Microsoft acquires rights to “Gears of War" from Epic Games

[Patticus]

From Xbox.com:
 

Microsoft Studios acquires rights to Gears of War franchise
 

 
Today we're excited to announce that Microsoft Studios has acquired the rights to the “Gears of War” franchise from Epic Games, including rights to all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise. In addition, we are excited to announce that Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver, BC will take over development of the “Gears of War” franchise and that Rod Fergusson, former Director of Production at Epic Games on the “Gears of War” franchise, will join Microsoft and play a key studio leadership role at Black Tusk on the development of the franchise going forward. We had a chance to chat with Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft Studios, Hanno Lemke, General Manager of Black Tusk Studios at Microsoft Studios, and Rod Fergusson about the big news.
 
Why did Microsoft purchase the “Gears of War” franchise?
Phil Spencer: It all comes back to our commitment to Xbox fans. The “Gears of War” franchise has a very strong, passionate and valued fan base on Xbox. Over twenty-two million units have been sold across all “Gears of War” titles worldwide, grossing over $1B dollars (US). This franchise, and these fans, are part of the soul of Xbox. By acquiring this franchise, Microsoft Studios will continue to offer them more of their favorite games and entertainment experiences from the “Gears of War” universe. 
 
Why did Epic Games agree to this acquisition?
Hanno Lemke: Epic has been a tremendous partner to work with, and it has been a privilege for Microsoft to be Epic’s publishing partner and work together to achieve the phenomenal success of the “Gears of War” games.  Epic remains great partners and good friends of Microsoft Studios.  In fact we will collaborate closely with Epic to ensure the inclusion of the Unreal Engine technology into the “Gears of War” franchise going forward remains consistent with the high quality fans have come to expect from the franchise.
 
Why was an as-yet-unproven studio like Black Tusk chosen to lead the “Gears of War” development over a more established studio?
Phil Spencer: Black Tusk has assembled a world-class team with deep experience and passion for the shooter space, and specifically the “Gears of War” franchise.  I am extremely confident that under the leadership of Hanno Lemke, Rod Fergusson and our other leaders in the studio, Black Tusk is well equipped to take on the future development of the “Gears of War” franchise.
 
Are there plans to bring anyone who worked on previous “Gears of War” games onboard to work on the future of the series?
Hanno Lemke: The news that Rod Fergusson is joining Black Tusk should be really exciting for fans of the franchise.  Rod has played a leadership role at Epic on all of the “Gears of Wars” games, he understands the franchise deeply but equally importantly he understands the fans of the franchise – what they love, where they want to see the franchise evolve.  Once the news spreads about the opportunities at Black Tusk, I’m confident we’ll see interest from a number of talented developers who share the same passion for the “Gears” franchise as the developers at Black Tusk. 
 
When can we expect to hear more about the plans for the “Gears of War” franchise?
Hanno Lemke: We hope to be able to share more news about “Gears of War” later this year.
 
You’re moving back to Canada and back to working on the “Gears” franchise. Is it like a homecoming for you?
Rod Fergusson: I’m extremely excited to be joining Black Tusk Studios to oversee development on the “Gears of War” franchise. I’ve been privileged to work on a lot of great games with a lot of great teams, but “Gears” has had the most impact on me professionally and personally, so this really feels like a homecoming. I can’t wait to share more with you all soon.
 
Finally, Epic games shared the following statement on the acquisition:
“Epic Games has reached an agreement to sell the ‘Gears of War’ intellectual property rights to Microsoft.  We’re very proud of the franchise we built in close partnership with Microsoft over the past decade and are happy that this agreement enables Microsoft to forge ahead with the ‘Gears’ universe on their industry-leading platforms as Epic concentrates its efforts on new projects,” said Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. “Epic remains totally dedicated to supporting Xbox One and is licensing the Unreal Engine 4 technology to Microsoft in support of their future projects.”

 
http://news.xbox.com/2014/01/games-microsoft-studios-gears-of-war

 

So, clearly this series isn't dead yet, even though frankly it probably should be, at least for the time being. Will we be getting a new outing, then, or plush new re-releases of the last four? I actually wouldn't mind a retread of the series so far, but only after the PS4/Xbone generation has passed. Right now though, it's just way too soon, which makes the "hopefully later this year" comment from Lemke somewhat worrying. Give it some rest, Microsoft, maybe spend a few years working on a reboot or some such and bring it out when we aren't still tired of its brownliness.

