During a panel at this year's New York Comic Con, Gears of War 2 writer Josh Ortega revealed that developer Epic has "a ten-year plan" for the action-centric franchise.

"Gears is long-term. The lancer is the new lightsaber," he added, according to IGN. The statements came in response to a question about a potential prequel.

Along with two video games, the series has spawned a comic book and a forthcoming feature film, which director Len Wiseman hopes will be the first of a trilogy. The initial game hit PC and Xbox 360, while the second has only appeared on Xbox 360.

Ortega also hinted that downloadable content may expand the single-player portion of Gears of War 2. After being asked about the possibility of single-player DLC, he told fans to "keep watching" and assured the crowd that they "won't be disappointed."

Now available on FileShack is a patch that restores playability to Gears of War PC.

The 6.29 MB download resolves an issue with the game's digital certificate, which expired on January 28 and prevented players from booting the game thereafter.

"The online cheat detection features in Gears of War for Windows are based on digital signatures. Well, we made an embarrassing mistake: we signed the executable with a certificate that expired in a way that broke the game," Epic VP Mark Rein had explained.

Following an expired digital certificate that rendered the PC release of Gears of War unplayable after January 28, developer Epic has explained exactly what happened.

"The online cheat detection features in Gears of War for Windows are based on digital signatures. Well, we made an embarrassing mistake: we signed the executable with a certificate that expired in a way that broke the game," Epic VP Mark Rein told IGN.

"We know how much this situation sucks, and we apologize for the inconvenience," he added, vowing that Epic is working on the issue and hopes to have it fixed "very soon."

In the meantime, those hoping to play are advised to set their computer's system clock back to some time before January 28, which will circumvent the so-called Y2K9 bug.

Many users are reporting that the PC version of Gears of War was entirely disabled yesterday when the game's digital certificate expired.

The expiration date on the certificate was apparently set for yesterday, January 28. When the date switched over, the game became unplayable.

"This was a surprise to us too," said Epic programmer Joe Graf on the company's official forum. "We have been notified of the issue and are working with Microsoft to get it resolved."

A similar issue recently disabled Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online. As in that situation, users have found a simple workaround for the Gears problem: setting the system clock back to a date prior to the expiration.

Talking to MTV News, Chris Morgan has revealed a few tidbits about his Gears of War movie screenplay.

The movie, to be directed by Underworld and Die Hard 4 director Ken Wiseman, will center around the characters of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, and will detail "Emergence Day" - the initial alien invasion.

"I would not be interested in the movie if we weren't dealing with [Marcus and Dom]", Morgan told MTV. "I want to see those guys. I want to see 'Emergence Day.' I want to see this stuff happen."

The Gears movie will feature a mix of live action and CGI sequences, though according to Morgan, Wiseman is looking to stay away from using a lot of effects-heavy scenes. "In [Wiseman's] mind, he wants to make it as realistic as possible [...] and to blur those lines where your mind says, 'Oh, it's a big CGI film.'"

In a separate post on the MTV Movies Blog, Morgan confirmed his screenplay features plenty of the Locust Horde. Asked if we'll be seeing Corpsers, Seeders and Berserkers, Morgan answered, "If I have anything to do with it, you absolutely will. And I do, so the answer is 'Yes.'"

Update: When contacted by Shacknews, Epic Games VP Mark Rein called the Variety report that Legendary Pictures is in talks to acquire Epic "just another rumor."

Original story: Film production company Legendary Pictures--co-producer of the upcoming Gears of War movie adaptation--is currently in talks to buy Gears developer Epic Games, according to Variety.

The news has apparently been corroborated by multiple sources, though neither company involved has issued any official statements.

Legendary Pictures has co-produced recent Hollywood hits such as 300 and The Dark Knight. Its future projects include the aforementioned Gears flick, as well as the World of Warcraft movie.

Legendary CEO Thomas Tull has shown a long-lasting interest in the gaming industry. Tull recently resigned from a position on the board of Brash Entertainment, a game publisher which focuses mainly on creating titles based on licensed movie properties.

The feature film adaptation of Epic's cover-heavy action series Gears of War has gained the financial support of Legendary Pictures, Variety has revealed.

Legendary will now co-finance and co-produce the project alongside New Line Cinema, which secured the rights for the adaptation in 2007. It marks the latest game-related project for Legendary, which is also involved with Blizzard's Warcraft and Diablo flicks.

Helmed by Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman, the movie is now using a script drafted by Chris Morgan, instead of Stuart Beattle's original version. Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski is serving as both executive producer and consultant.

