Gears 5 sure was an interesting direction for the series, the first one to shorten the title from Gears of War to Gears, the first game in the franchise to have a woman as a protagonist, and the first installment to feature WWE superstars.
For the most part, the game was received well and many fans are looking forward to the eventual follow-up, presumably called Gears 6, with many curious about what this franchise has planned now that we have a next-generation Xbox.
Everything We Know About Gears 6
Sadly, things haven’t been looking too good for the Gears/Gears of War series ever since Rob Fergusson left Microsoft’s studio The Coalition to work on Diablo last February.
While we’re sure that Microsoft will be making more Gears games for years to come, the fact that one of its founding fathers has left is a bit troublesome.
Here’s everything we know about Gears 6.
When Is Gears 6 Coming Out?
Update - May 10: The Coalition published a new blog post announcing the shift to Unreal Engine 5 for all future projects, which means we won't be seeing Gears 6 for quite a while.
Original: Considering how this is one of the Xbox’s flagship franchises, we doubt that they will be rushing the release of Gears 6.
We already saw Microsoft delay Halo: Infinite from being an Xbox Series X launch title to make it better so they won’t be forcing this game to come out anytime soon.
Since it takes a good number of years to release a quality game, let alone an exclusive, we’ll assume that the Gears 6 release date will be around 2024 or 2025.
Will Gears 6 Be Cross-Gen?
Microsoft said that they would not make Xbox Series X exclusives for a while, choosing to focus on cross-gen games for Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
With The Coalition's recent announcement about moving to Unreal Engine 5, however, we can safely assume Gears 6 will not be a cross-gen game.
Given Gears 6 won't release for several years, though, it's not a case of Microsoft going back on its word.
Is Gears 6 Coming To Game Pass?
In 2020, Microsoft announced all first-party Xbox games will be on Game Pass moving forward.
Since The Coalition is an Xbox Game Studio, it's guaranteed Gears 6 will be on Game Pass - assuming Microsoft doesn't reverse its policy in the next few years.
Gears 6 Unreal Engine 5
The Coalition said Gears 6 will be the studio's first game on Unreal Engine 5, meaning it's the first developed solely for Xbox Series X|S.
Aside from pushing back development time further, the development team also teased significant technological improvements to the series.
"Gears of War has always been at the front of Unreal Engine development – as a breakout 720p title for Xbox 360 through last year’s 120FPS multiplayer update for Xbox Series X|S – and we’re excited to continue that tradition by developing on UE5 for multiple new projects in the coming years."
For more articles like this, take a look at our Gears 5 and Gaming News page.