[PSI Wind]

Wasn't it always an Xbox exclusive anyways?

[Patticus]

Wasn't it always an Xbox exclusive anyways?

 

Yes, but this way, once that contract ends (as they all must end), Epic can't just up sticks and put it on other formats for $$$. And hey, maybe we'll get a new Unreal out of them.

[Dobkeratops]

Black Tusk: "Hey guys we want to make a new cool IP for your Xbone"

 

 

Microsoft: "Haha nope, get cranking on those bi-yearly Gears games"

 

So I guess it'll be another generation of Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears with some Forzas in there for the big MS first party efforts.

[Candescence]

Gears has always been a rather boring shooter, so I don't particularly care. Whatever, MS, you can keep it, let Epic and People Can Fly work on better stuff. Why PCF's talent was wasted on the fourth game is beyond me.

 

Edit: Oh, and I find it hilarious that Black Tusk's new IP (which actually looked vaguely interesting) was canned in favor of one of the most bland shooter franchises in recent memory.

[Marcello]

I'm not a fan of the series myself, but it is popular, so this doesn't seem to be a bad move. Just put more effort into it than in the latest game.

 

As for the new IP they were working on, where does it say it was canned? They could be working on both.

 

Black Tusk: "Hey guys we want to make a new cool IP for your Xbone"

 

 

Microsoft: "Haha nope, get cranking on those bi-yearly Gears games"

 

So I guess it'll be another generation of Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears with some Forzas in there for the big MS first party efforts.

Yes, that's all they released on the 360.

[KHCast]

I remember seeing people on the Internet saying how Gears was gonna end up being a multiplat franchise. They must be disappointed now.

Honestly I never expected it to go multi. Microsoft knows how big this is for them, so they wouldn't just give it up like that. Now that's not to say I like the games all that much, but I'm just saying.

Hopefully this gen isn't just a repeat of the prior just with better graphics...

[Kimaray]

I was a real big fan of the franchise up until the recent one, where they made a prequel to squeeze out extra cash out of it. It saddens me to see a once great franchise fall to the greed money mongers that is Microsoft. Now Gears of War will be one of the many franchises that Microsoft will mindlessly milk for cash, like they are now doing with Halo.

[Gabz Girl]

Used to really like the Gears games...until the third one. And then the fourth came out. Mind you I haven't played Judgement but from the looks of it it's much of the same. It's like the current CoD, they just churn out these games and they're always the same damn thing! Maybe Microsoft can do something cool with it now that they own the cashcow franchise? ...Nah.

 

And it annoys me how Microsoft has hardly any exclusive franchises left. At the beginning of the Xbox360's launch there were loads but now it's narrowed down to just Halo, Gears and Forza. Compare that to what Sony has released on the PS3 since launch!

 

So I guess it'll be another generation of Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears with some Forzas in there for the big MS first party efforts.

 

Oh and don't forget some more sequels to Ryse, for even more uninspired, boring and historically inaccurate QTE "fun" with movie budget graphics! 8D

[RK64]

Thats nice that Gears is still Microsoft only, as X1 fans probley enjoy past entries in the series...but having your new studio just stop working on a new IP that could be great (and greatly expand the X1's internal exclusive line up...which is lacking greatly) only to crank out bi-yearly Gears tittles is just really messed up .

 

It's not like last generation where 3rd party games are best on Microsofts platform, so they really need to have strong internal studios making lots of ORIGINAL IP, not just the same stuff from the 360 era.

 

Well, Gears could expand in some ways (make it a 1st person shooter......give it a good story?), so if Black Tusk has to salve away on Gears at least it could be interesting to see what they could do with it...

[Marcello]

Why would they make GoW an FPS? They have Halo for that.

