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News "Gears of War 2" will pit man against raging, muscle-bound locusts. The new game is expected to come out in November, in time for the holiday shopping season. Microsoft wants to add high-profile, exclusive games for its Xbox 360 console, which is facing increasing competition from Sony's PlayStation 3. The original "Gears of War," developed by Cary-based Epic, has sold about 4.5 million copies for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and was later released for personal computers. A movie version is in the works, and there are plans for action figures and books. Microsoft officials made the Gears announcement at a gaming conference in San Francisco with Cliff Bleszinski, lead game designer for Epic. Bleszinski, who couldn't be reached for further comment, said in a prepared statement that the Gears sequel will be "bigger, better" than the original. Epic, which employs nearly 100 workers in Cary, is planning to double the space at its Cary headquarters. Microsoft's continuing collaboration with Epic has spawned speculation that the world's largest software company might buy Epic. A report in GamePro Magazine says Microsoft could be interested in Epic's growing game-development business, as well as licensing revenues from other game developers that pay to use Epic's software and technology. Officials with Epic and Microsoft did not return calls seeking comment. Epic's so-called game engine software is used as a foundation by other companies to build action video games. That line of business would be especially attractive to Microsoft, which has a history of buying independent game companies. "They've done it before," said analyst Charles Di Bona of Sanford C. Bernstein, referring to Microsoft's 2000 acquisition of Bungie, developer of the hit video game "Halo." Microsoft has the cash and wants to control more of the market for hit video games, he said. And "Gears" has grown into a major franchise. |
