The Coalition (company): History and Key Facts

The Coalition (formerly Zipline Studios, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver and Black Tusk Studios) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, part of Xbox Game Studios.

The company was founded by Microsoft as Zipline Studios in 2010. Following the release of its debut game, Relic Rescue (2011), Zipline was renamed Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver. In February 2012, the studio released the flight simulator Microsoft Flight. Later that year, in November, Microsoft Game Studios Vancouver was rebranded as Black Tusk Studios to develop a new game.

After Microsoft acquired the rights to the franchise Gears of War in 2014, the studio was commissioned to develop new games in the series. Black Tusk was renamed The Coalition in June 2015, and in August released Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, a remaster of the original Gears of War (2006). It developed Gears of War 4 (2016) and Gears 5 (2019) and worked on spin-off games in collaboration with other developers. The studio continued to develop the Gears franchise in collaboration with other developers, including upcoming Gears of War: E-Day (2026).

Source and attribution

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