Gears of War: E-Day story director laid off days after game went gold
Gears of War: E-Day's story director has been cut from the team just a week before the game launches into early access. According to IGN, Microsoft's latest round of Xbox layoffs impacted 268 employees, including veteran story director Juan Vaca from developer The Coalition.
Vaca confirmed the layoff on social media. Kotaku reported that he posted he was "open to new opportunities in games/film/TV" and asked teams needing a director to reach out. He had been with the studio since 2022.
The timing is notably brutal. Just four days earlier, Vaca had publicly celebrated the game going gold, meaning development was complete. "Gears of War: E-Day has gone Gold," he posted. "Excited for the world to see what the whole team's been cooking." The game is set to launch globally on October 6.
IGN notes this layoff is part of a wider, oddly-timed pattern, pointing out that Halo Studios' cinematic director was also laid off recently, just one day after receiving a promotion. Kotaku adds that a source indicated only a small number of people were cut at The Coalition for reasons unrelated to the wider Xbox restructuring.
What this means for the Gears franchise post-E-Day is unclear. IGN reports that while a return to the Gears 5 storyline was once suggested, Microsoft has not outlined much of the series' future.
