Rumor: Gears of War Could See Three Game Announcements At E3

With rumors making the rounds that Crackdown could be delayed into 2019, Microsoft may be turning to another franchise to get it through this year with flying colors. That franchise? Gears of War.

Polygon has published its latest pre-E3 report suggesting what games we'll be seeing from each publisher with their press conferences happening next week. When it came to Microsoft, the team suggested some potential sequels including Halo 6 and Forza Horizon 4.

But then came Gears of War and the report indicates that as many as three games could be introduced by Microsoft for the Xbox One and Windows PC next week. Yep, three.

As far as what these games are, it's noted that they will be a traditional Gears sequel, in this case Gears of War 5; a new strategy game along the lines of Halo Wars; and a potential Battle Royale game.

Microsoft hasn't said a word about any of these so take this rumor with a grain of salt. However, the announcement of three games would make sense depending on how they're scheduled.

For instance, Gears of War 5 probably wouldn't make the rounds until sometime next year, as it's still waist deep in development. There is a possibility that could change but for now it's not likely.

That leaves the Battle Royale game, and this is likely to happen this year for two reasons. Number one, the game would possibly be a huge draw to the Gears community, especially multiplayer fans. And number two, Battle Royale games are scorchingly popular right now; so a game of that type would do the trick until the real sequel arrives. There's also word that Splash Damage, a developer that does well with multiplayer games, could be handling development.

That leaves the strategy game. Now the formula did work for Halo not once but twice; and Gears has enough components for the Locust Horde and the humans alike. But relying on the strategy game to be one of Microsoft's big Xbox One titles for the holiday season could be a big gamble especially if fans are expecting a traditional action game. But tied together with the Battle Royale release, with one game in October or so and the other following in November, that might work.

We'll see what's announced when the Microsoft E3 showcase kicks off next Sunday, but fingers crossed that we see some good announcements on the Xbox front.