Skip to main content

Report: Gears of War 4 picks up 25 years after the last game

Gears of War 4 Game Informer Coverage Trailer
Some basic details about the story of Gears of War 4 were released in a report from Game Informer Tuesday, in advance of a major feature on the game in its April, 2016, issue.

According to the report, Gears of War 4 picks up 25 years after the conclusion of Gears of War 3, and will feature a “largely new” cast. The game’s story will revolve around JD Fenix, son of the series original protagonist, Marcus Fenix. According to the report, the younger Fenix joined the COG army in his youth, but goes his own way after a “classified incident” that will be revealed during the game. Spartacus star Liam McIntyre will serve as the voice of JD Fenix.

Fenix will reportedly fight with two other — presumably playable — characters. Del Walker, Fenix’ childhood friend who both joins and runs away from the COG army with him, will be voiced by Eugene Byrd, who has played recurring characters on shows such as Bones and Arrow. Kait Diaz, played by veteran game voice actress Laura Bailey, is from a group of Outsiders — survivalists who live independently and without the protection of the COG army — but becomes friends with Fenix.

The report also suggested that the game will feature a gameplay mechanic involving windstorms, which will “radically change the field of battle.”

Rod Fergusson, producer of Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition, and Xbox marketing chief Aaron Greenberg primed the pump for Gears of War 4 hype last week; Fergusson tweeted that Greenberg had recently seen the game, prompting Greenberg to reply that his “mind was blown.”

Gears of War 4 will come to Xbox One (and possibly Windows 10) in Fall 2016. Players who opened Gears of War: Ultimate Edition before March 1 will have access to the game’s as-yet-unscheduled pre-release beta.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Epstein
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…
Volgarr the Viking 2 will take you back to your Ghosts ‘n Goblins days
A viking slashes a tree in Volgarr the Viking 2.

Developer Digital Eclipse is working on a surprising project: Volgarr the Viking 2. The 2D retro sequel will launch on August 6 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The news is an out of left field reveal. The first Volgarr the Viking game released in 2013 and was made as an ode to 1080s classics like Ghosts 'n Goblins. Despite being a small release, it sold over 1 million copies over the past decade. As revealed during today's Guerrilla Collective stream, the series is coming back with a new sequel by Digital Eclipse, the team behind this year's Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story.

Read more
3 Days of Play PS Plus games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Key art for Streets of Rage 4.

June 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty great month for PlayStation players. Not only are we coming off an entertaining State of Play showcase, but a new Days of Play initiative surrounding all the video game showcases this month is bringing a lot of new PS Plus additions with it. Many of those games hit PS Plus this week, and three in particular stand out to us.

For owners of Sony's oft-neglected PlayStation VR2, the first game is one of its rare exclusives that take full advantage of the headset's eye-tracking by seeing how often players blink. The next is a new PS Plus Essential game that's a revival of Sega's classic beat-'em-up series for the modern gaming era. Finally, the last title is an atmospheric and eerie fishing game that should entice fans of Lovecraftian horror.
Before Your Eyes

Read more
3 first-party Xbox Game Pass games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Gears 5 Kait Hero Close Up

Microsoft will hold an Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct. this Sunday. These shows will provide a much better idea of what to expect from Xbox over the course of the next year or two. That's really needed right now, as Microsoft has struggled to keep online discussions around Xbox positive as it went multiplatform with some games, laid off thousands of developers, and outright shut down the developers of Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall. Based on leaks and my personal expectations for the showcase, there are three games you can play on Xbox Game Pass this weekend to prepare for the event.

The first is the latest first-person shooter in a long-running series by id Software that might be getting a medieval-set spinoff. After that, we have the fifth entry in a sci-fi Xbox series that still looks fantastic on Xbox Series X/S even though it came out in 2019. Finally, you can prepare for Avowed with the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, a satirical sci-fi game where player choice is critical.
Doom Eternal

Read more