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Good Smile Company has announced the release of a Marcus Fenix from Gears of War Nendoroid figure. Preorders for the figure are now avaliable, priced at ¥7,300 (approximately $50 USD). The preorder period runs from July 2, 2024, to August 21, 2024 (JST), with a shipping date set for January 2025.

The Marcus Fenix Nendoroid comes with two face plates, featuring a grizzled expression and a combat-ready look. Additionally, the figure includes a variety of optional parts such as the iconic Lancer MK II Assault Rifle, gunfire effects, and blood spray effects, allowing for dynamic action set pieces.

The figure is painted plastic, non-scale, and stands approximately 100mm (about 3.9 inches) in height. It was sculpted by Shichibee (Matsuda Model) with production cooperation from Nendoroid.

In related news, a new mainline game in the Gears series, Gears of War: E-Day, was announced during the Xbox Game Showcase 2024. Set as a prequel to the original game, it takes place 14 years prior and features a young Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. For more details, check out our article on the announcement.

Gears of War: E-Day is currently in development for the Xbox Series X. There is no announced release date or window for the game yet.

The post Marcus Fenix Nendoroid Available for Preorder appeared first on Siliconera.

Among the Good Smile Company Smile Fest 2024 figure announcements was a Gears of War Marcus Fenix Nendoroid. It seems like it is quite far along in development, to the point we could see pre-orders soon, as it appeared as a painted prototype. 

For this figure, the character is wearing his standard armor from the series. It is all black, with the trademark icon in silver and some blue highlights. He’s also wearing a black beanie. He comes armed with a Lancer Assault Rifle.

Here’s the official painted prototype figure of the Marcus Fenix Gears of War Nendoroid:

While the Good Smile Company figure collections tend to focus on games and media made in Asia, it isn’t uncommon to see items like the Gears of War one. For example, the company made Halo InfiniteMaster Chief Nendoroids. Barbie became a Nendoroid too.

There’s a new Gears of War game on the way as well, as Microsoft announced Gears of War: E-Day during its Summer Game Fest 2024 showcase. Rather than a sequel and Gears of War 6, it is a prequel. It will still feature Marcus, but will do so 14 years before everything began in the original game.

The Gears of War Marcus Fenix Nendoroid is in development, but there’s no exact release window for the figure yet. Gears of War: E-Day is in development for the Xbox Series X and PC.

The post Here’s the Marcus Fenix Gears of War Nendoroid appeared first on Siliconera.

Now, when I talk about “the future” of the Gears of War series, I don’t necessarily mean the newly announced Gears of War: E-Day game. Going back in time to seeing the world of Sera in peace and witnessing young Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago become friends through the crucible of a new war against an incomprehensible enemy sounds fascinating, and I totally understand why The Coalition took this opportunity. However, I worry about about the future of the series when we eventually get to continue the plot threads left hanging in Gears 5.

In a recent interview with The Coalition, the developers reassured fans of the series that they are "not retreating” from the storylines that started in the series games Gears of War 4 and continued in Gears 5. While this can sound comforting, I can’t help but think that it will be a really long time until we see or even hear about a hypothetical Gears of War 6. When you consider how long video games take to develop and how expensive they are nowadays, I fear we might not see a resolution to the events and cliffhangers left in Gears 5, at least not in the way fans expect. The latest game in the Gears franchise shipped in September 2019, almost 5 years ago. With no announced date for Gears of War: E-Day, it could take a while for this new title to appear.

If things go swimmingly for The Coalition, a direct continuation of Gears 5 could take another four to five years to get greenlit and released. Unless the team is magically working on two titles at the same time (something which could be catastrophic when taking in the massive financial risk), we could be talking about a direct sequel appearing sometime around 2030. That would be well over a decade after Gears 5. Of course, this is all hypothetical. But no matter the result, by the time we get to experience a direct sequel, it will have been way too long for audiences to keep the same level of interest than they had when the game originally came out.

Don’t get me wrong, I am actually very excited to experience Gears of War: E-Day. I completely understand the allure of going back to the very origin of the series. Showing the overwhelming and terrifying threat of the Locust Horde in its heyday, when humanity had no tools to fight back against a never-before-seen enemy, is promising. I can’t help but imagine how different it would be to play this game, compared to the action-focused romps of the original trilogy. The idea of combat encounters being more threatening than ever before for the series, a lower number of Locust drones feeling overpowering, compared to the hordes of enemies Marcus and the COG mowed down in the original trilogy could truly breathe new life into the franchise.

Of course, I’m not expecting the game to completely change genres into survival horror, although I wouldn’t really mind it, but I keep wondering what new ideas this new scenario could bring. Seeing Marcus and Dom fight a single enemy in the reveal trailer and barely survive the encounter really fascinates me. From a narrative standpoint, seeing their relationship flourish in real time after both experienced unspeakable loss sounds right up my alley. Even seeing the creation of the iconic Lancer or Hammer of Dawn, among other memorable tools in the franchise, to successfully face the Locust excites me. But there’s only so much The Coalition can do before they run out of material to cover for this prequel.

