360 unlikely to see Gears PC bits

By Tom Bramwell Published 9 November, 2007

No plans, but never say never.

What with Gears of War launching on PC today (read our review or they won't pay me), we thought it would be a good idea to ask Mark Rein for the umpteenth time whether the five new chapters are ever going to come out on Xbox 360.

Asked if Epic is categorically never going to release them as downloads for Xbox 360 users, Rein said, "It looks that way."

Never? "Well, never say never, but I mean there's no plans to do it. The problem is the two versions aren't really compatible," he added, reiterating the previous explanation that the PC and Xbox 360 code-bases are too far removed from one another for an efficient patch.

Gears of War on PC introduces chapters that bridge the gap between events at the end of Act 4 and those that kick off Act 5. In essence (mild spoiler), it explains why they go from the house to the train. Sort of.

Gears on PC also includes a level editor and of course the ability to play with a keyboard and mouse, which we certainly appreciated, and it also allows you to get on board with Games for Windows - Live (Xbox Live for Windows) on XP as well as Vista, meaning you can unlock another 1000 points worth of Gamerscore for Gears of War if you're really that bothered.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Disco_Stu360 #1 4 years ago

    I hope they do

  • IAmBatman #2 4 years ago

    Yeah, I'd probably dig out my copy of GoW if they did.

  • RobertFoster #3 4 years ago

    Didn't someone say Gears would *never* be ported to PC also?

  • Xerx3s #4 4 years ago

    This translates into: We will throw it on XBL in a couple of months to save face about telling you bs.

  • asphaltcowboy #5 4 years ago

    [/i]"Didn't someone say Gears would *never* be ported to PC also?"[/i]

    I don't think anyone ever said that.

  • Spanky #6 4 years ago

    /bets it'll be a special edition that you have to fork out for all over again

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #7 4 years ago

    All he's said is that they won't just work as-is (like downloadable extra levels for UT or Bethesda's one for portal work), so between the lines I think this translates as:

    "Microsoft Game Studios are not paying us to update the Gears 360 codebase and optimise the new levels so they work on that platform".

    Which would imply that DLC is not currently the money-spinner that some people predicted it would be.

  • menage #8 4 years ago

    Well, the big beasties not being in the game really put a big downer on the game for me. So it would be a welcome addition. The other boss battles where pretty crap (shoot the hinges???), and they did show it in dozens of previews.

  • TriggerHippie #9 4 years ago

    "Didn't someone say Gears would *never* be ported to PC also?"

    "I don't think anyone ever said that."

    They did, however, regularly say they had no plans for a PC version. Which then magically materialised within months.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #10 4 years ago

    Did I read it wrong, or did the article say that you can get Games for Windows achievements on XP and not just Vista? I thought that was impossible!

  • Xerx3s #11 4 years ago

    They did, however, regularly say they had no plans for a PC version. Which then magically materialised within months.

    Link? I must have some amnesia you see?

    EDIT: Iirc, they where already showing off working versions as early as februari.
    Edited by 1 at 09/11/07 @ 13:09

  • mkreku #12 4 years ago

    So.. when's Gears coming to the PS3 then? :p

  • IAmBatman #13 4 years ago

    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59443 ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...[/link]

    J Allard said it was always coming to PC as well, Mark Rein said they weren't even thinking about it at the time.

  • ParanoidZombie #14 4 years ago

    That would be a shame. I mean, x360 owners really embraced the game, they deserve to play this content, and they are ready to pay the price for it. It's a no-brainer IMO.

  • Skeletor #15 4 years ago

    Has even one of you kids notice the bit about the "PC and Xbox 360 code-bases are too far removed from one another for an efficient patch"?! It's technology and not magic after all...
    Edited by 1 at 09/11/07 @ 14:24

  • ParanoidZombie #16 4 years ago

    skeletor wrote: "Has even one of you kids notice the bit about the "PC and Xbox 360 code-bases are too far removed from one another for an efficient patch"?! It's technology and not magic after all... "

    Sorry kid, but to me this is PR and that's it. Like when sega explained us why VF5 would never make it online, or when capcom said RE4 was not coming to ps2 or when Mark Rein said UT3 was (not) going to be released this year on ps3 after all. If it's a tech problem, then fix it. That's what they're paid for.

  • Lim-Dul #17 4 years ago

    Hmmm - I think you all should understand that there's quite little economic sense in working one's arse off for free if the game has already made most of the money last year...
    I think Epic will concentrate on further development of the UT engine and GoW 2, which console owners will get before PC owners as usual, I guess...

  • Katsumoto #18 4 years ago

    Hmm? PC and 360 Bioshock came out at the same time, didn't they? And UT for PC is coming out months before the others? Or did you just mean GoW? Life, pain.

  • IAmBatman #19 4 years ago

    > It's technology and not magic after all...

    Yes, and technology can be changed. It's not magic after all...

    > there's quite little economic sense in working one's arse off for free

    Who said free? I suspect a lot of people would pay 800 points for this (even if they moaned about it on the internet at the same time).