Outriders dev People Can Fly shares some good news as it returns to the Gears of War series to help The Coalition develop E-Day

The next big Gears of War game was revealed at last summer’s Xbox Games Showcase. It’s called Gears of War: E-Day, and it acts as a prequel to the events of the core series, depicting the chaos of the eponymous Emergence Day.

While we’ve always known that Microsoft’s The Coalition studio is developing the game, today’s announcement reveals that it has one hell of a partner in People Can Fly.

Anyone familiar with Gears of War, or even the classic PC shooter scene, will be very familiar with People Can Fly. The Polish studio’s history with the Gears series extends as far back as the first game, having contributed to all three mainline games.

The studio was later given an opportunity to create its own spin-off in Gears of War: Judgment, which sadly isn’t as well remembered today. Since then, People Can Fly created Bulletstorm, and Outriders.

“Returning to collaborate on the next chapter of this legendary saga is both a privilege and an exciting opportunity to build upon the intense, visceral action and rich storytelling that fans have come to love,” said studio CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski.

The Coalition, for its part, was enthusiastic about this partnership. Studio head Mike Crump added that “Gears of War: E-Day is not just our next major game; it’s a return to what makes Gears of War games special and authentic.”

This is good news for fans of People Can Fly, which has been having a rough go of it in recent years. The studio creates excellent shooters, but they just can’t seem to find a big enough audience for continued investment. More recently, the developer laid off over 120 developers as it scaled back development of an unannounced project, and suspended its self-publishing plans.

While Gears of War: E-Day may not be the next new thing from People Can Fly, it at least means the studio will remain in business for a while longer, which will hopefully be enough to secure a brighter future for one of the most talented studios in the industry.

“Our team at People Can Fly, made up of dedicated Gears of War fans, is pouring everything we have into creating an experience that will exceed expectations,” People Can Fly development director, Guillaume Barry, added.

“While we can’t share more just yet, we’re eager for the day when we can show all the exciting things we’ve been working on” – says Guillaume Barry, Development Director at PCF.

Gears of War: E-Day does not have a release target, but some suggested it could be released as early as this year – though that seems unlikely.