Gears of War developer The Coalition is now working on a new intellectual property. The Vancouver-based studio assumed developmental duties of the fabled Gears of War franchise when Microsoft acquired its rights from Epic Games in 2014, creating both a retrospective Ultimate Edition and a continuation of the franchise with Gears of War 4. Now, it seems the studio is venturing out beyond the well-known IP to create something entirely new.

The news comes from the Storylab Productions website, which states that the studio started collaborating with The Coalition on a new IP in 2017. Storylab has already worked with The Coalition for both prior Gears of War titles, where it provided services like motion capture, casting for stunts and performers, production crew, and even payroll services.

The Coalition had previously been attached to a week-old rumor that a third-person Perfect Dark title was in development. The studio's work since taking over the Gears of War franchise certainly makes the studio a juggernaut in the third-person-shooter world, though no concrete evidence ever linked the Vancouver-based studio with the potential reboot.

Both The Coalition and Storylab Productions have remained quiet on any further details about the new intellectual property beyond the fact that it has been in production since 2017, which means gamers likely won't see too much of it in the current calendar year. While it only took 2 years for the studio to ship Gears of War 4 after its acquisition from Epic Games, the studio was able to import selected work that had been previously developed by Epic itself.

Whatever The Coalition and Storylab Productions are working on, the new intellectual property will have some large shoes to fill - and that's not just a joke about how large the cast of Gears was. Most would expect The Coalition to continue with the third-person shooter mantra that has made it such a well-known company (especially with Gears veteran Rod Fergusson as a studio head), but only time will tell what the collaboration will cook up.

Source: StoryLab Productions