Microsoft has announced the company has struck a deal with video game developer Epic Games to acquire the rights to “Gears of War”, one of the most popular action games on Xbox.
The agreement would give Microsoft Studios, which previously holds publishing rights to Gears of War, the rights to “all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise”.
In a statement released in Microsoft’s official blog, Microsoft adds that Vancouver-based video game studio Black Tusk Studios will take over the game’s development stage. Rod Ferguson, who used to head Epic Games as its director of production, will take over the studio’s leadership role.
“Rod has played a leadership role at Epic on all of the Gears of Wars games,” Hanno Lemke, general manager of Black Tusk Studios, said in a statement. “He understands the franchise deeply but equally importantly he understands the fans of the franchise – what they love, where they want to see the franchise evolve.”
The deal makes Gears of War a likely fixture on Xbox One, which Microsoft debuted last fall. The third-person shooter was first unveiled on Xbox 360 in 2006 as one of the console’s flagship franchises.
Microsoft claims sales of the game franchise has reached 22 million, with a gross of $1 billion in revenue. A sequel to the franchise, Gears of War: Judgment, was released last year.
Source: Xbox
