While there’s never been any official confirmation of a new project being in development, the sheer prevalence of speculation within the gaming community suggests that there could be some hint of truth to it. Now, although the new IP remains unconfirmed, a level designer might have just provided the most concrete piece of evidence yet.
What is the new IP by the Gear 5 developers?
Ever since Microsoft acquired the Gears of War series from Epic Games, The Coalition has taken over as the franchise’s main developer and producer. So far, The Coalition has done an excellent job. Both Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 have received generally positive reviews, with Gears Tactics easily one of the best Xbox Series X games on Xbox Game Pass. However, since releasing that game last year, The Coalition has been quiet. While it is understandable for the studio to defer the spotlight to 343 Industries as it works hard to release Halo Infinite later this year, you’d think that we would have been informed if The Coalition was at least working on a new Gears of War game or even a new IP. The latter seems to be the case. After Jeff Grub talked about what’s keeping The Coalition busy these days, which includes helping out with Halo Infinite, audiences have been grasping at the proverbial straws to find any hint of information that The Coalition is working on a new IP. However, the studio seems to have had a tight lid on whatever it is working on next - until now.
— Klobrille (@klobrille) July 17, 2021 Hawkeyed observers noticed that Pedro Camacho D’Andrew’s LinkedIn profile is showing that he’s worked for The Coalition for about a year and has filled two different positions ever since. The first one described him as a multiplayer level designer, which might refer to his work on Gears 5. The second listing is the intriguing part. It lists him as working as a level designer “on new IP”. This marks the first time that anyone from the Gears 5 development team has “leaked” the existence of The Coalition’s next project. Just what exactly The Coalition is working on next is unknown. However, we do know that the first-party Microsoft studio currently has its hands full. It is still supporting Gears 5 two years after its release and there are reports that the studio is working on multiple Gears titles simultaneously. We’re also set to hear more from The Coalition at GDC later this month, as it is set to unveil a new technical demo of Unreal Engine 5 that will show off what the new engine can do on the Xbox Series X. If we’re lucky, The Coalition might subtly drop a glimpse or two of its new IP at the said event.
