Developed by Steamforged Games in conjunction with The Coalition as well as Microsoft, Gears of War: The Card Game is a physical card game based on the popular video game franchise. Fans are excited to hear that the game is coming out in 2023 as they prepare for The Partnership to reveal the sequel to Gears 5.
Gears 5, the latest installment in the series, was published in 2019. In the same year, fans got a mediocre smartphone RTS in Gears Pop, and in 2020 they got an X-Com-style game in Gears Tactics, but since that point, there hasn’t been anything to tickle their desires. The Coalition recently officially confirmed on its website that it will be switching to Unreal Engine 5 for all upcoming work in 2021; despite the fact that the existing rate of Gears of War debuts implies a potential Gears 6 might be revealed soon, many enthusiasts predict a long drawn development process in light of that change.
Meanwhile, a new platform for the Gears of War series is on the way. On Twitter, Steamforged Games—makers of Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game as well as Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game confirmed the 2023 release of Gears of War: The Card Game. Despite the lack of information on the game’s genre, rule sets, pricing structures, or release date, fans have reason to be optimistic, given Steamforged Games’ track record of successfully adapting video games for the tables.
This news follows Netflix’s revelation about Gears of War, which was made two months before. In November, it was announced that Gears of War would be getting both a live-action film and an anime saga, and fans have since speculated that this indicates a new major chapter in the story arc is on the way. Whether or not Gears of War 6 is shown to the public in 2023, it will be The Coalition’s first project to make use of the tremendously capable Unreal Engine 5. Thus, the title is bound to be revolutionary in regard to realism, regardless of when it is actually released.
Even if they aren’t for everybody, card games centered on well-known IPs are a great opportunity to reimagine familiar stories in a new light. Positive reactions to Steamforged Games’ prior works and the enlarged Gears of War canon it gets to draw on are good indicators that Gears of War: The Card Game will possess the complexity and stability to hold its own.
