An Xbox insider revealed that work on the next Gears of War game seems to be picking up steam after a couple of interesting hires were made by its developer, The Coalition. The next Gears of War game, which will be the series' sixth mainline entry, is rumored to bring some big changes to the franchise.

Rumors first arose in early 2023 that Gears developer The Coalition had canceled two projects to focus on Gears of War 6. The now-legendary franchise's next game will likely be a major release for the Xbox platform that will require significant time and resources. Gears 5 released in 2019, making Gears of War 6's potential 2025 or 2026 release the longest gap between mainline Gears games. However, a release date for the game has not been confirmed yet. Although this long wait is likely painful for Gears of War fanatics, they might be relieved to hear the recent news surrounding the game.

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Twitter user IdleSloth84_ revealed some interesting LinkedIn posts that show The Coalition's most recent hires. Between December and January, four new employees were hired who are likely now working on Gears of War 6. These hires were an environment artist, a senior lighting artist, a cinematic animator, and an associate producer. These new employees come from established companies like PlayStation, Ubisoft, and EA. Rumors suggest that Gears of War 6 might be an open-world game that will take the approach introduced in Gears 5 to a whole new level, so The Coalition's collection of environment artists, in particular, might have a lot of work ahead of them. Although this is promising news that suggests The Coalition is going full bore into Gears of War 6 development, other important details like its release date have still not been confirmed, although previous leaks have painted a picture.

A leak in September suggested that Gears of War 6 will release in 2026, making it a seven-year gap between Gears 5 and Gears 6, assuming it sees a Fall release. This leak stemmed from the portfolio of a former Coalition employee, who claimed to have worked on an unannounced project for the company that will release in 2026. Other major details of Gears 6, such as its story, are similarly unannounced, but Gears of War legends have weighed in with their opinion.

The original Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski stated that former main character Marcus Fenix "has to die" in Gears 6. Marcus was 63 at the time of Gears 5 and some fans think it's time for the character's final conclusion.

Gears of War

Xbox Game Studios' Gears of War franchise began on the Xbox 360 and instantly became a flagship franchise for the green brand. The original Gears of War trilogy is considered one of the finest in the history of the third-person shooter genre, with the trilogy's intense action and surprisingly touching story moments creating memorable experiences.

The series has had another two solid main series entries since and even a turn-based tactics game.