Next Gears may be on next-gen consoles

By Ellie Gibson Published 25 September, 2009

Mike Capps clarifies TGS comments.

Update: Epic Games president Michael Capps claims he misspoke during a Q&A session at the Tokyo Game Show today when he said, "If there were a next Gears of War, that will be for the next console generation, whenever that is."

Speaking to Eurogamer after the event, Capps explained that if the next Gears of War - assuming there is one - were to be released in the next "four to five years", it would be for current consoles.

Were it to be based on Unreal Engine 4, however, it would have to come out on the next round of consoles, because those are the machines for which Epic is targeting its next generation of money-spinning engine technology.

"If we ship a game in the next few years, it'll be Unreal Engine 3. If we ship a game on next [generation] consoles, it will likely be Unreal Engine 4," he told Eurogamer.

Original Story: Epic Games president Michael Capps has said that if there's a third Gears of Wars game, it will be released on next-gen consoles.

Capps' comments came in a Q&A session following his speech at the Tokyo Game Show. He began by confirming that Epic has been working on Unreal Engine 4 for the past seven years in preparation for the next hardware generation.

"We're very concerned that the next generation will be massively parallel and most engines won't be able to adapt for that," said Capps.

"If there were a next Gears of War, that will be for the next console generation, whenever that is. If someone knows, please tell me! That's about four or five years away, I think."

Also during the session, Capps said that it cost less to make Gears of War 2 than the original game. Although the team working on the sequel was larger, the development time was shorter. "We've managed to keep our expenses down significantly," he said. "We hear about 25 million dollar game budgets and that sort of thing... Epic's not like this."

According to Capps, around 50 or 60 Epic staff members work on each game - compared to reports of around 400 for Assassin's Creed. "It's a great game and it's very big," he said, "But we try to keep focused on a smaller game with lots of quality."

Capps went on to observe that producing its own engine gives both Epic and other companies an advantage. "Every game developer wishes they had time to invest in better tools... We invest a lot in making our content teams more effective, and we can do that because we're making hundreds of other teams effective too."

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (49) 2 years ago

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

  • Vordred #1 2 years ago

    i think thats a good thing, gears 2 had some nice tweaks and improvements over the first, but a 3rd would just be the same again, better to wait until they can make a big jump, rather than making the series seem a bit tired

  • DUFFKING #2 2 years ago

    A good choice IMO. They've done most of what they can this generation with this engine, Gears 2 was great but relied on great level design rather than gameplay changes to keep it fresh. A few years break will make it all seem fresher than another Gears next year.

  • Haloboy #3 2 years ago

    Sorry I thought I just read that someone thought Gears 2 had great level design.

    Now please excuse me while I explode in a fit of continued laughter in that corner over there...

    ahah...ahahahAH...AHAHAHAAHHAHAAAAAAAAAA!

  • des #4 2 years ago

    So Natal 360 it is...

  • Nephirion #5 2 years ago

    Oh noes this means we will be bombarded by DLC map packs till 2014 then?

  • Haloboy #6 2 years ago

    -3 points just for being honest? Cheers guys. Gears 2 level design rocked btw!!11

    Pffft.

  • sarcasmoidosis #7 2 years ago

    I'm guessing that your nickname brought you the "-3"

  • LeD #8 2 years ago

    Smoke and mirrors as far as I'm concerned. I'd very surprised if they don't announce a 3rd installment soon.

  • RedPanda #9 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Pirotic #10 2 years ago

    I still play Gears of War 2 a lot, but their inability to fix some pretty serious bugs (starting a round with no weapons, stupidly long match making system etc) has put me off buying too much DLC, leaves a bitter taste how long they make 12 new maps but can't be bothered patching it up properly.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/09 @ 08:03

  • MeBrains #11 2 years ago

    massively parallel?! oh noes, the coders won't be able to cope with such advanced architecture!!!!
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/09 @ 08:09

  • JohnnyWashnGo #12 2 years ago

    Jeez - I have only just gotten comfortable with this generation, I don't want to think about the next round of console for at least 5 years.

