“Gears of War,” one of the most popular Xbox video game series of all time, is expanding to Netflix.
Netflix is making a feature film adaptation followed by an adult animation series based on the sci-fi shooter franchise, the company announced Monday. The streamer also notes there is “potential for more stories to follow.”
Video game developer The Coalition, who took the reins on “Gears of War” after Microsoft acquired the rights to the series from original creator Epic Games, has partnered with Netflix on the upcoming adaptations.
The first “Gears of War” released exclusively on the Xbox 360 in 2006 and followed a macho team of soldiers called Delta Squad fighting against the Locust Horde, a subterranean alien race that decimates humanity. The main Delta Squad crew consisted of Marcus Fenix, Dominic “Dom” Santiago, Augustus Cole and Damon Baird. They used a variety of heavy-duty firearms, rocket launchers and lancers — which are rifles with chainsaws attached to them — to dispatch the Locust swarms.
Across five main entries and several spinoffs, the “Gears of War” franchise has sold more than 40 million copies, making it one of the most popular Xbox franchises. The games, which also boast co-operative modes that let players take on the Locust Horde with a friend, are credited with revolutionizing the third-person shooter video game genre. The Netflix news comes on the 16th anniversary of the original “Gears of War” game.
There have been multiple attempts throughout the years to bring “Gears of War” to the big screen. New Line Cinema briefly had the rights to a film adaptation in 2007, and then Scott Stuber, now head of original films at Netflix, came on as a producer in 2013 with Epic Games. Universal then hired F. Scott Frazier to write an adaptation in 2018, but no other moves were made. Netflix did not announce any filmmakers attached to its adaptation.