The long awaited sequel to the 'Gears of War' franchise is nowhere near completion, as Black Tusk Studios is still in the process of developing 'Gears of War 4'.

There is still a lot going on with the development of the upcoming title, and fans aren't even sure that it's 'Gears of War 4'. Until Black Tusk Studios releases an official statement, the rumors can't be confirmed or denied.

Early 2014, Microsoft purchased the franchise from original creators Epic Games. Development after that was then handed to Black Tusk Studios formerly known as Microsoft Vancouver.

With Microsoft owning the rights to the game, fans were expecting something from the company during the E3 conference. Microsoft is well-known for putting out their exclusive games out on the front-lines during conferences, but no news was revealed during the event.

This could only mean that there isn't much to go on regarding how far the game has gone in its development. Black Tusk will need to be careful with how they go about developing the game as it is very important to not "betray" the user fan-base.

Introduction of new concepts is always a good idea, but it must always be anchored to the original game. Lead writer of Gears of War 2 and 3, Joshua Ortega had wished that Black Tusk bring the franchise back to its original roots. Ortega however, is not working on the upcoming sequel.

Black Tusk Studios manager Rod Fergusson said that making the best game in a successful series is always a tricky situation, as fans

"want something new but they don't want something so new that it doesn't feel like what they want. But if you put out something that's very familiar and is the same as the game they just had, then it's like 'I've already had this. This isn't new enough.'"

He did add that Microsoft's backing: "means we're able to push a lot harder in a lot of bigger areas. The franchise can do a lot more now that Microsoft owns the IP; we can expand it's breadth and do a lot more with it."

Some ideas that have been floated on the intent include a total reboot or a prequel, after all The Locust were completely wiped out at the end of Gears of War 3 through a genetically programmed genocide.

Others have focussed on gameplay fixes, such as improved AI. The Locust, despite their alien-intelligent hive mind, had a tendency to walk slowly between cover. Could improvement in the AI allow you to do battle with smarter enemies and bring back some of the more tactical battles of the first two Gears of War games?

Table integration is another possibility. It would be awesome to be able to position a Hammer of Dawn bombardment using a tablet as a side screen.

Ultimately though, at this stage we are just going to have to wait and see what the next Gears of War game - which may or may not be called Gears of War 4 - serves up when it finally comes to the Xbox One.

Black Tusk manager, Rod Fergusson, had said that making a successful sequel to an already successful franchise is challenging. This could be why development is taking some time, and if it is for the creation of a better sequel than the last, then maybe the wait would be worth it.