Microsoft Acquires Gears of War Rights, Black Tusk Making Next Entry

After Phil Spencer and Larry Hyrb teased some new game announcements over Twitter, today Microsoft announced the acquisition of the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games, creators of four Gears of War titles. Black Tusk Studios takes over development of the franchise with former Epic Games director of production, Rod Fergusson, leading the team.

Black Tusk Studios announced their Xbox One exclusive after the studio rebranded themselves from the Microsoft Vancouver name. Although the studio develops a brand new title, the studio will also undertake development of the Gears of War franchise.

Fergusson spent the last few years at a number of studios including Irrational Games for the development of BioShock Infinite and 2K Games for the possible development of Mafia 3. Fergusson now moves back to Vancouver to continue development of the Gear of War franchise.

Head of Microsoft Studios, Hanno Lemke, told Xbox Wire that fans can expect more on the next Gears of War title later this year.