It was back in February that many were taken off guard by the fact that Rod Fergusson – studio head for The Coalition – would be leaving his post for a new position at Activision-owned Blizzard. The announcement in particular came to surprise many followers seeing the Canadian studio just released its latest installment for the Gears of War series back in September.
At the time of reception for Gears 5, the title swiftly grew to becoming the most popular entry in the series as well as reportedly being the most successful release from Microsoft’s first-party network since the release of Halo 4 in 2012.
During Fergusson’s departure, he announced to be helming a new recognized property at Blizzard: Diablo. Presumably, Diablo IV. During Blizzcon 2019, Blizzard Entertainment officially announced that the next entry for the fan-favorite dungeon crawler is underway and now we know that Fergusson is responsible for shipping the anticipated title.
Now this week, users uncovered new information regarding The Coalition. In that, followers discovered that the Vancouver developer has a new studio head at the helm for the Gears of War-dedicated team. According to his LinkedIn profile, Mike Crump has now taken Fergusson’s former position at The Coalition. Crump previously worked as a Director of Operations for the studio since the founding of the developer.
Going even further back, Crump was employed at Black Tusk Games prior to the acquisition of the studio by Microsoft and its rebranding to The Coalition later in 2014. During his time at Black Tusk, Crump posed as an Executive Producer and Studio Manager which implies he’s very familiar with the team and its work culture ahead of his new position.
Now acknowledging Crump’s involvement with The Coalition and even Black Tusk Games, it is evident that he is the best suited to operate at the top of the top for the Xbox Game Studios’ developer. It is assumed that Crump will be in charge of the sixth Gears of War installment which will arrive on the coming Xbox Series X in the coming future.
Are you glad The Coalition has a new studio head?
Source: LinkedIn
