Also Microsoft Cancels Games (Leak)
According to unofficial reports, as a result of layoffs at Microsoft, the studio currently reportedly working on Gears 6, The Coalition, has also shrunk. This has reportedly caused the developer to cancel two unannounced games.
Recently we learned that Microsoft was going to lay off more than 10,000 employees - including many developers who are part of the teams at Xbox Game Studios. The most affected were reportedly 343 Industries - makers of Halo Infinite - but the downsizing also affected The Coalition. As a result authors Gears 5 have reportedly had to cancel two unannounced projects.
Revelations on this subject were provided by well-known industry journalist Jeff Grubb during today's episode of the Game Mess Mornings series, which was streamed on Twitch. A link to the recording can be found below. The words we are interested in are spoken around the 16:06 mark.
We don't know what the two canceled projects were. According to Jeff Grubb - whose information can usually be relied on - at least one of them was supposed to help The Coalition "get used to" Unreal Engine 5.
However, when the team had to say goodbye to some of its employees, it apparently came to the conclusion that The Matrix Awakens tech demo - which was released on PS5 and XSX/S at The Game Awards 2021 (it was available only for a limited time) - sufficiently prepared the team to work with the latest version of Epic Games' engine. As a result, the studio will reportedly now focus exclusively on Gears 6.
The news that this title is being developed is neither new nor surprising - the first information about the game appeared in May 2021. Twelve months later, a job announcement suggested that The Coalition was looking for specialists in motion capture technology. According to Jeff Grubb Gears 6 should be released on PC and XSX/S within a maximum of three years.
It is worth recalling that a similar problem to The Coalition is also faced by Ubisoft and Electronic Arts, which have recently canceled several games each. You can find more information on this subject here and here.
