Gears of War is now a Microsoft franchise.

[Carlos]

Well, Microsoft has acquired the entire "Gears of War" franchise from Epic Games. That means Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, Gears of War: Judgement are all properties of Microsoft, and this means future Gears of War titles is all exclusive to Microsoft products - Xbox 360, Xbox One or any other future project Microsoft may have in the pipeline. This opens Gears of War to PC, tablets, phones, or any other device Microsoft wants it on.

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

 

[matrixxGT]

Sooo is this that awesome games announcement that MS was supposed to announce today?

If so that's about as suprising as snow in the winter time.

 

[Josuey_de_PR]

read about this earlier, dont care anyways, ,the 4th game was a sales flop i think and now they are going to get a different unknown developer to make future gears of war games, series is pretty much done for.

 

[Carlos]

Sooo is this that awesome games announcement that MS was supposed to announce today?

Yep. This is Phil Spencer's little tease.

read about this earlier, dont care anyways, ,the 4th game was a sales flop i think and now they are going to get a different unknown developer to make future gears of war games, series is pretty much done for.

They already chose a developer for the next Gears of War:

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.

 

[TeknoBlast]

Of course you would say that.

 

[Shampoo XIII]

Wasn't Gears of War already exclusive to MS?

 

[Carlos]

Wasn't Gears of War already exclusive to MS?

Not really. It has an expiration date. So, for x years, Gears of War was exclusive to Xbox 360/PC. This announcement just means that Microsoft does not have to re-new the exclusivity agreement anymore. Microsoft can release as many versions of Gears of War as they'd like. Just like Halo and/or Call of Duty.

 

[matrixxGT]

Not really. It has an expiration date. So, for x years, Gears of War was exclusive to Xbox 360/PC. This announcement just means that Microsoft does not have to re-new the exclusivity agreement anymore. Microsoft can release as many versions of Gears of War as they'd like. Just like Halo and/or Call of Duty.

COD..MS exclusive..?? Wut?

 

[DuhWhitePanda]

Bang Bang! I'm going to be playing some Gears on my Xbox Juan!

 

[Carlos]

COD..MS exclusive..?? Wut?

1. Call of Duty is distributed on multiple consoles as per Activision's wishes. Activision owns it, they can do whatever they want. (Which is what I meant.)
2. x amount of years Microsoft has to re-new their exclusivity agreement with Activision to: have DLC exclusive to Xbox brand first, advertise as if Call of Duty Ghosts is "available only on Xbox." (Of course we know it's multiplatform.)

 

[matrixxGT]

1. Call of Duty is distributed on multiple consoles as per Activision's wishes. Activision owns it, they can do whatever they want. (Which is what I meant.)
2. x amount of years Microsoft has to re-new their exclusivity agreement with Activision to: have DLC exclusive to Xbox brand first, advertise as if Call of Duty Ghosts is "available only on Xbox." (Of course we know it's multiplatform.)

Right, it's just how you worded it as if they had same rights to it halo.

 

[lights]

the 4th game was a sales flop i think

I think that was due to the fact that the game was a little disappointing compared to the previous games. Not being a numbered sequel didn't help either.

God of War Ascension had similar issues too with much lower sales compared to previous God of War games.

Neither games were numbered sequels, and they were both prequels that had followed wrapped up trilogies. Digital Trends had an article about it:

http://m.digitaltrends.com/gaming/d...les-mark-the-end-of-the-xbox-360-and-ps3-era/

 

[thabani33]

I don't get the excitement on this thread about the matter at hand. What I do get is that Microsoft are gonna be milking this franchise (as usual) like there's no tomorrow, I don't know if I should be happy or sad about this

 

[lights]

I don't get the excitement on this thread about the matter at hand. What I do get is that Microsoft are gonna be milking this franchise (as usual) like there's no tomorrow, I don't know if I should be happy or sad about this

Well it's a new developer so who knows right now, the games may turn out great.

It makes sense as a business decision though, I'm sure a Gears of War 4 will sell well regardless and move Xbox Ones. It's pretty much a no brainer for Microsoft. It would have been more stupid for them to lose the rights and let the game go multiplatform.