  • Xerx3s #13 2 years ago

    "it will be released on next-gen consoles."

    Slip of the tongue or...

  • LeD #14 2 years ago

    Johnny, I don't think you're going to have to worry about 'next' next-gen before a long time.

  • fiery_jackass #15 2 years ago

    they certainly saved a TON of money by not bothering to properly test the multiplayer.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/09 @ 08:22

  • KayJay #16 2 years ago

    Xerx3s - ""it will be released on next-gen consoles." Slip of the tongue or..."

    Wii Gears... :-)

  • muscleblade #17 2 years ago

    I agree completely with Vordred and Duffking.

  • dominalien #18 2 years ago

    Wii Gears... :-)

    It'll be an on-rails shooter.

    Still, it would be nice to have Gears on another console. I'd like to experience for myself the awesomeness that I keep hearing about.

  • muscleblade #19 2 years ago

    @dominalien

    Only the 360 (or a high end PC) have enough POWER to run a game like Gears. The PC version of the first sucked though compared to the 360 version. Gears is much about the looks so it wouldnt be very good on the Wii.

  • Dizzy #20 2 years ago

    Highly unlikely there will be no Gears game the next 4-5 years. Maybe not a full blown 3 but there will surely be something. If not it will be bad for the franchise.

  • Dizzy #21 2 years ago

    "massively parallel?! oh noes, the coders won't be able to cope with such advanced architecture!!!! "

    It is mostly the compilers who have a hard time producing code that works well on massive parallel machines.

  • the_dudefather #22 2 years ago

    They will announce Gears of war 2: UGST (under ground steroid troopers) to fill the time until the next version

  • Peew971 #23 2 years ago

    No way they're going to wait 4-5 years for a new Gears, that's just spitting on money... Maybe he knows something we don't about an Xbox Natal :)

  • DB2k #24 2 years ago

    tbh I'd take a cut price interim story based on the gears 2 engine with just more of the same fun for 20-25 quid over waiting 5 years for something I have forgotten about which might not be relevant in gaming by then

  • dupplawt #25 2 years ago

    So they're just going to be sitting on their arses for 5 years? I don't think so... me thinks some sort of Gears spin-off in a year or two.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/09 @ 09:22

  • Sniper_007 #26 2 years ago

    Is it just me who is actually disappointed about this? Gears 2 in co-op still has to be one of the best experiences I've had on the 360, in fact we've only recently got it back out to bash through the campaign on Insane. I can understand keeping it fresh and waiting until they have something special for us, but in four or five years time will anyone actually care anymore??

  • PeacockDreams #27 2 years ago

    I wasnt aware the Gears of War series was a standalone series, i thought it was part of the Generic Space Marine series that has been running since the Xbox and is still going now on 360! ;)

  • Dizzy #28 2 years ago

    "I wasnt aware the Gears of War series was a standalone series, i thought it was part of the Generic Space Marine series that has been running since the Xbox and is still going now on 360! ;) "


    Yeah it is a counter series to the generic emo-spiky hair teenager with a sword series that we had running before.

  • PeacockDreams #29 2 years ago

    "Yeah it is a counter series to the generic emo-spiky hair teenager with a sword series that we had running before."

    Great, the future is looking rosey for gaming, i just wish there were more racing games with an illegal street racing vibe, you no what i mean

  • penhalion #30 2 years ago

    Given that a lot of people will have totally forgotten about gears in 5 years time I think Michael Capps was talking nonsense. If they release Gears 3 next year, then it will sell like hot cakes. People want to find out what happens in the story, especially finding out that the radio voice was Fenix's dad trying to warn him not to kill the locust queen. Then there is the issue with the stuff they were mining actually being a sentient entity capable of mutating the locust and humans.

