Gears 6 Almost Blasted Off To Space, Says Former Coalition Boss

Space, the final frontier… for Gears of War 6? That apparently was in the cards years ago when former The Coalition head honcho Rod Fergusson was at the studio. However, those plans may have changed, as the next game in the franchise is Gears of War: E-Day.

Appearing on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, Fergusson–who now oversees the Diablo series–opened up about where he wanted to go with Gears of War 6. “So what I wanted to do with Gears 6 is get you off Sera to encounter what that could mean to the rest of the galaxy–at least the rest of the solar system.”

However, Fergusson clarified that this didn’t mean Kait Diaz and Marcus Fenix would be hopping between planets. Gears of War 5 teased old, Russian-like technology for getting off Sera, so the goal seemed to be just a new place (or planet) to raise the stakes. “It wasn’t like we’re just going to start Mass Effect-ing this,” Fergusson said.

Last year, Fergusson revealed that he wrote a Gears of War 6 outline before leaving to join Activision. At that time, he admitted The Coalition might have thrown his plans out, which would be “fine” with him.

While it’s unknown what shape Gears of War 6 may take, The Coalition is focusing on the past first. Gears of War: E-Day was unveiled at the Xbox Games Showcase in June. The game is a prequel that will see a young Marcus Fenix fighting off the Locust during Emergence Day, making it set 14 years before the original Gears of War.

Fergusson thinks Gears of War: E-Day is “really smart” and curious about the challenge of the lack of the Lancer in the prequel. He believes people come to the cover-based shooter for the chainsaw gun.

There is no release date yet for Gears of War: E-Day.