early alpha footage eh? Even when the dev states it you lot pretend not to hear it.

Well, one of the other things Gears had going for it was its MP. Running on dedicated servers. Shockingly some tps games this gen don't even have that. I'm more concerned with the gameplay as any level headed fan would be.

[d_g]

"One of Gears pulls last gen in my opinion was being a very impressive visually, this definitely doesn't have that going for it."

what are you talking about ? the campaign looks very impressive visually

http://media1.gameinformer....
http://media1.gameinformer....
http://images.gamersyde.com...

[game4funz]

I have to say your comment is very uneducated. What makes you think it's not gonna be graphically impressive?

Because it's definitely not what the developers have said.

[Overload]

@septic

We have heard this before, Destiny and Halo 5 both come to mind. Both released "Alphas" and "Betas" that ended up looking very similar at release. I do think Gears will look better than it does, but I'm not expecting a miracle.

Everything from the animations to the environments look straight up bad, I don't expect all of that to change.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

If you're talking about the MP not being visually impressive then you need to realize graphics aren't hugely important for the multiplayer side of the things. As long as the graphics improve slightly come launch it'll be fine. Gameplay makes or breaks a multiplayer.

[christocolus]

@Overload

Don't worry Overload. I'm sure Gears loyal fanbase will support the highly anticipated 4th entry in the series. It's a mainline Gears game and continues where the story of Gears 3 left off. If you think it won't sell well then i dont know what else to say. Halo was the lowest rated Halo game and yet it sold really well and somehow you think Gears4 won't? ok

[thisgamer503]

People, it's Overload. Let's not feed the troll.

[sammarshall102]

Then you haven't seen the recent Game Informer screenshots

It's beautiful

[KuroKazuma]

here we go
forza halo gears gen repeats

[XanderZane]

and ReCore, Quantum Break, Crackdown 3, Scalebound, Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest, Sunset Overdrive, Sea of Thieves, Below, Screamride, Ryse, Killer Instinct, Titanfall etc.., etc.. The games keep coming

Gears 4 is going to be great. It's a franchise for XBox just like Uncharted, GT and R & C are franchises for PS. They've been around as long as Gears, Halo and Forza. Some even longer.

[22CobraKing]

But after some series of games the quality starts to decline. I would rather have them make something new than having gears 6.

[rainslacker]

Of that entire list, besides QB, and maybe Crackdown, how many of those games do you really think is going to get people excited for the Xbox? Not just fans of the xbox but actual potential customers that are looking at getting a console?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about them offering more, but you still need a steady succession of games that really stand out as what is affectionately called, "system sellers", to actually sell the system.

Sony has their own staple franchises, and then they also produce a pretty good variety of games like most of the list you provided, but we don't see the same IP's every year, and I've never seen anyone seriously try to say that PS is known for a relatively limited number of titles....and it should be obvious, MS has actually lost one of it's staples since Fable isn't in the list anymore.

[sammarshall102]

@Rainslacker Recore, Scalebound, Crackdown 3, Phantom Dust, Sea of Thieves and Halo Wars 2 all have great potential to get people interested

[rainslacker]

I think they have potential to be really good games, but do you really see them getting people excited for Xbox? QB had three years of hype surrounding it on release, and it's a new concept which looks great, but the other games hardly ever get a mention. At what point do those other games go from just being something to round out the 1st/2nd party titles from MS, to being those games people are really excited for?

MS needs to break this Halo, Forza, Gears only view that people have of the system, because it's only holding them back. They're great games, but if that's all people expect from them, then they're not going to be picking up new customers, and less people are likely to try their new stuff when it comes around.

Compare this with Sony's line up, which despite it's staples, also has numerous staples and tons of variety which get a lot of attention just due to the ongoing quality of them over the years, which makes people more willing to try new things. That's why games like Heavy Rain or Until Dawn can make an impact, because people have come to expect these niche gems to be great, so they keep an eye out for them, and it leads to a better perception of the brand overall.

Forza, Gears, and Halo can be the best games ever created, but if that's all that the system is known for outside it's diehard fan base(which is about the only thing people know about outside the die hards), then it doesn't do anything for them except get those die hards to buy the system.

