Codenamed Project Maverick.
People Can Fly, the studio behindBulletstormandOutriders, has formally signed a work-for-hire agreement with Microsoft to develop a new project based on one of the Xbox maker’s IP.
The announcement come via astatement posted to Polish financial site Interia Biznes, in which People Can Fly notes the game, which has been given the codename Project Maverick, will be fully funded by Microsoft with a budget of $30m-50m.
As to what the mystery project could be, the most obvious guess would be some form of new entry in the Gears of War series given the studio’s previous connections with the franchise - it co-developedGears of War: Judgmentalongside its previous owner Epic Games in 2013, and was responsible for the Windows port of the original Gears of War prior to that.
There have, of course, been recent signs Microsoft is readying to bring the Gears of War series back in a big way - fromjob listings at The Coalitionto anupcoming Gears of War movie and TV series- so, while People Can Fly’s involvement is pure speculation, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to learn it’s helping with the franchise’s revival in some way.
People Can Fly’s most recent release, co-op shooter Outriders, was published bySquare Enixin 2021; one year prior to that, the studioannouncedit was working on a “highly ambitious, groundbreaking action-adventure” - but little has been heard of the project since publisherTake-Two Interactivepulled out of a development and publishing agreementin 2022.
