Developer The Coalition is reportedly developing Gears 6, according to known insider Jeff Grubb. In a recent GiantBomb podcast, he also revealed that The Coalition had apparently canceled two non-Gears side projects, as part of Microsoft’s mass layoffs and cost-cutting in January. It has been more than three years since the last installment in the Gears of War franchise, with Gears 5 having launched on September 2019 for PC and Xbox One.
The Coalition reportedly switched to Gears 6 over the past year
Grubb shares in a clip on Twitch what is happening behind the scenes at The Coalition, particularly after the developer’s partnership with Epic Games on The Matrix demo and its assistance in the production of Halo Infinite:
It does seem [The Coalition] feels like, “Well, we’re up to speed because we worked on [the Matrix demo]. And so they have cancelled that smaller project, as well as another project, so there have been two games cancelled there.
He continues: “This was all reflected in the layoffs that happened at Microsoft, which did hit The Coalition a little bit.”
Due to the cancellations of its side projects, Grubb firmly believes that Gears 6 will be The Coalition’s sole focus moving forward. In fact, he claims that the developer had already switched to development on Gears 6 over the past year. The only difference now is that the sizable cost reductions across Microsoft’s gaming division has pared down what The Coalition is working on, with an emphasis on established franchises and away from new IPs.
