It’s an open secret that The Coalition is working on the next Gears of War title, rumored to be Gears 6. The developer was hiring for a motion capture technician and lead mission designer last year to work on the franchise. However, Eurogamer has spotted 13 additional senior roles that have opened up in the past few weeks, including lead mission designer and senior multiplayer designer.
Though Gears 6 isn’t mentioned, the listing for the former says its objective is “forge the future of the IP and push the limits of Microsoft’s entertainment platforms and devices.” They will “lead the level design team through strong mentorship, training, and actionable feedback that motivates and inspires their work.” Additionally, campaign mission and level development will be shepherded from “paper through completion, guiding the process to meet timelines, iterate on feedback, and maintain focus on delivering high-quality experiences.”
The senior multiplayer designer will “help create AAA cooperative and competitive game experiences,” including “high-level concepts to low-level tuning and balancing.” Applicants will work with creative directors/lead designers on multiplayer modes and features, “take ownership of multiplayer game mode features from concept through to delivery” and “iterate, experiment, and explore various multiplayer feature designs.”
Based on how many senior positions are available, it’s likely that development is still in the early stage. Gears of War 2 writer and co-director Joshua Ortega, who recently joined The Coalition, is also seemingly involved. Regarding his work on the second game, he replied, “Once again, it’s on!”, likely hinting at his work on the next game. Time will tell, so stay tuned for more details in the coming months.