Features & News

Gearbox sees sense, makes Furious 4 its own IP

September 3, 2012, Author: Andy Corrigan

I consider myself a pretty big fan of Gearbox’s Brothers in Arms series. While other WWII shooters concentrated purely on explosive action, for me, BIA has always been a breath of fresh air with an unrivalled historical accuracy (outside of fictional characters, that is), an engaging plot and a strong emphasis on tactical awareness and squad management over any actual shooting. The (hopefully) ongoing story of Baker and his squad is one of my favourite in the industry.

That’s why the announcement of Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 was such a fantastically hard kick in the balls for me, seeing the license go from classy to crass in the space of a 1.23 minute trailer. I’m not usually the type to stamp my feet over a company daring to refresh an established IP; it could still have been a fabulous game under that moniker regardless, but Furious 4 looked to have as much relevance to the Brothers in Arms brand as it did My Little Pony.

Thankfully, it seems as though Gearbox too have come to that realisation, as CEO Randy Pitchford confirmed that Furious 4 will become its own entity at the PAX Prime “Inside Gearbox Software” panel.

“I wanted to let everyone know that the game’s no longer going to be a Brothers in Arms game, it’s going to be an all-new IP” Pitchford announced.

“The game that was announced as Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 has evolved,” he said, before stating that they had “pushed the gameplay loop” and “got into a place that got away from the core of the Brothers in Arms franchise.”

“Since then, it’s evolved even farther, and it needed to be unshackled.”

It’s not clear at this stage whether it’ll keep the ‘Furious 4’ title in any capacity, but Pitchford promised that specifics will come on the Gearbox Community Day, September 15th.

(Source: Polygon)