TheGears of Warfranchise has had a long-standing connection with the Xbox brand. When the first game in the series was released by Epic Games and Microsoft in 2006, it became an immediate critical and commercial success, selling over 3 million copies on the Xbox 360 alone. The originalGears of Warpopularized the cover shooter genre and inspired many other iconic games, such asUncharted: Drake’s FortuneandWarhammer 40K: Space Marine. Since its debut, the franchise has become an Xbox icon, alongside the likes ofHaloandForza, and has received consistent new releases on Xbox and PC for almost two decades.
Soon, however, it appears thatGears of Warwill no longer be an Xbox-exclusive franchise. The reputable insider eXtas1s alleged in one of his recent YouTube videos that the series will make its PlayStation debut in the near future. eXtas1s not only claimed that Microsoft is developing a remastered compilation ofthe first three installments in theGears of Warseries, but he also stated that it would launch on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC on day one. A compilation like this has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now, and if it truly exists, it could be a double-edged sword for theGears of Warfranchise.
The Rumored Gears of War Collection Has Some Major Pros and Cons
Gears of War 2 and 3 Could Finally Be Freed From their Xbox 360 Prison
The originalGears of Wartrilogy may be iconic, but it isn’t easily accessible on modern platforms. Although the first game in the franchise has been re-released on Xbox consoles and Windows PCs multiple times, the other two installments have remainedexclusive to the Xbox 360.Gears of War 2andGears of War 3initially debuted on the console in 2008 and 2011, respectively, and have never received native ports on any other platforms ever since. However, the games have been made backwards compatible on modern Xbox consoles, and can run at a buttery smooth 60 FPS on Xbox Series X/S.
While the lack of PlayStation and Nintendo ports forGears of War 2and3was understandable, it’s quite strange that they never made their way to PC. Microsoft has been releasing games on PC storefronts like Steam and Epic Games Store for nearly a decade at this point, and has also ported most of its other major Xbox exclusives, likeHalo: The Master Chief Collection, to the platform. If the company re-releasesGears of War 2and3as part ofthis rumoredGearscollection, it would finally be righting one of its biggest wrongs. These critically acclaimed third-person shooters would become available to more players than ever before on not just PC, but also PlayStation.
The one and, perhaps, the most notable issue with the allegedGears of Warcollection, though, is that it could set the wrong expectations for the future of the franchise. Many gamers who are introduced totheGears of Warseriesthrough this compilation may want to experience the remainder of the franchise’s saga inGears 4and5, and find out how the story unfolds in the as-of-yet unannouncedGears 6. Unfortunately for those fans, the next installment in theGears of Warfranchise will not be a sequel, but rather a prequel.
Microsoft and the Canadian-based developer The Coalition revealed during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase that they wereworking onGears of War: E-Day,a newGearsgame set 14 years before the events of the first entry in the series. Although its announcement generated a lot of excitement among theGearsfanbase, some were disappointed that this game wasn’tGears 6. At the time, The Coalition expressed that it had no intentions to abandon the story arc established inGears 4and5. However, given how long game development takes nowadays, it could be years until the company releases a proper sequel to those titles. Because of this, people who pick up the rumoredGears of Wartrilogy collection in hopes of getting their hands onGears 6anytime soon will end up disappointed.
