Xbox Wanted Its Own “Uncharted” — Gears of War Creators’ Project Canceled, Insider Says

It has emerged that The Coalition’s Gears of War team once worked on a project intended to serve as Xbox’s answer to the Uncharted series — a game that was ultimately shelved.

In a new episode of Game History Secrets on the DidYouKnowGaming YouTube channel, game historian Liam Robertson revealed that before the release of Gears of War 4 the team — then operating as Black Tusk Studios — was developing a new franchise under the codename Project Ranger. The title was envisioned as a cinematic, third-person action-adventure in the spirit of Uncharted.

According to former staff and internal documents, Project Ranger was in development during 2012. Its protagonist was an agent named Cole, voiced by actor Liam McIntyre (known for Spartacus). The project fused shooting mechanics, spy-thriller elements and large-scale spectacle — for example, a sequence depicting Honolulu being ravaged by a tsunami featuring advanced water simulation and destructible environments.

The game was originally conceived as a technology demo for the Xbox One, but Microsoft pushed for a closer alignment with Uncharted. Concepts centered on drones and gadgets were pared back in favor of more conventional firefights. The production suffered from frequent reshuffles and an unfocused creative direction; one developer described the concept as “James Bond meets Mission: Impossible.”

By late 2013 the studio had produced a playable prototype, but Microsoft soon entered talks to acquire the Gears of War IP from Epic Games. Management chose to assign the franchise to Black Tusk, and Project Ranger was cancelled in early 2014. Elements of the project’s technology were later repurposed during the development of Gears of War 4.

Source: iXBT.games