[SuperStingray]

It feels weird calling Gears of War a generic cover shooter considering that it was the one to popularize the idea; it's like criticizing a Shakespeare play for using quotes that everyone's heard a million times.  If anything, it's one of the few series of the genre to actually do cover well.  A lot of games have problems creating the right amount of "stickiness" and general feedback, but Gears gameplay is intuitive and satisfying; I always use its reload mechanic as an example of QTEs done right.

 

That being said, they really need to evolve the gameplay to keep it relevant.  Ever since Vanquish raised the bar for cover shooters, GoW's been tepid at best.

[RK64]

Why would they make GoW an FPS? They have Halo for that.

 

I don't know, I guess just an idea to make the series have a different feel or something. Never played any of the games in the Gears series, so I'm not to fimilar on how it works outside of it having cover mechanics, you having a chainsaw gun, and having much of the world very brown/grey.

[Chronozoah]

Black Tusk: "Hey guys we want to make a new cool IP for your Xbone"

 

Microsoft: "Haha nope, get cranking on those bi-yearly Gears games"

 

So I guess it'll be another generation of Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears, Halo, Gears with some Forzas in there for the big MS first party efforts.

...

Gears has always been a rather boring shooter, so I don't particularly care. Whatever, MS, you can keep it, let Epic and People Can Fly work on better stuff. Why PCF's talent was wasted on the fourth game is beyond me.

 

Edit: Oh, and I find it hilarious that Black Tusk's new IP (which actually looked vaguely interesting) was canned in favor of one of the most bland shooter franchises in recent memory.

That's fucking ironic, considering Judgement was easily the most bland of the entire series bar the original. It's difficult to see 'talent' through a constant haze of insipid, regressive mediocrity. I realise of course how futile this is, explaining reason in defense of an Xbox IP, given who I'm speaking to and all, but eh.

 

Also, where was it confirmed that Black Tusk dropped their other projects for this? Links please.

Used to really like the Gears games...until the third one. And then the fourth came out. Mind you I haven't played Judgement but from the looks of it it's much of the same. It's like the current CoD, they just churn out these games and they're always the same damn thing! Maybe Microsoft can do something cool with it now that they own the cashcow franchise? ...Nah.

Actually, Judgement deviates from it's predecessor pretty heavily all things considered. At any rate, I find these bold claims ironic coming from a Nintendo fan.

Oh and don't forget some more sequels to Ryse, for even more uninspired, boring and historically inaccurate QTE "fun" with movie budget graphics! 8D

Uh, more sequels to Ryse? Seriously?

It feels weird calling Gears of War a generic cover shooter considering that it was the one to popularize the idea; it's like criticizing a Shakespeare play for using quotes that everyone's heard a million times.  If anything, it's one of the few series of the genre to actually do cover well.  A lot of games have problems creating the right amount of "stickiness" and general feedback, but Gears gameplay is intuitive and satisfying; I always use its reload mechanic as an example of QTEs done right.

This.

I don't know, I guess just an idea to make the series have a different feel or something. Never played any of the games in the Gears series, so I'm not to fimilar on how it works outside of it having cover mechanics, you having a chainsaw gun, and having much of the world very brown/grey.

White / Black / Grey form the primary colour pallete for the original Gears of War. It expanded noticeably as the series went along, particularly in terms of environment (except for Judgement).

 

For those who don't care about the topic (genuine question): why are you here? You obviously have nothing of value to contribute (shockingly).

[RK64]

...

That's fucking ironic, considering Judgement was easily the most bland of the entire series bar the original. It's difficult to see 'talent' through a constant haze of insipid, regressive mediocrity. I realise of course how futile this is, explaining reason in defense of an Xbox IP, given who I'm speaking to and all, but eh.

 

Also, where was it confirmed that Black Tusk dropped their other projects for this? Links please.

Actually, Judgement deviates from it's predecessor pretty heavily all things considered. At any rate, I find these bold claims ironic coming from a Nintendo fan.

Uh, more sequels to Ryse? Seriously?

This.

 

White / Black / Grey form the primary colour pallete for the original Gears of War. It expanded noticeably as the series went along, particularly in terms of environment (except for Judgement).