[XanderZane]

@22CobraKing
That's why Microsoft is providing NEW IP's because they know games don't just want to play Halo, Forza and Gears. This is why games like Recore, Sea of Thieves, Ryse, Sunset Overdrive, Below, Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest, Below, Scalebound, Screamride and Blues & Bullets were added. Some old favorites like Crackdown 3 & Gears 4 were brought back.

[sammarshall102]

Well they're amazing games

[OpenGL]

I hope the game does well, I liked the first 3 Gears games and would love to see a proper current-gen sequel. The original Gears of War was the game that made be buy an Xbox 360.

[jznrpg]

And 6 7 8 9 10 as long as it sells. I may play 4 someday, but 3 turned me off of the series

[KingKionic]

""That's made it easier to design moving forward. In the past, when we were doing Gears 1, Gears 2 and Gears 3, there was a lot of doubt, we didn't know whether there would be another one, so we just had to get everything in right now. "

"Here, we're able to look at it, recognize a great idea that doesn't quite fit right now, but it'll fit in the next one. It's made it a lot easier."

And there it is.

The reason why gears of war 4 multiplayer is underwhelming.

Rod ferguson is not pushing gears as if they had to out do each game.

But he is cutting up Gears of war 4 in his mind because he feels comfortable.

[Artemidorus]

The company already rubbing it's hands together for another Gears, modern gamers get the wallets at the ready to pay even more.

[magiciandude]

Well this confirms Gears of War 5 will happen then. Gears of War 4 is going to be an ultra amazing AAAA TPS.

[Kemo_Spear]

Easy there with those kind of predictions. I remember not that long ago the same thing was being said about Quantum Break and it ended up with a Metacritic score of 77. Not a bad score by any means, but not a "masterpiece" or "an ultra amazing AAA" that some were predicting.

When people start saying things like that, they are only setting themselves up for a fail

[sammarshall102]

Going off of comments I see after release Quantum Break is a masterpiece to a lot of gamers including me :)

[rainslacker]

I think MS is putting a lot of care into getting the game right. There's a lot riding on the game, particularly since Epic isn't involved, and Blizzinski isn't directing. MS pretty much has to prove to everyone that they are capable of doing it right.

It's hard to do something like that, because diehard fans don't like change, and new people want something different. The balancing of the two is one of the hardest aspects of game design, and to try and take the helm of one of gaming's premiere IP's is no small feat. Every discrepency will be scrutinized to death, and if they screw it up, people will never let them live it down.

[Ptous6115]

I am definitely getting this game, Uncharted 4 and Doom . Still playing Quantum Break and loving it.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Plenty of good games out and to come as you noted and also on all the platforms out. If you own any of the consoles and/or a PC there really is something out there that is good for you to play.

There really is no need to feel the need to "choose a side" other than to find a platform with the games you want to play. If that is one platform or all of them you can be happy in your own skin and shouldn't need to justify anything to anyone else.

[DarXyde]

"​One of the things that's nice about Microsoft's investment is that we know, unless this does horribly, we're probably going to do another one"

Keyword: "horribly".

There's just no way Gears of War is going to do horribly. When it was a new IP it did well and I can only imagine that it'll sell splendidly with the fans it has now. Show a video at E3 and people will absolutely eat it up. Sales could be mediocre or even slightly below Microsoft's expectations and still fund a sequel. Extremely unlikely it'll do horribly, especially with what they've shown thus far and seeing their work on Gears of War Ultimate. The series is in good hands, I think.

[Tzuno]

I am not impressed by gears 4 so far, wonder why...

[Smokingunz]

Well they better make gears a graphical showcase and a great game like they did with the first three installments on the 360. That game wowed people and made them go out and buy an xbox one just to play it.

So far what iv seen from the multiplayer it doesnt look much different just slightly better than the previous installments and thats not a good look or mabye im just tripping expecting too much.

The trailer for the campaign looked really good bit the multipler looked meh,i hope the campaign is great as well as the multiplayer.i want to be blown awawy like i was when the series first pioneered on the x1. It should have the best graphics on any game on the x1. With cliffy b and the rest of epic not being involved the game as a while is in question.

[Pullmywaffle]

Would've been more accurate to say "as long as gears 4 doesn't pull a Halo 5...."

[ScorpiusX]

Both are day one buys , no matter what .

[opinionated]

That's common sense. The last gears wasn't received as well as the others. If this one shows a lack of interest then why would investors waste money? I think it's safe to say it will do well in sales because xbone guys are waiting for exclusives. There is no need to worry.