The Coalition (company)

Last updated

The Coalition
Formerly
  • Zipline Studios
  • (2010–2011)
  • Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver
  • (2011–2012)
  • Black Tusk Studios
  • (2012–2015)
Company type Division
Industry Video games
FoundedFebruary 2010;14 years ago (2010-02)
Headquarters
Vancouver
,
Canada
Key people
Products Gears of War
Number of employees
200 [1]  (2015)
Parent Xbox Game Studios
Website thecoalitionstudio.com

The Coalition (formerly Zipline Studios, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver and Black Tusk Studios) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, part of Xbox Game Studios. The company was founded in 2010 as Zipline Studios. Following the release of its debut game, Relic Rescue (2011), Zipline was renamed Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver. In February 2012, the studio released the flight simulator Microsoft Flight . Later that year, in November, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver was rebranded as Black Tusk Studios. After Microsoft acquired the rights to the franchise Gears of War in 2014, the studio was commissioned to develop new games in the series. Black Tusk was renamed The Coalition in June 2015, and in August released Gears of War: Ultimate Edition , a remaster of the original Gears of War (2006). In the ensuing years, the studio developed Gears of War 4 (2016) and Gears 5 (2019). It also collaborated with Mediatonic and Splash Damage to develop the real-time strategy Gears Pop! (2019) and the turn-based tactics Gears Tactics (2020), respectively.

Contents

History

Microsoft established the company as Zipline Studios in February 2010. [2] [3] The following year, Zipline released the Facebook game Relic Rescue [3] and was renamed Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver. [2] In February 2012, the studio released the flight simulator Microsoft Flight to mixed reviews. [4] [5] Citing a need to realign the company's long-term goals and development plans, Microsoft cancelled the game's development in July. This decision coincided with the cancellation of Project Columbia, an unannounced Kinect shooter game, and the layoff of all 35 employees. [6] In November, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver was rebranded as Black Tusk Studios and tasked with developing a major franchise for Microsoft Studios, comparable to their Halo franchise. [7]

In 2014, Microsoft acquired the rights to the franchise Gears of War from Epic Games and commissioned Black Tusk Studios to develop future games in the series. Rod Fergusson, who had been the producer of the franchise at Epic, became the head of the studio. [8] Black Tusk was renamed The Coalition—a reference to an entity within the Gears of War franchise, the Coalition of Ordered Governments—in June 2015. [9] Two months later, the studio released Gears of War: Ultimate Edition , a remaster of the original Gears of War (2006), [10] which was generally well-received by critics. [11] Shortly before the release of Ultimate Edition, The Coalition announced Gears of War 4 . [12] Released in 2016, [13] the game received favorable reviews [14] and was nominated for best action game of the year at both the D.I.C.E. Awards [15] and The Game Awards. [16] The Coalition then collaborated with Mediatonic to develop the real-time strategy Gears Pop! , [17] released in August 2019 to mixed reviews. [18] [19] The following month, the studio released Gears 5 . [20] The game was met with positive reviews [21] and received several award nominations, [a] including Xbox Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, which it won. [26]

In March 2020, Fergusson left his position to join Blizzard Entertainment, [3] and director of operations Mike Crump assumed the role. [27] The studio collaborated with Splash Damage to develop the turn-based tactics Gears Tactics , which was released in April and met with positive critical reception. [28] [29] Later that year, in December, The Coalition released Gears 5: Hivebusters , a downloadable expansion pack which also received positive reviews. [30] [31] In May 2021, the studio announced its transition to the Unreal Engine 5 game engine for future projects. [32] The Coalition supported 343 Industries in the development of Halo Infinite and contributed to the Xbox Series X/S optimization of the technology demonstration The Matrix Awakens , both released in December. [33] [34] In 2023, Microsoft conducted widespread layoffs that resulted in a reduction of staff at the studio. [35] The following year, Xbox announced Gears of War: E-Day , a prequel to the original game developed by The Coalition. [36]

Games developed

As Zipline Studios

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2011Relic Rescue Facebook Facebook, Inc. [3]

As Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2012 Microsoft Flight Windows Microsoft Studios [4]

As The Coalition

YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)NotesRef.
2015 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Windows, Xbox One Microsoft Studios Remaster of Gears of War (2006), developed by Epic Games [10]
2016 Gears of War 4 — [13]
2019 Gears Pop! Android, iOS, Windows Xbox Game Studios Developed in collaboration with Mediatonic [18]
Gears 5 Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Also developed the expansion pack Hivebusters (2020) [20]
2020 Gears Tactics Developed in collaboration with Splash Damage [28]
2021 Halo Infinite Supportive development for 343 Industries [33]
The Matrix Awakens PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/SEpic GamesSupportive development for Epic Games [34]
TBA Gears of War: E-Day TBAXbox Game Studios— [36]

Cancelled

Notes

  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple references: [22] [23] [24] [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox Game Studios</span> American video game publisher

Xbox Game Studios is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, for the development and publishing of video games for Microsoft Windows. It has since expanded to include games and other interactive entertainment for the namesake Xbox platforms, other desktop operating systems, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms, web-based portals, and other game consoles.

