The Coalition’s new IP has been cancelled, studio now focusing on Gears 6

Since releasing Gears 5 back in 2019, The Coalition has been pretty quiet. The studio has revealed publicly that it is currently working on projects with Unreal Engine 5, but it would seem that plans for a new IP have now been scrapped following on from recent lay-offs at Microsoft. 

It was reported back in 2021 that The Coalition has begun work on multiple projects not related to the studio's main IP, Gears of War. At least one of these projects was a brand new IP, being developed as part of the studio's effort to get up to speed with Unreal Engine 5.

In January, Microsoft announced plans to lay-off 10,000 workers across its businesses, which included cutbacks at certain studios. We've already heard that this impacted teams at 343 Industries and Bethesda, but according to games reporter Jeff Grubb, The Coalition was also impacted.

Grubb goes on to say that two smaller projects at The Coalition have now been cancelled. This includes one previously unknown game, as well as the rumoured new IP, which was thought to be a horror game. It is now believed that The Coalition is shifting its resources to fully focus on getting Gears 6 out the door.

Much like 343 Industries was formed to look after Halo following the departure of Bungie, The Coalition was formed to handle the Gears IP after Epic Games chose to move on from its deal with Microsoft. While many of us would like to see what these studios are capable of outside of the confines of pre-established franchises, it would seem that Microsoft sees the Gears IP as too valuable to leave on the back burner for any significant amount of time.

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KitGuru Says: I've really enjoyed The Coalition's newer Gears games, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing something completely different from the studio. Hopefully some day, these studios get a little more free reign to create new IP. 

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