Once all it’s said and done, I just can’t imagine the future of the Gears of War franchise after E-Day. Once it’s time to go back to the present, there will be a whole new generation of players to bring into the fold. Maybe revisiting the past with E-Day, and with the release of the rumored remaster of the original Gears of War trilogy, could bring a renewed interest into the franchise for old and new audiences alike. But that’s hedging on too many bets at that point. And even if we end up seeing a continuation of the story of Gears 5, by that point it will be a completely different story from the one that started all the way back in 2016 with Gears of War 4.

The long development cycles, hyperinflated budgets, expectations for triple-A games, and constant layoffs are keeping the industry stagnant. Taking any type of risk is untenable for big name developers. That’s why remakes, remasters, and looking at the past of once-popular series is safer and easier. There’s no window for risk or experimentation in the triple-A market. And I worry that, with how long it takes to ship a game nowadays, the Gears of War franchise might not have much of a future after this detour to its past with E-Day.

Gears of War: E-Day is currently in development for the Xbox Series X and PC via Steam. There is no announced release date for the game yet.

The post I Worry About the Future of Gears of War Series After E-Day appeared first on Siliconera.

Microsoft revealed the latest entry in the Gears of War series with Gears 5 with a September 10 release date during the Xbox E3 2019 briefing. A multiplayer tech test will also take place on July 17, 2019.

The post Gears 5 Announced For Xbox One With A September 10 Release Date appeared first on Siliconera.

The next Gears of War game, currently in development for the Xbox One at Black Tusk studios, will take a while before it’s ready for release, says Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, who made the following tweet (thanks, OXM) in response to a fan:

In response to Spencer’s tweet, another fan voiced his agreement, stating that the felt Gears of War 4 “needs to be huge”. Spencer replied: “And I believe we've built the right team to achieve that goal, I just want to give them the time.”

Microsoft recently purchased the Gears of War license from Epic Games, and assigned Black Tusk to develop further games in the series. At the time, Spencer revealed that the series has sold 22 million copies thus far.

The post Next Gears of War Has To “Reignite Franchise,” Says Microsoft’s Phil Spencer appeared first on Siliconera.

It looks as though the Gears of War franchise will continue as an exclusive on Microsoft’s game platforms. The publisher announced today that it has acquired the Gears of War brand from Epic Games, who have been responsible for the development of the games.

This is a complete acquisition of the brand, meaning Microsoft now holds the rights to “all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise”. Additionally, the publisher announced, Black Tusk Studios in Vancouver will take over the development of the Gears of War games going forward.

Meanwhile, Rod Fergusson, former Director of Production at Epic Games on the Gears of War franchise, will Microsoft and will take on a “key studio leadership” role at Black Tusk. Epic Games’ Unreal Engine will continue to be the technology powering the games.

Head of Microsoft Studios Phil Spencer revealed that Gears of War has sold over 22 million copies across every game in the series thus far. Further details on the franchise and future plans will be shared later this year.

The post Microsoft Acquires Gears of War Franchise From Epic appeared first on Siliconera.

Microsoft Japan made another Games With Gold switch. Instead of giving out Gears of War this month, Japan gets Halo Wars as a free game with an Xbox Live Gold hip.

Why? Gears of War is rated CERO Z in Japan, which is an adults only rating and Microsoft doesn't give CERO Z titles out as Games With Gold in Japan. Resident Evil Code: Veronica replaced Dead Rising 2 in Japan and JoyRide Turbo was given out in place of Fable III.

The post Instead Of Gears Of War, Japan Gets Halo Wars On Games With Gold appeared first on Siliconera.

Gears of War from Epic Games and Shoot Many Robots from Demiurge Studios will be available for free to Xbox Live Gold in December, Microsoft’s Major Nelson revealed this morning.

Gears of War was released in 2006 for the Xbox 360. Meanwhile, Shoot Many Robots is a more recent title that was released in 2012 via Xbox Live Arcade, PC and PlayStation Network.

Gears of War will be available for free from December 1st to 15th. Shoot Many Robots will be available free from December 16th to 31st.

The post Gears of War And Shoot Many Robots Free On Xbox Live Gold In December appeared first on Siliconera.

Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski’s nightmare scenario is if he were to wake up one day and be fired from Epic Games. While Bleszinski says the prospect of this would be terrifying, he also knows what he’d like to do if he ever left Epic: be a consultant to help Japanese developers make their games more global.

It’s a fact, by Bleszinski’s own ission, that Epic’s hit Gears of War series was inspired in part by the strides made by Resident Evil 4’s over-the-shoulder view and pacing. Bleszinski’s love for Resident Evil is still strong, as is his love for horror games like Fatal Frame and Silent Hill. “I will never forget playing Fatal Frame II, where I had to pull my feet up from underneath the sofa, because I was afraid a ghost would grab me,” he shares in an interview with Gamasutra.

Bleszinski says he’d love to work on a horror game himself some day, where the player can feel just as scared, but also feel empowered like in Resident Evil 4.