    Leave story elements like that for five years and it's going to be meaningless drivel to most people when you finally decide to finish the story. If I had betting money, it would be riding on a gears 3 for next november!

  • miiiguel #31 2 years ago

    @PeacockDreams: I've played its Killzone expansion pack on the other machine. Pretty good too, you should check it out. There's some other ones, but not as good, like Haze.

    Or..., you were just trying to be funny? Dude, you're killiing me! Ha, ha..., ha.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/09 @ 09:40

  • LiveForever #32 2 years ago

    "50 or 60 Epic staff members work on each game "

    This must be why the multiplayer is so broken with lag and cheating, no real testing.

  • Sniper_007 #33 2 years ago

    Couldn't agree more penhalion - in fact from the update it looks like he's back tracked on the original comment and was really just talking about the new Unreal Engine.

    I think we'll be seeing another Gears on the 360... can't put a good cash cow out to pasture!! Excuse me while I do a little silent Woot here :)

  • JonFE #34 2 years ago

    miiiguel, you've got to admit, it *was* both witty and funny :) Loved the way he handled Dizzy's response too :D

  • metalmonk #35 2 years ago

    The next Gears Of War we are likely to see first will be the movie.
    And that's 2 years away!
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/09 @ 09:58

  • Pulsar_t #36 2 years ago

    @penhalion Cliffhangers are the bane of the gaming industry. Cimpanies like Valve and Konami take 2-3 decades to properly wrap up a single series. It's never been done before, not in books or film.

  • miiiguel #37 2 years ago

    It could be, if he didn't know Gears "plot" like some urban bible. That stuff is a *bit* red-neckish, but to imply it's a trend ont the xbox, is a *lot* outdated.

  • altitude2k #38 2 years ago

    Having just finished reading "Jacinto's Remnant" I'm thoroughly looking forward to Gears 3. Battles against stranded and Naval warfare FTW!

  • muscleblade #39 2 years ago

    "I've played its Killzone expansion pack on the other machine. Pretty good too, you should check it out."

    It was kind of dull though as the Locust didnt look that good and the controls and AI sucked.

  • schnide #40 2 years ago

    I don't believe for a second there won't be another Gears for 4 or 5 years time.

  • sneetch #41 2 years ago

    @schnide
    I don't believe for a second there won't be another Gears for 4 or 5 years time.

    Didn't Cliff whatsisface say that it was a trilogy a few (dozen) times? I can't see them holding off for the next gen consoles before wheeling out that last episode.

  • Chazmeister #42 2 years ago

    Unreal engine 4, gosh, considering how good the current engine looks, I can't wait to see what number four does.

  • hiddenranbir #43 2 years ago

    Weren't Epic the dudes that were really excited about 64-bit PC power to really unlock the potential of games.

    Bring on 64-bit already!

  • davisorle #44 2 years ago

    So the reason why he "misstated" in the first place has to be cause he is strongly possitiev that the next Gears will be working on Unreal Engine 4, which personally I cant wait to see their results cause Unreal engine 3 is a fucking miracle compaired to Engine 2. Thought different periods graphically and the difference wont even be close o the last one's.
    And yes, its a good thing to wait for somethign great but... 4-5 years to e on next gen? I wouldnt mind another Gears in between if you ask me with minor improvements. Gears is a great game, one way or the other rocks so I dont see why not :)

  • Starkillah_79 #45 2 years ago

    Now I'm Pissed!

  • sneetch #46 2 years ago

    @designerheadache

    I don't know how they'll make it work but I'll be on the edge of my seat for the whole thing!

    Ooooh, I hope it ends in a wedding!

  • Sniper_007 #47 2 years ago

    So... who else is expecting Gears of War : Saving Private Carmine sometime next year?

  • Alkeno #48 2 years ago

    Gears of War 2: UGST

    That was funny as hell :-D

  • TRUTH #49 2 years ago

    ...it's the words "may be" that sort say it "won't be", coming to the next gen consoles.