<i>Kill Switch</i> (video game) 2003 third-person shooter game by Namco USA

Kill Switch is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Namco Hometek for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in 2004 while an abridged Game Boy Advance port developed by Visual Impact was released the same year. The PAL release of the PS2 port came with a demo of SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs on a separate disc, as Sony Computer Entertainment released the game in Europe.

<i>4x4 Evo 2</i> 2001 video game

4x4 Evo 2, also known as 4x4 Evolution 2, is a racing video game developed by Terminal Reality for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Mac. It is the sequel to 4x4 Evolution and features more trucks and more racing tracks than the original game.

<i>ESPN MLS ExtraTime 2002</i> 2001 video game

ESPN MLS ExtraTime is a sports video game released in 2001-2002 by Konami. It is available for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Clint Mathis is on the cover. The original ExtraTime was released for PS2 seven months after ESPN MLS GameNight on the PlayStation, with the GameCube and Xbox versions released in 2002 afterward as ESPN MLS ExtraTime 2002. MLS ExtraTime was the last in the series as the MLS sold its video game license to EA Sports' FIFA series.

<i>Urban Freestyle Soccer</i> 2003 video game

Urban Freestyle Soccer is a sports video game developed by British studio Gusto Games, a company announced in 2003, made up from eleven former employees of Silicon Dreams Studio, the game's original developer, which closed down in September that year. The game was published by Acclaim Entertainment and released for mobile phones, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, between August 2003 and March 2004. The GameCube and Xbox versions were released as a Blockbuster-exclusive in the U.S. in March 2004.

<i>NASCAR Heat 2002</i> 2001 video game

NASCAR Heat 2002, sometimes mislabeled as NASCAR Heat, is a NASCAR video game produced by Infogrames for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance consoles. It is the successor to the 2000 game NASCAR Heat, and the predecessor to NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona. NASCAR Heat 2002 can have up to 24 (PS2) or 43 racers on one of 19 official NASCAR tracks, and the game was released in June 2001 for PlayStation 2. A port for the Xbox was released in November 2001. Developed by Crawfish Interactive, a distinct version for Game Boy Advance was released in May 2002.

<i>Cars Mater-National Championship</i> 2007 video game

Cars Mater-National Championship, or Cars Mater-National for short, is a 2007 racing game published by THQ for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and Wii. The game is the sequel to Cars .

<i>Fuel</i> (video game) 2009 open world racing video game

Fuel is an open world racing video game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Codemasters. The game was released in North America in June 2009 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows. It is set in a post-apocalyptic United States after the Sun scorched the Earth, with a completely free-to-roam open world approximately 5,560 square miles (14,400 km2) in size, which is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. In the free roaming mode, the game features the ability to drive anywhere in the game world without incurring loading times, but crashing a vehicle – or invoking the reset function to return to the road – does invoke a loading screen.

Numerous video games were released in 2010. Many awards went to games such as Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Kinect from Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 was also released this year.

<i>Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring</i> 2010 lucha libre game

Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring is a lucha libre video game developed by Immersion Games and published by Konami for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The video game features over 40 wrestlers from the Mexico based Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) professional wrestling promotion. The game was released on October 12, 2010, exclusively in North America. Cancelled Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions were being developed by Sabarasa Entertainment the same developers who did the Mexican exclusive Wii port which came out on May 28, 2011.

<i>Gears of War 4</i> 2016 video game

Gears of War 4 is a 2016 third-person shooter video game developed by The Coalition and published by Microsoft Studios for Windows and Xbox One. It is the fourth main installment in the Gears of War series, and the first mainline entry not to be developed by Epic Games. The game was released worldwide on October 11, 2016. The sequel, Gears 5, was released on September 10, 2019.

Monsters, Inc. is a media franchise produced by Pixar and owned by The Walt Disney Company. The franchise takes place in a universe parallel to the real world where monsters are the citizens of society and harness the energy of human children to power their cities. The company known as Monsters, Inc. accomplishes this with portal doors which lead to their bedrooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Fergusson</span> Canadian video game producer

Rod Fergusson is a Canadian video game producer, best known for overseeing the development of the Gears of War franchise, originally at Epic Games and then as head of The Coalition. More recently, Fergusson moved over to Blizzard Entertainment to oversee development on the Diablo series.

<i>Gears of War</i> Third-person shooter video game series

Gears of War is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter video games, which has been supplemented by spin-off video game titles, a DC comic book series, eight novels, a board game adaptation and various merchandise.

<i>Gears of War: Ultimate Edition</i> 2015 video game

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is a 2015 third-person shooter video game. It is a remastered edition of the 2006 video game Gears of War, the first installment of the Gears of War series, originally developed by Epic Games. Developed by The Coalition and published by Microsoft Studios, Ultimate Edition is based on the original game's source code; The Coalition's goal for the project was to accurately preserve the original gameplay experience while updating its visual presentation for a contemporary console generation. Ultimate Edition was released for the Xbox One in August 2015 and for Windows in March 2016.