“I think the proper way to do that—if I were to work on an RE game, hypothetically—would be to alternate between those moments,” Bleszinski believes. “Maybe do an RE game where there's two kinds of characters—you know, you've got a Leon-type guy, and then mix in a scared little girl, and so you alternate between the empowerment and the fear. We had a little bit of that, actually in Gears 1, right? And I think you can pull that off, and then maybe have a choice, even, and you can appeal to two types of gamers.”

As for Japanese developers in general, Bleszinski’s advice to them would be not to ignore multiplayer. “I'm not saying tack multiplayer onto every game,” he clarifies. “But for instance, Shadows of the Damned, that was a wonderfully crazy adventure, the dialogue had me laughing out loud, just even the key-door systems in there; it was a beautifully crazy game with really fun gameplay, but no multiplayer co-op experience in there.”

He reiterates: “I'm not saying tack on a versus mode; there's a billion different ways you can do some sort of ‘players interacting with other players’ mode.”

Another multiplayer idea from Bleszinski: “What if I had a Fatal Frame where anonymous people could my game and be ghosts and try to scare the crap out of me, and then I rate how well they scared me? Basically a fancy hide and go seek.”

Bleszinski also expresses iration for Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls as games that have inventive multiplayer. “That's ironically one of the most innovative games with what we call "mingle player" that has had those kinds of blending and blurring of single player and multiplayer—and it came from Japan!”

Coming full circle, what game is Bleszinski particularly disappointed didn’t have a multiplayer mode? Vanquish, the stylish third-person shooter designed by Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami.

“I've often said on record that if Gears is the kind of Wild, Wild West coal train chugging along, then Vanquish is the Japanese bullet train, with style and everything,” Bleszinski says. “There is absolutely no reason I shouldn't have been zipping around, doing the mega slides, diving up in the air in an arena with other players.”

The post How Would Gears of War’s Bleszinski Design Resident Evil And Fatal Frame? appeared first on Siliconera.

Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago are taking a break from chainsawing Locusts to shoot some Akrid. The two stars of Gears of War are making a cameo appearance in Lost Planet 2.

Purchase the Xbox 360 version and somehow you’ll be able to access to these special skins. Capcom and Microsoft haven’t explained exactly how yet. While the announcement was made in Japan, I wonder if this collaboration will better received in the West.

The post A Clear Look At The Lost Planet 2 x Gears of War Crossover appeared first on Siliconera.

Gears of War 2 banned in Japan? No way. Despite rumblings of being "indefinitely" not available Microsoft wouldn't miss out on selling Gears of War 2 in Japan. As a niche title for a small console base Gears of War didn't do bad in Japan. In the future Microsoft of Japan will release a properly localized version of Gears 2 with Japanese dialogue and perhaps some censorship. Cutting off heads doesn't roll well over there. Of course Locust hunters in Japan have the option of skipping the Japanese version and tracking down a copy of the region free Asian version to satisfy their bloodlust. Since we already have Gears of War 2 I only hope this announcement means more rib tickling viral videos from Microsoft of Japan's advertising department.

Images courtesy of Microsoft.

The post Gears of War 2 Getting Localized For Japan appeared first on Siliconera.

Bollywood, not Hollywood, recently launched a movie where the lead character is an Xbox 360 game developer. Bachna Ae Haseeno's protagonist is responsible for key Xbox 360 exclusives, namely Halo 3 and Gears of War. But this isn't a documentary about coding inside of a cubicle. Regardless of Raj Sharma's occupation Bachna Ae Haseeno's is about life lessons from three different girls. Like all video game developers Raj has an entourage of women following him while he sips a latte. Very realistic.

Here's a trailer for the film and it doesn't look like it's about video games at all. Well, at least Microsoft is trying their best to promote the Xbox 360 in India with some unusual tie ins.

Images courtesy of Microsoft.

The post The life of an Xbox 360 game developer in the eyes of Bollywood appeared first on Siliconera.

Microsoft had a Comic-Con booth with Galaga Legions on display and a handful of limited edition Xbox 360s to giveaway. Nobody got to take home the Dark Knight themed Xbox 360 consoles, though. These were in a glass case for eyes only. Lucky winners who stopped by and scanned their badges received Xbox 360s branded with art from DC Comics, the Watchmen, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Gears of War 2.

Photo credit Spencer/Siliconera.

The post If Batman had an Xbox 360 it might look like this appeared first on Siliconera.

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While many publishers shy from releasing CERO Z games, Microsoft embraced the AO equivalent as part of their strategy to breakthrough to Japan. And it’s starting to work. This photo is from Bic Camera in Shinjuku where a number of CERO Z games are sold out. I guess it makes sense that the Godfather is gone since it came out in January. Saint’s Row and Hitman: Blood Money are somewhat recent, both games came out in the summer. The Gears of War / Dead Rising double pack is the newest addition, which just came out on November 1^st. Of course this is just a single store and it is unknown how many copies Bic Camera was carrying of each game. However, some gamers in Japan are buying these titles and 40,811 other people purchased Assassin's Creed, the most recent CERO Z game, when it came out in Japan last week.  

The post Japan and ultraviolence, CERO Z games are catching on appeared first on Siliconera.