Gears of War, one of the biggest video game franchises on the Xbox platform, is heading to Netflix.
The announcement comes after long months of negotiations in competitive conditions, with Netflix seizing the media rights and collaborating with The Coalition, the Canadian game designer behind the franchise. It also comes on the franchise’s 16th anniversary; the first Gears of War game was released on Nov. 7, 2006.
Netflix has lavish ambitions for the title and a plan that includes first adapting the video game saga into a live-action feature followed by an adult animated series. If everything turns up roses, more stories will follow.
No filmmakers or producers are attached to the projects, with the video game franchise getting a fresh start after several big-studio attempts at adaptation.
The game is set on a planet on the brink of societal collapse when a monstrous threat in the form of underground creatures known as the Locust take humanity to extinction. Delta Squad, a ragtag fireteam led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, is now charged with leading humanity’s last stand.
Gears of War was released 16 years ago today and to mark the occasion, Netflix has partnered with The Coalition to adapt the @GearsofWar video game saga into a live action feature film, followed by an adult animated series — with the potential for more stories to follow! pic.twitter.com/3zInFSnUu4
— Netflix (@netflix) November 7, 2022
With over 40 million copies sold across six instalments plus spinoffs, the franchise is considered one of gaming’s most prosperous and well-regarded sagas, with a passionate fan base.
Hollywood has been trying to get in on the Gears action since 2007, when New Line briefly nabbed the rights. The Netflix deal must be particularly satisfying for film head Scott Stuber, who was attached to adapt when he was an independent producer in the mid-2010s. Universal set up that iteration but never got past the screenwriting phase.