 

[DuhWhitePanda]

I don't get the excitement on this thread about the matter at hand. What I do get is that Microsoft are gonna be milking this franchise (as usual) like there's no tomorrow, I don't know if I should be happy or sad about this

If you don't like it, don't buy it. What some people refer to as milking some people enjoy. Personally, Gears is my favourite franchise on Xbox. I could live with nothing but Uncharted, Gears, Fable, Last of us and Batman sequels. Id be perfectly happy.

I hate having to spend $70, now, on a new game and it possibly being dog shit. Id rather stick to what I know and have fun with.

 

[Caleb]

Love gears gotta get a Xbox one for sure now!

 

[XpAcErX]

I liked the co-op campaign but this news doesn't phase me since I thought the story was kinda boring, its a brown game and the characters were all ridiculously stacked bodybuilders with no necks.

 

[DuhWhitePanda]

Love gears gotta get a Xbox one for sure now!

When you get the Juan, hit me up and lets get it poppin!

Well it's a new developer so who knows right now, the games may turn out great.

It makes sense as a business decision though, I'm sure a Gears of War 4 will sell well regardless and move Xbox Ones. It's pretty much a no brainer for Microsoft. It would have been more stupid for them to lose the rights and let the game go multiplatform.

New team, based in Canada. Though they have someone from Epic heading the game. I doubt we see any drastic change to the forumla or quality.

 

[Carlos]

Right, it's just how you worded it as if they had same rights to it halo.

Yeah, but the way I said it is consistent with what I think is the impact of this announcement. Microsoft can distribute Gears of War as much as they fucking like. This gives Microsoft more freedom with the Gears of War franchise than they've had in the past.

New team, based in Canada. Though they have someone from Epic heading the game. I doubt we see any drastic change to the forumla or quality.

For those of you who don't know what Panda's talking about... One of the producers of the Gears of War trilogy/franchise is on-board the new ship:

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.

However, the reason why Microsoft hired Rod, is because he understands the franchise, he understands the fanbase, and he has the passion for it, read the interview. Then make your opinion.

 

[benna]

Gears of war has always been an Xbox exclusive so why would I care. When Microsoft acquired the Mechwarrior franchise they ran it into oblivion after one PC release.

Epic games has always played the "grease my palm" card - as far as developers go, they are scum. They are all about "WON'T DO" instead of "CAN or CAN'T DO" and are a perfect partner to the M$ and Apple "buy me off" crowd.

December 9th, 2011, 01:11 GMT - Epic Games Has No Plan for PlayStation Vita Releases, No Infinity Blade Port

People wanted Infinity Blade, but no.. Apple also greased our palms too, just like microsoft did. So under all that 'cover speak' about Vita not having the power to do this and that, you know that someone signed an exclusivity deal, and the reality is they won't do it because they have been paid off. Of course, "the install base isn't big enough" lame excuses go out the window when Android became super popular, AND STILL they WONT release Infinity blade for android.

'Epic Citadel' comes to Android today, but 'Infinity Blade' will stay an iOS exclusive

Just once I wish the world had the balls to be open and honest about what is happening in business.

I wish Microsoft would say "We just paid x dollars to acquire the exclusive rights of Gear of Wars".
Epic games has signed an exclusivity deal with Apple for X dollars, for Infinity blade to be an iOS exclusive.
Capcom has signed an exclusivity deal for X dollars for Monster Hunter to be an exclusive to the 3DS.

To these executives, Just come out and say it, and stop beating about the bush with these 'half truths' and propaganda excuses. You look like Lance Armstrong on the podium saying "To those that have questioned me, I'm sorry you can't believe in miracles...". You look like an ass beating around the bush.

So Microsoft getting Gears of Wars is not really an announcement.

Atlus/Sega moving the Persona 5 rights to Nintendo side, or Naughty Dog releasing games for Xbox Juan. Those are REAL announcements. Don't say it can never happen.. I just gave you one example with the Monster Hunter franchise moving to become an exclusive for the other side.

And one last thought, considering all these rediculous law suits about TV maker price fixing , and laws about non-competition agreements between manufacturers. Why don't "exclusivity deals" fall into the same "non competition" area. Why aren't they illegal to prevent Monopolization. It used to be, to make money, the rule was "put your game out on as many platforms as possible"