Former Gears Of War Boss Reveals Initial Plans For Gears 6 And Explains The Cliffhanger Decision Of Gears 5

While the Gears of War franchise is not done for good, it has been almost a handful of years since the last major entry from The Coalition. The last entry came in 2020 with Gears Tactics. “Gears Tactics succeeds in adapting the existing formula for a new genre, and it hopefully provides an excellent foundation that they can hopefully build off for the future,” our review for the game read then.

In 2024, however, The Coalition unveiled that Gears of War is returning to where it all started – literally. Prequel ‘Gears of War: E-Day’ was announced revealing that the event which jump started the lore for the series is on the way. According to creative director Matt Searcy in an interview, the title will embrace its linear roots which steps back from the more open approach in Gears 5.

But what about the events for Gears 6? Speaking to IGN recently, former studio head Rod Fergusson explained that the intention for the next installment would be exploring an entirely new world. The plan he had conjured included evading the hostile planet Sera for a new setting amid the stars. But this choice would instead be solely a vessel for the plot and “not Mass Effecting [the series]”, in his own words.

Fergusson also went on to elaborate that the decision at the end of Gears 5 was not created with a predetermined outcome for the sequel. Instead, he pressed that the community’s choice was the driving force that would be explored for Gears 6. “We kind of wanted to be through player choice,” Fergusson explained.

“I was actually shocked that there was a- it was pretty close – like neck-and neck. It wasn’t like sort of ‘everybody chose JD to die or chose Del to die’, it was sort of very much neck-and-neck.” He adds: “It was sort of one of the challenges of 6 was like, ‘how do we deal with choice that we’ve never had in the franchise before’. Even when I was doing it, the team wasn’t thrilled with the idea.

Would you have preferred this approach to the next Gears of War game?