People Can Fly, the studio behind titles like Outriders and Bulletstorm, has revealed that it’s been tapped to develop a new project based on a Microsoft IP.
While the IP itself remains a mystery, the game is currently codenamed Project Maverick and is being fully funded by Microsoft with a budget in the vicinity of $30-50 million USD according to the information published to Polish financial outlet Interia Biznes.
It wouldn’t be the first time that People Can Fly has worked on a Microsoft property, having been the lead developer on 2013’s mostly well-received Gears of War: Judgment. It’s easy to hazard a guess that this mysterious Microsoft IP is, in fact, Gears once again. With layoffs across Microsoft earlier in the year affecting longtime Gears studio, The Coalition, and reportedly causing the cancellation of two projects in development, it wouldn’t be surprising to see People Can Fly contracted out to work on the franchise.
A budget of $30-50 million USD seems small for a mainline entry for a big IP like Gears, even PCF’s own Gears of War: Judgment cost in the ballpark of $60 million back in 2013, so this new project could be related to a smaller spin-off, remake or remaster of some kind if it is a Gears joint, or could simply be something else entirely.
People Can Fly’s next announced release is Bulletstorm VR, a VR version of its cult hit 2011 FPS that was announced during the Meta Quest Showcase earlier this month.
We gave its last major release, Outriders, a solid 8.5/10, saying “Outriders combines immense variety, aggressively geared combat and fun abilities to offer a third person shooter like no other. It’s filled to the brim quality content – bringing a stellar campaign that’s constantly throwing new things at the player and a compelling well-designed post-game experience in Expeditions.”
