Announced at The Game Awards 2019, upcoming Gears/XCOM mashup Gears Tactics is set for an April 28th, 2020 release. Set to come to Steam, the Windows Store, and for Game Pass for PC, the strategy game will eventually make its way over to the Xbox One as well. Gears Tactics is a joint development effort between The Coalition and Splash Damage. Featuring a character-driven story, weapon and character customization on smaller, fast-paced maps, Gears Tactics is a prequel to the entire Gears saga, just as the Locus begin their invasion of the surface. The Coalition studio head Rod Fergussen promised that there are zero microtransactions present in Gears Tactics. We can see just how well Gears Tactics shapes up when it surfaces on April 28th, 2020.
Noticeably absent from Microsoft's show at E3 this year, it was instead supplanted by an extended look at the solid Gears 5, as well as the unusual Gears POP! Moving away from the fast-paced, third-person combat that has defined the entire series in favor of tactical turn-based combat, Gears Tactics is promising a lengthy, 40 hour story as well as the trademark violence and gore that many think of when Gears is mentioned. Playing as Gabe Diaz, you're sent on a last-ditch effort to end the war before it truly begins, by taking on the gargantuan Ukkon, from which many Locust spawn. Interestingly, Gears Tactics is also promising huge boss battles, some of which were hinted at in the trailer above.
Developer Splash Damage has previously provided support for multiplayer games like Halo: The Master Chief Collection as well as other Gears games, and is no stranger to the fast-paced shooter. Despite surviving the abject failure of parkour multiplayer shooter Brink, it enjoyed some very modest success with free-to-play shooter Dirty Bomb for many years. Still, a tactical effort is new territory for the team, which seems to have been inspired heavily by XCOM. We'll see just how well their tactical try does when it launches next April.
What do you think of this direction for the Gears series? Any genres you think it should dip its toes into next? Let us know in the comments below!
