Steamforged Games has partnered with The Coalition and Microsoft to create a tabletop card game set in the Gears of War universe. The game, set to arrive in 2023, comes as welcome news for fans as they eagerly await an announcement on a follow-up to The Coalition's Gears 5.The last mainline entry in the Gears franchise, Gears 5, released in 2019. Fans were also treated to a middling mobile RTS in Gears Pop that same year, and the X-Com style Gears Tactics in 2020, but have had little to whet their appetite since then. While the current pace of Gears of War releases suggests a possible Gears 6 might be announced soon, The Coalition wrote a blog post outlining a transition to Unreal Engine 5 for its future projects in 2021, and many fans anticipate a protracted development cycle in light of that shift.In the meantime, Gears of War fans will be treated to a brand-new medium for the franchise. Steamforged Games, creators of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game and Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game announced on Twitter that Gears of War: The Card Game will be out sometime in 2023. Nothing is currently known about the style of card game it will be or any of the specifics regarding rule sets and price models, but with Steamforged Game's pedigree for translating video games onto the tabletop, fans have a lot to be excited about.
The announcement comes two months off the heels of Netflix's own announcement regarding Gears of War. A live-action movie and an animated series were both revealed in November, and there is speculation that the ramping up of Gears of War content means that a new main entry in the series is imminent. Whether 2023 is the year gamers get their first glimpse of Gears of War 6 or not, with this being The Coalition's first release utilizing the incredibly powerful Unreal Engine 5, when it is revealed, it is certain to be groundbreaking in terms of fidelity.
While not everyone's cup of tea, card games based on established IPs are a fun way to re-hash content in a way that feels fresh. Signs are promising that Gears of War: The Card Game will have the depth and balance to stand on its own given the positive sentiments surrounding the previous works from Steamforged Games and the expanded Gears of War lore it gets to pull from.
Gears 5 is out now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Windows Central