Phil Spencer wants Gears of War to return to its horror roots

As you surely have noticed, the Gears of War franchise changed it's tone and overall theme starting with Gears of War 4. This was the first game in the series from The Coalition, and moved away from the horror feel of the original trilogy to something lighter.

It turns out this wasn't what the Xbox boss Phil Spencer had in mind when Microsoft bought the IP in 2014, as revealed by the person who created Gears of War in the first place; Cliff Bleszinski. When he recently visited the XboxEra Podcast, he said:

"That was Phil Spencer's main note when Microsoft acquired Gears of War IP. When he was talking to Rod Ferguson he said let's get back to the horror stuff."

The new characters in Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 generally haven't been well received by the community, and despite being really good games, a whole lot of fans have repeatedly said that they want the series to return to its horror roots again.

Gears 6 is currently under development and seems to have left pre-production, judging by job listings we recently have reported about. If Gears 6 will be darker and have the same over-the-top macho characters of the original again remains to be seen. Would you want this or are you happy with the direction of the latest games?

Check out the interview with Cliff Bleszinski below to hear his thoughts about this, it all starts 48+ minutes into the podcast if you want to fast-forward.