The vast majority of the time, a new video game is only made public when the developer or publisher intends it. However, with the ever-evolving state of the internet, and social media becoming more of a widespread staple of everyday life, information has never traveled faster. For companies like Nvidia, this can be a bit of a double-edged sword.
In September of 2021, a web developer discovered some pretty sensitive information from Nvidia when playing around with the company's GeForce Now client. They discovered a list of over 15,000 video game titles, some of which hadn't even been announced yet. At the time, Nvidia claimed that this list was mostly just speculative placeholder titles, and that this list should not act as any form of official announcement. Since then, there's been a few interesting developments, and some of the information regarding Gears 6 could be potentially quite exciting.
What the Nvidia Leak Suggested About Gears 6
The fifth installment in the Gears of War franchise, simply titled Gears 5, came out in 2015 and provided the Xbox One with a much-needed console exclusive. By all accounts, the game was a pretty big success, both commercially and critically. Where there is success, sequels usually follow.
Right now, Xbox, or Gears developer The Coalition, has provided no official word on a sixth installment in the long-running sci-fi shooter franchise. There's been no official announcement, no trailers, not even any teases from those presumably hard at work on the game. Officially, Gears 6 does not exist, but Nvidia's list begs to differ.
Right alongside some other pretty high-profile names, the title Gears 6 sits on Nvidia's leaked list. Though the leak doesn't give any information about plot details, gameplay elements or anything else substantial, it does list a scheduled release date of November 10, 2022.
While this sounds like a decent confirmation on the surface, fans should take this leak with a huge pinch of salt, especially as recent rumors have gone against this leak in a big way, with some sources claiming that Gears 6 won't release until 2024-2025 at the earliest. A November 2022 release date would also be pretty soon for a new Gears title, and it'd be uncharacteristic for Microsoft to release such a high profile release without an extensive marketing campaign over a year before its release.
Games That Have Lined Up With the Nvidia Leak
While Gears 6 may be unlikely to land this year, there are a few games on the leaked Nvidia list that have actually been announced since, perhaps suggesting that the leak isn't entirely false. Big publishers like Sony, Square Enix, and Capcom have all confirmed at least one title that was on the leaked Nvidia list.
Sony, for instance, announced both a PC port of 2018's God of War, as well as Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, both of which were on the Nvidia list. On the Square Enix front, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and the Chrono Cross remaster were both announced for PC, and most recently, Kingdom Hearts 4, which seemed like a bit of a long-shot originally.
A bunch of other then-unannounced titles have since been confirmed in an official capacity, including titles like Crysis 4, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and Street Fighter 6. So while Gears 6 does seem unlikely to drop anytime soon, it isn't impossible, and the Nvidia leak is seemingly growing more accurate with each announcement.