It seems Epic Games is already planning the next three games for their flagship Gears of War series. Rumor has it that these new installments will be prequels to the original trilogy.
The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine says that Epic won't be developing this prequel trilogy, though. Instead, they'll be handing the series' reins to People Can Fly. People Can Fly, a subsidiary of Epic, previously created Bulletstorm and the PC version of Gears 1.
A prequel makes sense, as the end of Gears of War 3 doesn't leave much room for a sequel. Also, Epic's already been exploring the idea of a prequel. Next month they'll release "RAAM's Shadow," a single-player DLC pack for GoW3 that focuses on the period right before the beginning of the original trilogy.
OXM doesn't mention what Epic will be developing if not more Gears games. One would hope that they're returning to the Unreal series, though. Four years have passed since they released Unreal Tournament III so I'd say the series is ready for another entry.
The downside to this rumor, if it's true, is that a Bulletstorm sequel is probably unlikely. I doubt People Can Fly will have time to make Bulletstorm II if they're given the responsibility of developing not one, but three, games in one of the highest-selling shooters on the market. That being said, Bulletstorm II didn't seem like it was going to happen anyway. Epic stated earlier this year that the game failed to turn a profit.
