It’s often grossly reductive to say a turn-based tactical squad game looks like XCOM, but Gears Tactics really does. We got our first look at the Gears Of War spin-off in motion during The Game Awards tonight and even the UI looks similar to Firaxis’s triumphant streamlined tactics ’em up. Though you certainly won’t mistake Gears Tactics for XCOM, what with the men built like fridges, the gun-mounted chainsaws, the dinosaurs covered in rocket launchers, the gruesome finisher moves, the cussing, and all that noise.



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I mean, yeah, I’m up for that if the tactical action is interesting enough. I do have a certain soft spot for Gears silliness and its ‘teenager sketching murdermen in a maths exercise book after reading too many Rob Liefeld comics’ excess. On they’ll go, building and upgrading a squad with skills and equipment to take down ever-bigger moonmen in a story set 12 years before the first Gears Of War.

Gears Tactics is made by The Coalition and Splash Damage. The Coalition have the gunsaw experience, having made Gears since 4, while Splash Damage did make the turn-based tactical Rad Soldiers.

Microsoft also announced the release date today: April 28th, 2020 on Steam and the Windows Store. It will be covered by the Xbox Game Pass subscription from launch.

Check out the night’s other announcements and trailers on our Game Awards tag.

Disclosure: I know some folks at Splash Damage.