In the near future, Xbox and PC players will return to the brutal conflicts ofGears of Warwith The Coalition’s upcoming title,Gears of War: E-Day. Here, players will dive into the beginning of the Locust War on Emergence Day as they play as a youngerMarcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago.
While the release date and overall plot ofE-Dayare currently unknown, The Coalition could help expand upon the Locust War era before eventually developingGears of War 6by developing a spiritual successor to a five-year-old spin-off. This hypotheticalGears of Wargame could be an RTS successor toGears: Tactics.
The Development and History of Gears Tactics
Development onGears Tacticsbegan around 2016, near the release of The Coalition’s firstGears of Wargame,Gears of War 4. The choice toadaptGears of Warinto the turn-based tactics genrewas made in an effort to introduce the franchise to a wider audience and potentially attract new fans, particularly PC players.Gears ofWar’scover-based combat appeared to be a perfect match with turn-based tactics gameplay, withGears Tactics’ executive producer Alex Grimbley even explaining that the teams at Splash Damage and The Coalition simply movedGears' third-person camera up to mirror a common tactics view. WhileTactics’ development was hindered by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the developers did receive some advice from 343 Industries, which developed the RTS spin-off seriesHalo Warsfrom the mainline first-personHalogames.
Gears Tacticswas announced at E3 2018, alongsideGears 5andGears Pop!, and first officially debuted on April 28th, 2020 for Windows computers, with the game later being ported to Xbox consoles in November that year. However, this wasn’t the firstGears of Warproject connected to a tactics title. Around 2011, Epic Games began testing severalGears of War-themed projects to utilize the Xbox 360’s then-new Kinect accessory. One of these projects wasGears of War: Tactics, an RTS gamewherein players used their voice and hand gestures through the Kinect to control and direct COG troops.Gears of War: Tacticsnever went beyond the alpha stage, but screenshots and footage of the game were later leaked in 2013.
Gears Tactics’ Story Explained
WhileGears TacticsandGears of War: Tacticsmay share similar nomenclature, the two games are not directly related. The narrative forGears of War: Tacticsis unknown, butGears Tactics’ story is set one year after Emergence Dayand 13 years beforeGears of War 1. Here, players controlled COG Sgt. Gabriel Diaz as he is ordered by Chairman Richard Prescott and Major Sid Redburn to assassinate the Locust scientist Ukkon. Along the way, Diaz and Redburn recruited stranded civilians to help fight the Locust and discovered that the COG was responsible for their creation. In response, the two staged their deaths and killed Ukkon with help from a young woman named Reyna, Diaz’s future wife, mother to Kait Diaz, and daughter of the Locust Queen Myrrah.
Gears Tacticsis the onlyGears of Warspin-offgame to not feature the series’ traditional third-person shooter gameplay, aside from the non-canonGears Pop!
The Potential of a Gears Tactics RTS Successor
WhileGears Tacticsreceived largely positive reviews, it didn’t sell as well as its third-person counterparts, primarily due to its tactical gameplay. WithGears of War: E-Dayreturning players to the beginning of the Locust War, however, The Coalition could use the events fromTacticsto set upa new RTSGearsgamefocused on several battlefronts in the early years of the war. This game could function similarly to 343 Industries, Ensemble Studios, and Creative Assembly’sHalo Warsgames, with commanders and other leaders of various factions commanding troops. It could additionally build on gameplay concepts drafted inGears of War: Tacticsand the vehicular focus originally designed for early versions ofGears of War 1.
In terms of the story for thisGears of WarRTS, it could follow up on the events fromTacticswith some ofUkkon’s Imulsion-mutated Locust and Hollow creaturesstill running rampant, and Diaz and the stranded continuing to survive against the Locust threat on their own. Meanwhile, a portion of the game could follow a new COG general as they plan to defend a couple of cities from Locust attacks by General RAAM and other Locust leaders. Diaz and this COG general could be the main protagonists, with Diaz’s forces being primarily infantry-based, and the general would have access to ground and air vehicles.
Potential Multiplayer and DLC for a Gears of War RTS
Similar toHalo Wars 2, thisGears of WarRTS could eventually feature story DLCs, with one potentially focusing on a UIR remnant fighting the Locust, while another could have players command Locust forces, akin to how players got to command Banished forces inHalo Wars 2’s Awakening the Nightmare DLC.Gears Tacticsdidn’t have co-op or multiplayer modes, which restricted its lifespan and extended relevance among players. However, aGearsRTS could feature both a co-op and a multiplayer mode, with the multiplayer allowing players to command leaders from the campaign andGearsexpanded media, such as Colonel Hoffman, Skorge, and Queen Myrrah. Each leader could deploy unique, new troops and vehicular units as players struggle to collect Imulsion and resources to power their bases.
