Microsoft Game Studios' corporate vice president, Shane Kim, has confirmed that the former head of EA Chicago, Kudo Tsunoda, has been placed in charge of the Gears of War business.

"We wanted to put more focus behind [Gears], and it's great to get a creative lead like Kudo," Kim told IGN, confirming reports last month.

Kim however refused to comment on the possibility of a follow up to 2006's Gears of War.

"I think there's an awful lot we can do just with version one of Gears of War," he said. "There's additional content that we continue to do. Gears of War continues to be one of the most-played titles on Xbox Live. There's more that one can do to continue to deliver great experiences. And partnering with Epic on where we go from here. How can we make it even bigger and even better in the future."

Epic Games' vice president Mark Rein recently shot down rumours that a sequel to Gears of War had been revealed to US magazine GamePro, although speculation continues to do the rounds that a follow-up to one of the Xbox 360's defining titles to date will be announced at next week's Game Developers Conference.

Courtesy of Next Generation.

Feb 12, 2008