The Coalition (company)

The Coalition (formerly Zipline Studios, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver and Black Tusk Studios) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. A subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios, a division of Microsoft Gaming, 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.

History
Microsoft established the company as Zipline Studios in February 2010. The following year, Zipline released the Facebook game Relic Rescue and was renamed Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver. In February 2012, the studio released the flight simulator Microsoft Flight to mixed reviews. 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. 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.

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. 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. Two months later, the studio released Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, a remaster of the original Gears of War (2006), which was generally well-received by critics. Shortly before the release of Ultimate Edition, The Coalition announced Gears of War 4. Released in 2016, the game received favorable reviews and was nominated for best action game of the year at both the D.I.C.E. Awards and The Game Awards. The Coalition then collaborated with Mediatonic to develop the real-time strategy Gears Pop!, released in August 2019 to mixed reviews. The following month, the studio released Gears 5. The game was met with positive reviews and received several award nominations, including Xbox Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, which it won.

In March 2020, Fergusson left his position to join Blizzard Entertainment, and director of operations Mike Crump assumed the role. 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. Later that year, in December, The Coalition released Gears 5: Hivebusters, a downloadable expansion pack which also received positive reviews. In May 2021, the studio announced its transition to the Unreal Engine 5 game engine for future projects. 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. In 2023, Microsoft conducted widespread layoffs that resulted in a reduction of staff at the studio. The following year, Xbox announced Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel to the original game developed by The Coalition.

Cancelled

 * Project Columbia