In an interview on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer discussed the uncertain future of the popular Gears of War series. Although it had a successful run on the Xbox 360, Microsoft currently has no plans to move the series to the Xbox One.

“I want to find a great Gears game, and I thought we did a good job with Judgment, but I don’t think it hit the level of quality we saw in the previous games,” Spencer said. Judgment, the fourth entry in the series, did not receive the high scores or reach the sales numbers of its predecessors.

Spencer said the series needs a new approach to move forward, although he didn’t want to call the next step a “reboot.” He said the series needs to be reworked, since “it did kind of run its course on 360. It doesn’t quite have the story arc of a thing like Halo or something; at least the way it’s played out in the games.”

According to Spencer, the series developer, Epic Games, is ready to move on, and “Gears is kind of on the backburner for them.”

A new developer for Gears of War is still possible, and could be a good move if Microsoft chooses carefully. The Batman franchise got a new development team for the recently released Batman: Arkham Origins, and that game has received mostly positive scores.

Gears of War fans can listen to the interview with Spencer here, starting at the 38-minute mark, or read IGN’s own write-up.

Photo: Digitaltrends.com