 

For those who don't care about the topic (genuine question): why are you here? You obviously have nothing of value to contribute (shockingly).

 

Sorry man, just not really attached to Microsofts IP's (outside of old school Rare...shame about them man ), so I don't mean to sound so bitter about Gears. I hope this move Microsoft made pays off and that Gears fans get a really awesome game that pushes the X1 hardware to its limits (like how the older games did; Epic is always a tech powerhouse ).

 

I came to the topic to find out more about what happened to Black Tusk's new IP; it looked really cool and it would be a shame for it to be canned just for them to be the new team for the Gears franchise, which errerly happen to much of Rare's work on the 360 with Kinect after Banjo Nuts and Bolts (so many cancled games man....what a shame ).

[Milo]

For those who don't care about the topic (genuine question): why are you here? You obviously have nothing of value to contribute (shockingly).

 

Except they all did by posting their personal thoughts, apathetic or otherwise, on the news?

 

I realise of course how futile this is, explaining reason in defense of an Xbox IP, given who I'm speaking to and all, but eh.

 

...

 

At any rate, I find these bold claims ironic coming from a Nintendo fan.

 

I think you need to simmer down.

[Chronozoah]

Except they all did by posting their personal thoughts, apathetic or otherwise, on the news?

'Halo and Gears is all Microsoft will have for first-party titles' <- Presumptuous and ignorant

'I don't like Gears of War, it sucks and they can keep it' <- Indignant and unnecessary

'Gears is always the same' <- Ignorant and ironic

'Black Tusk had to drop all it's other projects to work on this' <- As of yet unsourced (and likely untrue) claim.

'Ryse will be milked with additional sequels' ...yeah, I don't even know where to begin with this one.

 

You seem to be confusing 'personal thoughts' with 'valuable contributions'. The above are most certainly the former, but are certainly not the latter, as most of them are any combination of ignorant, presumptuous and unnecessary.

I think you need to simmer down.

Why, exactly? I'm perfectly calm. I merely remarked on the futility of trying to discuss an Xbox IP with someone who seems to historically wield a particular raging hateboner for almost everything that isn't PC or Nintendo-related, and remarked on the irony of a Nintendo fan complaining (almost bitterly) about Microsoft re-hashing franchises, when there are far worse offenders and when Gears of War Judgement was probably the biggest deviation in the series after 2 (mostly going backwards, though).

[Tara]

Chronozoah, your attitude is coming across as snarky and condescending, which is not the attitude we wish to foster here.  In addition, your "Nintendo fan" remark, among others, succeeds only in attacking the person in question and not the actual issue they were raising.  So please, do adjust your tone accordingly.

[KHCast]

'Halo and Gears is all Microsoft will have for first-party titles' <- Presumptuous and ignorant

'I don't like Gears of War, it sucks and they can keep it' <- Indignant and unnecessary

'Gears is always the same' <- Ignorant and ironic

'Black Tusk had to drop all it's other projects to work on this' <- As of yet unsourced (and likely untrue) claim.

'Ryse will be milked with additional sequels' ...yeah, I don't even know where to begin with this one.

 

Well Halo,Gears, and Forza are what is generally thought of when it comes to Xbox. I think thats what people mean. Iconic franchises. For the most part, that's really all Microsoft seem to push. Compare that with Sony and Nintendo., who have dozens of iconic recognizable franchises.

 

Again, people are probably likening the situation to CoD. Sure they change it, but to many, those changes don't feel all that massive in the grand scheme. I mean, I personally have not seen a massive change since GoW 1-2. It just feels like more of the same. Like DLC just packaged in a different box. But that's just from my experience with the series.

[MegasonicZX]

As a somewhat off topic question, what was black tusks new IP going to be?

[RK64]

As a somewhat off topic question, what was black tusks new IP going to be?

 

It was (or still is?) a spy-themed game. It was implied that it was going to be a stealth game with cool gadgets and stuff with some 3rd person shooting elements. The sad part was that they aren't working on it now, as they are working on the new Gears of War for X1. If they come back to their new IP is unknown but it is safe to expect parts of the new IP make their way into the new Gears and/or the new IP ends up like a lot of Rare's 360 projects....canceled .

