Gears Of War 4 On Xbox One May Bring Back Cole Train

A crucial character from the early Gears of War games may return for Gears of War on Xbox One. Lester Speight, the voice actor who played Augustus "Cole Train" Cole, hinted on Twitter yesterday that his character could make a comeback.

Cole Train played a supporting role in the original trilogy. He and his partner Damon Baird provided crucial backup to main duo Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. In prequel Gears of War: Judgment, Cole and Baird stepped into starring roles.

While his importance has varied throughout the series, Cole's always been a fan favorite. He's the comic relief in an otherwise bleak story. A lot of his appeal is due to Speight, whose voicework turned Cole into a lovable meathead that acts like war is just another day at the gym.

With that in mind, it's not hard to imagine Cole Train returning for Gears of War Xbox One. His presence creates an instant link between the new game and the Xbox 360 chapters that came before it. He makes the new game feel like Gears just by appearing on screen. Plus, because he's been both a supporting and lead character in the past, he could fit into the plot in a variety of ways.

I suppose there's a chance that Speight could be playing a character other than Cole. That's a less likely scenario, though. Why hire the voice of Cole Train to play someone different? That would be a strange choice.

Generally, when a voice actor spills the beans like this, the publisher notices the media attention and gets the actor to walk back their statement. That hasn't happened yet, though. That might just be because today's a holiday in the United States. I look forward to the denial on Monday.

We're starved for information on Gears of War Xbox One right now. All we know is that Black Tusk Studios is creating the game with Unreal Engine 4. Black Tusk Studios is a studio owned by Microsoft and based in Vancouver. Microsoft purchased the exclusive rights to the franchise from Gears creators Epic Games.

The game's in such an early stage that it skipped E3 altogether. We didn't get so much as a teaser trailer during Microsoft's press conference. It's unclear when we'll get more official information on the project so leaks like Speight's tweet are greatly appreciated.