Gears of War esports to end following 2022 season

Canadian video game developer The Coalition has announced that the current season of Gears of War esports will be the last.

The departure: "This marks the culmination of Gears Esports competition across multiple titles with thousands of players competing," an announcement said.

• The 2021/2022 season of Gears esports, which is being played on Gears 5, will be the last for the foreseeable future.
• The Coalition has decided to "shift [its] focus to future projects," though it didn't state what projects this includes. It did however confirm that it's working on the future of the franchise.
• It cites the global pandemic as a roadblock in hosting live events but is still counts the competitive program as a success, thanking the community and its partners for their contributions.

The decline: The writing was on the wall for a while for Gears esports.

• The 2021 Spring Major reached a peak viewership of 35,102, with the Summer Major just months later only reaching 15,192 (according to Esports Charts).
• The remaining events in the final season include the Women's History Month tournament on March 26, the Gears Esports Spring Major in April, and the Gears Esports Summer Major in June.
• The competitive Gears of War scene had already been declining slowly in the past couple of years with the departure of prominent competitors and organizations, including the likes of multi-event-champions Gilbert "Xplosive" Rojo, Alejandro "SuMuNs" Ascencion, Justin "Kenny Bounce" Kenny, and Nicholas "Icy" Cope.