New name, same game: Microsoft's Black Tusk becomes The Coalition

Studio chief Rod Fergusson is over on the Xbox company blog this morning talking up Vancouver-based Black Tusk Studios' decision to rebrand itself The Coalition as it continues to develop a new Gears of War game.

The Microsoft-owned studio (which opened in 2012 and has yet to release a game) is consolidating its identity around the franchise, which prominently features a fictional organization known as The Coalition.

"When people hear 343 Industries, they associate it with Halo; when they hear Turn 10 Studios, they know that’s who makes Forza," wrote Fergusson. "Moving forward, when you hear The Coalition, we want you to think of Gears of War."

Microsoft acquired the Gears of War rights from Epic in 2014, when it brought on Fergusson (an Epic vet who worked on previous games in the franchise before jumping to Irrational and, briefly, 2K) to help Black Tusk develop a new Gears game. Fergusson then stepped up to lead the studio earlier this year when former Black Tusk GM Hanno Lemke was promoted to oversee Microsoft Studios in the U.K.