"It's a ten-year plan. Gears is long-term," Ortega told Gear-heads at a panel during the 2009 New York Comic-Con. While, in response, Rein promised Epic's focus is directed toward "supporting the Gears of War 2 game and community," he says the company will ultimately make decisions on a "game-by-game basis" and by gauging fan support.
Rein's hesitation to throw all of Epic's eggs in the Gears basket may have something to do with its previous cash cow, Unreal Tournament. In 1999, Epic Games spun gold with the Unreal Tournament franchise but saw mediocre returns from 2007's Unreal Tournament 3 -- a franchise shelf life of less than a decade. Then again, Gears of War has all but eclipsed the popularity of Unreal Tournament with a movie already on the horizon.
