News broke early this morning that Microsoft Studios had purchased the rights to the “Gears of War” franchise from Epic Games, adding to the company’s list of exclusive titles. The acquisition includes rights to all existing and future games, as well as entertainment experiences and merchandise. Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver, BC will take over development of the franchise.
The acquisition is a smart one from Microsoft, who will keep “Gears of War” an Xbox-exclusive game along with other Microsoft Studios-published games such as Halo, Fable, and Forza.
Microsoft Studios also announced Rod Fergusson, former “Gears of War” Director of Production at Epic Games, will join Microsoft and play a lead role at Black Tusk.
The “Gears of War” games have sold over 22 million units worldwide, grossing over $1 billion dollars.
“[We have] reached an agreement to sell the ‘Gears of War’ intellectual property rights to Microsoft,” said Epic games in a statement. The company added, “Epic remains totally dedicated to supporting Xbox One and is licensing the Unreal Engine 4 technology to Microsoft in support of their future projects.”
