Gears of War studio The Coalition (formerly Black Tusk Studios, as it was called until 2015) teased a project during E3 2013 that apparently might have rivaled the best Uncharted games – a project that was scrapped in favor of Gears of War.
Neither Microsoft nor Xbox studio, The Coalition, has publicly spoken about the mysterious 30-second teaser shown during E3 over a decade ago, but a recent video from video game researcher Liam Robertson of DidYouKnowGaming finally lifts the veil on the previously unnamed project depicted's details. "Microsoft had recognized that the Xbox needed its answer to Sony's Uncharted series," Robertson explains.
"A briskly paced third-person shooter big on action set pieces," if you will. According to the content creator, "In short, the idea for this game was Uncharted with spies – an action-packed third-person shooter where the player controlled secret agents on high-octane espionage missions in various cities around the world." It sounds like a wild mashup of Hitman and Uncharted if you ask me, one that might've done well, but unfortunately, it never came to fruition.
Why? The cancellation came in favor of the team moving its focus to Gears of War 4. "According to studio manager Mike Crump, they reached a unanimous decision to shut down Project Ranger in favor of taking on Gears of War," as Robertson states. "The move proved divisive when it was disclosed to Black Tusk's wider team later that week. Whereas some relished the new opportunity ahead of them, others were dismayed over the project's termination."
Crump acknowledged this disappointment in an interview with Polygon, although he wasn't open about what the project was, saying, "I'd be lying if I said there weren't some people on the team who were disappointed when they found out the thing they'd been working on for so long was going to be shelved." According to Robertson, layoffs followed Project Ranger's end, with veteran Gears of War producer Rod Fergusson hired as the new studio head.
Fergusson would lead the team, which was fittingly renamed "The Coalition" in reference to Gears of War, in its production of Gears of War 4 – a well-received entry in the beloved series that went on to release in 2016, just two years after Project Ranger was axed. Interestingly enough, the Uncharted-style game was supposed to feature Xbox Kinect functionality… which opens up a whole other can of worms, if you ask me.
Robertson's video on Project Ranger certainly offers some unique insights into an otherwise obscure game's history, and it's worth a full watch for anyone looking to learn more about an underappreciated mid-2010s title that made waves following E3.
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