According to industry insider Jeff Grubb, Xbox-owned studio The Coalition has canceled two projects that it was working on and is turning its full attention to Gears of War 6, the next installment in the long-running third-person shooter franchise. Formerly known as Black Tusk Studios, The Coalition has been in charged of the Gears of War franchise ever since Microsoft purchased the rights to the IP from Epic Games.
Shortly after Microsoft acquired the Gears of War IP, it set The Coalition to work on Gears of War. The first Gears of War project from The Coalition was Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, a remaster of the original game with vastly improved visuals and other enhancements. This was followed up by Gears of War 4 and Gears 5, with The Coalition assisting Splash Damage on the development of the Gears Tactics spin-off game as well.
The Coalition's latest project was a collaboration with Epic Games, assisting in the development of The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo. Some might have expected The Coalition to continue spreading its wings beyond the Gears of War franchise, but that doesn't appear to be the case. If Jeff Grubb's information is accurate, The Coalition was working on two projects that have now been canceled, and it is moving on "fully" to Gears of War 6. Grubb said that Gears of War 6 will "definitely" be the studio's next game, so anyone hoping for an original project from The Coalition should reel in their expectations.
The Coalition did produce some non-Gears of War games prior to Microsoft taking control of the IP. Its first game was a Facebook game called Relic Runner, which was followed up by the 2012 version of Microsoft Flight. When it was known as Black Tusk Studios, The Coalition was working on an original IP that was meant to be one of Xbox's big new franchises. Unfortunately, that project was ultimately canceled as well.
As far as Gears of War 6 goes, very little is known about the project at the time of this writing. Gears 5 left many loose story threads for the developers to pursue, and so Gears of War 6 has always felt like an inevitability, but it remains to be seen exactly when it will see the light of day. It's possible Gears of War 6 will end the storyline started by Gears of War 4 in a manner similar to how Gears of War 3 capped off its trilogy, but that remains to be seen.
In the meantime, Gears of War 6 may not be the only Gears project on the way. Rumor has it that a Gears of War collection ala Halo: The Master Chief Collection is in the works as well, but nothing official has been announced on that front.
Gears of War 6 is rumored to be in development.
Source: Jeff Grubb (via VGC)