Canceling new game for Gears of War 4 not an easy choice for The Coalition

Before the Microsoft-owned studio changed their name from Black Tusk Studios to The Coalition, they were working on a new in-house game. The game didn't have the chance to be shown off in detail, save for a brief teaser during E3 2013 (as seen above).

In early 2014 following the reveal of said game, Microsoft made the move to purchase the Gears of War from Epic Games, along with Gears of War executive producer and director of production Rod Fergusson. Once Microsoft acquired the franchise they dedicated Black Tusk Studios to the task of carrying on the game series – regardless of their in-development game.

Once their name changed to The Coalition (the name is a call to Gears of War's Coalition of Ordered Governments), they sealed the deal that they would be the home of Gears of War and quite possibly nothing else.

Studio manager Mike Crump spoke with Polygon on the choice that Microsoft faced them with: continue working on their teased game or work on a new game in the Gears of War franchise.

“Microsoft was in discussions with Epic. We were hugely invested in what we were working on. You don’t spend a year and a half working on a game without getting attached to it. There was a lot of discussion,” said Crump, adding that the decision wasn’t easy.

“I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some people on the team who were disappointed when they found out the thing they’d been working on for so long was going to be shelved.

“If you’ve been in the game industry long enough, you’re going to go through project cancellations. People go through this period of mourning a bit. You have to give them that space and time to go through that, the sense of loss that people have around something they’re invested in.”

Ultimately it came down to a vote that lead to the "no-brainer" of a decision. “We went around the table and everybody was in favor of going for Gears of War," said Crump. Thus came the death of their new game and the birth of Gears of War 4 and the HD remaster, Gears of War Ultimate Edition.