Gears 5 Developer Talks About Xbox Scarlett Plans and Long-Term Storytelling With Future Instalments

Gears 5 was the beginning of something new for Microsoft’s famous shooter franchise. Technically, the new era of the series started with Gears of War 4, but with this year’s instalment, things felt really fresh and different- and sure enough, The Coalition looks at the game as a launching pad for more such changes in the future.

One of the most interesting things the developers have said about their approach to the series in term of storytelling, though, is that they’re not just looking at this new era of Gears as a trilogy anymore. Instead, they view it as an ongoing saga, with numerous possibilities of where the story could be headed. Speaking with GamingBolt, campaign design director Matt Searcy touched on that topic a little bit, explaining that The Coalition is aware of the longer narrative arc it wants to tell with the franchise, but that the studio is still careful to leave plenty of wiggle room for experimentation and new opportunities, whether that’s through new games or other mediums.

“We always have an idea of the longer story we want to tell, but it’s important to us that we have ‘negative space’ so we are open to ideas and opportunities that come along through development,” Searcy told us. “Gears and the world of Sera has a rich history. In Gears 5 we were able to touch on stories from all the way back in the Pendulum wars and the Locust war while moving the main storyline forward. Escape mode and the Hivebuster comics also allowed us to introduce new characters and explore deeper storylines. Having such a robust IP with a great history makes it possible to tell stories on multiple levels, we’re excited keep digging further into the world and characters.”

While speaking with Searcy, we also asked him about the Xbox Scarlett, adn whether The Coalition had any plans for an enhanced re-release of Gears 5 for the next gen system. It’s something the studio has been cagey about discussing in the past, and it seems that is still the case.

“Gears 5 will be available on Project Scarlett via backwards compatibility,” said Searcy. “We don’t have anything further to share at this time.”

Gears 5 is out now for Xbox One and PC. You can read our review through here.