Outriders studio People Can Fly working on new project based on Microsoft IP
Codenamed Project Maverick.
People Can Fly, the studio behind Bulletstorm and Outriders, has formally signed a work-for-hire agreement with Microsoft to develop a new project based on one of the Xbox maker's IP.
The announcement come via a statement posted to Polish financial site Interia Biznes, in which People Can Fly notes the game, which has been given the codename Project Maverick, will be fully funded by Microsoft with a budget of $30m-50m.
As to what the mystery project could be, the most obvious guess would be some form of new entry in the Gears of War series given the studio's previous connections with the franchise - it co-developed Gears of War: Judgment alongside its previous owner Epic Games in 2013, and was responsible for the Windows port of the original Gears of War prior to that.
There have, of course, been recent signs Microsoft is readying to bring the Gears of War series back in a big way - from job listings at The Coalition to an upcoming Gears of War movie and TV series - so, while People Can Fly's involvement is pure speculation, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to learn it's helping with the franchise's revival in some way.
People Can Fly's most recent release, co-op shooter Outriders, was published by Square Enix in 2021; one year prior to that, the studio announced it was working on a "highly ambitious, groundbreaking action-adventure" - but little has been heard of the project since publisher Take-Two Interactive pulled out of a development and publishing agreement in 2022.