Gears 5’s Story Not Part Of New Trilogy, But Ongoing “Saga,” Says Studio Head

Gears 5 is finally here, and it looks to be the revitalization of the franchise we’ve been waiting for. You can check out our review of the title to see just how high we are on it. It’s a good overall package, including the story. There’s obviously some things to resolve once the credits start to roll- but don’t think of it as a new trilogy, according to The Coalition Studio Head Rod Fergusson.

It’s easy to think of the new games as part of a new trilogy, with Gears of War 4 being the game to introduce the new set of characters who have taken center stage in 5, but Fergusson says that they want to get away from thinking in trilogy terms, speaking to GamesBeat. He says he wants to look at it as a more of an ongoing, branching saga, with 5 being one part of the larger scope of the entire thing, as opposed to one game being the second of three or so forth.

“We’re trying to get out of the trilogy mindset,” said Fergusson. “The word I like now is ‘saga.’ Just the idea that we don’t want to limit ourselves to a beginning, middle, and end, one-two-three thing. ‘Oh, this is the Empire Strikes Back game.’ That kind of thing. For us it’s just about where the story can take us and what stories we can tell. This is just a continuation of the saga.

“It’s nice to have a young set of characters, instead of being in their mid-40s. It gives us a lot of head room in terms of where we can go. We wanted these younger characters so that we could transform them over time. With Marcus and Delta Squad, they were set in their ways. The world changed around them, but they didn’t really change. Now, as you see with JD in this game, their experiences can change them and transform them. That’s what we want to lean into, to have that happen as we move forward.”

Gears 5 is available now for Xbox One and PC. For some basic tips on survival, take a look through here, and we’ve got you covered if you’re curious about post-launch content coming to the game.