Faith Lane 
Gears 6 may serve as a major overhaul to the long-running shooter series with the introduction of open-world gameplay.
Gears of War has been popular since its launch on the Xbox 360, but Gears 6 has been in development for a long while with very little being shared. Some new reports may have given fans an idea of what to expect from the new game, though. Leaks are basically the norm for any game that lingers in development, and Gears 6 is no different.
A Gears 6 leak suggests that the linear shooter may pivot to being open-world. With Microsoft yet to find a killer app for the Xbox Series X/S consoles, Gears 6 could prove to be a key game for the company.
Will Gears 6 be open-world?
Gears 6 may be an open-world game or have more open-world elements than previous games, according to reports.
Nick Baker, who has made notable leaks in the past, discussed Gears 6 during an episode of the XboxEra Podcast. He made mention of Gears 6, its development, and how it will differ from previous games in the Gears of War series.
“It is a little bit further along than some might think, I also heard there is a strong possibility that it may be like an almost full open-world game,” Baker said.
While that’s far from a firm proclamation, it also tracks with the general progression of the Gears of War series. The Coalition studio that develops Gears of War switched over to Unreal Engine 5 during development. Unreal Engine 4 was a popular game engine, and its next-gen successor is being used to develop open-world horror FPS STALKER 2. This all suggests that Gears 6 could have open-world gameplay, or open-world elements.
How likely is an open-world version of Gears of War?
An open-world Gears of War game makes sense, given how the series has trended in that direction since Gears of War 4.
While all Gears of War games have had a campaign, Gears 5 had more of an open-world style to its level design. This allowed players to do a bit more exploring than past games, something that garnered mixed reactions from fans.
Since Gears 5 was released in 2019, open-world games have essentially become the standard. This is due to both advances in software and because this style of game more easily lends itself to longer play times. Many players also enjoy the freedom of movement offered in this style of game.
Gears of War moving to an open-world level design for Gears 6 is not confirmed yet. Given the change to its game engine, the direction of the series, and the movement of gaming in general, it wouldn’t be surprising.