[Detective Shadzter]

VERY excited about this. I'm a big fan of the series and enjoyed all of the previous games, including Judgment. I'll definitely be getting an Xbox One now once I have enough money for one. Glad to hear Rod Fergusson is on board.
 
For those wondering about the thing shown at E3 last year, I have bad news:

Original Black Tusk project was a concept, never planned for release

Microsoft has nothing further to announce on other things Black Tusk is working on.
By James Orry (@VGJames) On 27th Jan, 2014 at 2:58pm

Black Tusk's new IP hasn't been scrapped because it never made it to the release roadmap, Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer has indicated following the announcement that the Vancouver studio would be creating the next Gears of War game.

"I wouldn't say things have been shelved," Spencer told GamesIndustry. "Obviously, this will become a big focus of the studio and something that will be critical to them driving forward. There's not really something that was on the road map that all of a sudden goes away."

Spencer told Polygon: "The thing we showed at E3 last year, it was something that was done in Unreal and more of a concept piece."

The Microsoft Studios head also confirmed that Black Tusk had been aware of the Gears of War deal for some time, but the studio wasn't created with Gears of War in mind.

Bringing the Gears franchise to Black Tusk was more of a "nice coincidence," which worked because the team had been working with the Unreal Engine, Spencer added.

Microsoft told VideoGamer.com: "Being able to continue to bring Gears of War fans new games and entertainment experiences from their favourite franchise is a unique opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up. Black Tusk is very excited and humbled to play a role in this important Microsoft franchise going forward. We have nothing further to announce on other things Black Tusk is working on at the moment."

VideoGamer.com Analysis

It remains unclear if any of Black Tusk's concept piece will make its way into a new Gears of War.

Source: GamesIndustry, Polygon

http://www.videogamer.com/news/original_black_tusk_project_was_a_concept_never_planned_for_release.html

[RK64]

....Then why did Microsoft show it off at E3 like it was a new game then; if it was just a "concept piece" then they would have said "Look at what our new team at Black Tusk can do with the X1 hardware with this demo!" rather than "Here is a look at what they are working on".

 

Well, at least nothing was really lost with this Gears deal and that it sounds like the team at Black Tusk is looking forward to work on the franchise rather then it being "forced" on them. I do hope some of that concept from E3 makes it into their new Gears, as stealth mechanics and more creative weapons could add a good deal to the Gears of War formula.

[Detective Shadzter]

....Then why did Microsoft show it off at E3 like it was a new game then; if it was just a "concept piece" then they would have said "Look at what our new team at Black Tusk can do with the X1 hardware with this demo!" rather than "Here is a look at what they are working on".

 

Well, at least nothing was really lost with this Gears deal and that it sounds like the team at Black Tusk is looking forward to work on the franchise rather then it being "forced" on them. I do hope some of that concept from E3 makes it into their new Gears, as stealth mechanics and more creative weapons could add a good deal to the Gears of War formula.

From Phil Spencer's quotes in the article I posted, it sounds like Black Tusk were working on concepts with the Unreal Engine and then later on the deal with the Gears of War franchise came along. Spencer says the studio wasn't created with Gears of War in mind, but the franchise made sense for Black Tusk because they were working with the Unreal Engine tech anyway.  

[Dobkeratops]

http://www.videogamer.com/news/original_black_tusk_project_was_a_concept_never_planned_for_release.html

 

Nope.

 

 

Studio staff have an average of 12 years experience in triple-A games, the industry’s equivalent of Hollywood summer blockbuster movies — “big games, big teams, big budgets, long timelines,” said Crump.

“What that means is we are working on Microsoft’s next big entertainment franchise,” he said. “We’re not working on an existing franchise, we’re looking to build the next Halo here in Vancouver, for example, which is really exciting. We are building something from the ground up.”

“We have been officially green-lit by Microsoft executives to go ahead with the project that we’re on,” he said.

 

 

 

 

It was a real game, it was deep into production and it was planned to release. How can they say otherwise when they presented it as such on their E3 conference?

 

Microsoft caught red handed lying yet again. Truly, the Mr Xbones wild ride never ends.