SkyBox Labs Inc. is a Canadian video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Founded in 2011 by Derek MacNeil, Shyang Kong and Steven Silvester formerly from EA Vancouver, they are mostly known for their work with Xbox Game Studios on the Halo, Age of Empires and Minecraft franchises.

<i>Grid</i> (series) Racing video game series by Electronic Arts

Grid is the racing video game series developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts. It serves as the successor of TOCA Race Driver series.

<i>Code Shifter</i> 2020 platform video game

Code Shifter is a 2020 action-platform video game both developed and published by Arc System Works. The game was released worldwide on January 30, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It was released on January 29, 2020 in North America, and a day later in Europe, for the Nintendo Switch.

References

  1. ↑ Gies, Arthur (July 28, 2015). "Beauty deconstructed: The state of Gears of War". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Microsoft Vancouver staffing for AAA Kinect shooter". GameSpot . Fandom, Inc. May 2, 2011. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Delaney, Mark (February 9, 2020). "Rod Fergusson Is Leaving The Coalition to Join Blizzard". OpenCritic . Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Webster, Andrew (February 6, 2012). "'Microsoft Flight' taking off on February 29". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Microsoft Flight (PC Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Schreier, Jason (July 25, 2012). "Microsoft Reportedly Shuts Down Vancouver-Based Studio". Kotaku . G/O Media. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  7. ↑ Hafer, T.J. (November 30, 2012). "Microsoft's new Black Tusk Studios, headed by ex-EA devs, looking to make the next Halo". PC Gamer . Future plc. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  8. ↑ Webster, Andrew (January 27, 2014). "Microsoft acquires the 'Gears of War' franchise from Epic Games". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  9. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (June 3, 2015). "Gears of War studio Black Tusk Studios has been renamed The Coalition". VG247 . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Makuch, Eddie (July 22, 2015). "Gears of War Ultimate PC Launching After Xbox One". GameSpot . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  12. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (June 15, 2015). "E3 2015: Gears of War 4: First Gameplay Details". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Sirani, Jordan (September 20, 2016). "Gears of War 4 Has Gone Gold". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Gears of War 4 (Xbox One Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  15. ↑ O'Brien, Lucy (February 24, 2017). "DICE 2017: Overwatch Wins Game of the Year at DICE Awards 2017". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  16. ↑ Stark, Chelsea (December 1, 2016). "The Game Awards: Here's the full winners list". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  17. ↑ Batchelor, James (January 21, 2019). "How Mediatonic is bringing Gears of War to mobile". GamesIndustry.biz . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Kerr, Chris (October 30, 2024). "Gears Pop! to shut down as long-term support becomes unfeasible". Game Developer . Informa. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Gears Pop! (iOS Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  20. 1 2 Kane, Alex (June 9, 2019). "E3 2019 Trailer: 'Gears 5' Set for September Launch". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Gears 5 (Xbox One Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  22. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (December 2, 2019). "Annie Awards: 'Frozen 2,' 'Missing Link' Lead Year of Surprises and Snubs". The Hollywood Reporter . Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  23. ↑ Chalk, Andy (January 13, 2020). "Control and Death Stranding get 8 nominations each for the 2020 DICE Awards". PC Gamer . Future plc. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  24. ↑ Winslow, Jeremy (December 13, 2019). "The Game Awards 2019: All Nominees [Update]". GameSpot . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  25. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (January 8, 2020). "VES Awards Nominations: 'Lion King', 'Alita: Battle Angel', 'Mandalorian' & 'Thrones' Top List". Deadline . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Here's every winner from this year's Golden Joystick Awards, including the Ultimate Game of the Year". GamesRadar+ . Future plc. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  27. ↑ Carey, Sean (June 22, 2020). "Gears developer The Coalition has a new studio head". TrueAchievements. TrueGaming Network. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  28. 1 2 Reeves, Ben (March 27, 2020). "Gears Tactics". Game Informer . GameStop. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Gears Tactics (PC Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  30. ↑ Tolbert, Samuel (December 14, 2020). "Gears 5 Hivebusters on Xbox and PC: Everything you need to know about this story DLC". Windows Central. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Gears 5: Hivebusters (Xbox One Critic Reviews)". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  32. ↑ Good, Owen S. (May 10, 2021). "Gears of War maker shifts to Unreal Engine 5, winds down Gears 5 development". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  33. 1 2 Ruppert, Liana (February 24, 2021). "Halo Infinite Received Help From Gears Studio, The Coalition". Game Informer . GameStop. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  34. 1 2 Tuttle, Will (December 10, 2021). "How The Coalition Worked with Epic to Bring The Matrix Awakens to Life on Xbox Series X|S". Xbox Wire . Microsoft Gaming. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  35. ↑ Winslow, Levi (January 18, 2023). "Microsoft Slashes 10K Jobs, Including At Xbox And Halo Studios". Kotaku . G/O Media. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  36. 1 2 Webster, Andrew (June 9, 2024). "Xbox announces Gears of War: E-Day". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.