Cliff Bleszinski criticized the Tim Sweeney-led company, saying Epic Games had no idea what to do with the franchise!

Gears, initially called Gears of War, was a significant Xbox franchise. The first part was ported to PC after the Xbox 360 version. Still, the second part was only released on X360 and remained so until Gears of War 4 (the second and third parts and the spinoff Judgment, developed by People Can Fly, remained only on X360), when The Coalition made Gears of War 4 for Xbox One and PC.

Bleszinski, also known as CliffyB, worked for nearly 20 years as the lead designer on the first three Gears of War titles but left Sweeney’s company at the end of 2012, a year after the release of GoW 3. It was two years before Microsoft acquired the IP. Bleszinski told IGN that he believes Epic Games didn’t know what to do with the IP after several vital people (who had worked on the Marcus Fenix story) left the company:

“I honestly think once Lee Perry [Gameplay Designer, Gears of War 2], myself, and Rod Ferguson [Producer, Gears of War] left, I believe that Epic didn’t know what to do with the franchise. They hadn’t shipped a game in a while. The [Unreal] engine was doing rather well, but they were growing, and they probably needed the income even though they didn’t know what to do with the franchise’s future,” Bleszinski said.

When Microsoft announced in 2014 that it had acquired the rights to Gears of War, the franchise had sold more than 22 million units, generating more than $1 billion. Gears of War 4 came in 2016, followed by Gears 5 in 2019. The Coalition developed both (they announced last May that they would be switching to Unreal Engine 5). Beyond that, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and the turn-based strategy spinoff Gears Tactics have been released since. The future of the franchise is in question.

Source: VGC