The Gears of War movie has no concrete release date, though producer Wyck Godfrey expects it to arrive in the summer 2010. The next entry in the game series, Gears of War 2, hits Xbox 360 on November 7, complete with a five-person online co-op mode.

The upcoming feature film adaptation of Epic Games' shooter Gears of War (PC, 360) will be directed by Len Wiseman, according to Variety.

A relative newcomer to filmmaking, Wiseman's directorial portfolio includes Live Free or Die Hard, as well as the 2003 vampire flick Underworld and its 2006 sequel, Underworld Evolution. Producer Wyck Godfrey recently stated that the film is expected to release in 2010.

Wiseman will work to develop a new draft of the film's screenplay with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift screenwriter Chris Morgan. The original draft was penned by Stuart Beattie, aided by Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski.

Released for the Xbox 360 in November 2006, Gears of War is one the most successful console-exclusive titles on the system. A sequel to the game laden with a variety of new features will hit the Xbox 360 this fall.

It was announced today that TriForce Sales has acquired the license from Epic Games to produce Gears of War 1:1 scale armor and weapon replicas.

Among the offerings are full-size and wearable C.O.G. armor, a C.O.G. helmet and the Lancer Assault Rifle, based on images of the designs from the game. The replica armor and weapons were created in a partnership with sculptor Sid Garrand of Nightmare Armor Studios.

"In my spare time I sculpted a full set of armor for myself, which I enjoyed showing off at conventions," Garrand said. "When the fans saw it they all asked me how they could get it. I was thrilled when the team from Epic saw it, and liked it, which allowed us to move to the point to where we are today. It all truly began as a labor of love."

No price information was divulged by either company, though TriForce notes that fans will be able to place advance orders online beginning July 8. Click through for a video from the company detailing the creation of the C.O.G. suit.... Read more

DC Comics announced today that it will team with developer Epic Games to publish a comic book series based on Gears of War (PC, X360), slated to debut in October on the DC-owned Wildstorm imprint.

Wildstorm has previously published several comic book series based on game properties, including Capcom's Resident Evil and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft.

"We are thrilled to be working with DC Comics to further bring to life the Gears of War universe," said Epic Games president Michael Capps. "A lot of our developers are huge comic fans, and have loved the personas and chronicles unique to DC Comics since childhood."

DC Comics said that more details about the series, including the creative team tapped to produce the Gears of War comic series, will be announced at a later date.

Allaying fears of bugdet-related holdups, producer Wyck Godfrey expects Gears of War feature film to release in the summer of 2010.

"We'll hopefully make [Gears of War] early next year for the summer of 2010," Godfrey told ComingSoon.net. "We've got our script on and a director we're about to attach."

As reported last March, writer Stuart Beattie was brought on to adapt the first game, which details an invasion by underground baddies known as Locusts, to the screen. Beattie was aided in his quest by Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski.

"I think we have a really great script and now it's just a matter of getting the right director attached and making sure it becomes a 'AAA' blockbuster movie," Bleszinski said late last year.

Released in November 2006, Epic Games' Gears of War represents one of the major console-exclusive titles for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console. Epic recently announced that Gears of War 2 will arrive on Xbox 360 this fall.

Though Epic has yet to comment on a possible PC edition, it is expected that the PC version of Gears of War 2 will arrive a year or so later, much like the PC port of the first title.

A patch for Gears of War for Windows is now available from FileShack, taking care of some performance issues while also fixing a Games for Windows - LIVE update bug.

A slight problem with Microsoft's Games For Windows Live initiative is manifesting itself in the PC version of Epic Games' Gears of War, which infests stores today.

According to Microsoft, players are automatically prompted to download a Games For Windows Live update when they begin the game. However, the update refuses to install correctly, which can cause some problems.

The solution is an extremely easy one. After downloading the update and arriving at the main menu screen, simply quit of the game and restart it, which should cause the update to install. Alternatively, players may download and apply the update separately.

"The good news is that once you go through the above process, you won't have to do it again," reads a post on the Microsoft-sponsored Gamerscore Blog. "Microsoft Game Studios is working on a title update to be released in the near future that will allow users to avoid manually exiting "Gears of War" to apply the update."

"Happy curb-stomping," the entry concludes. For more on Gears of War, check out Nick Breckon's in-depth review.

Epic's best hits the PC today, exactly 364 days after its "exclusive" release on the Xbox 360. The result is a fantastic port of an excellent game, with a healthy dose of new content added to both its single and multiplayer components. And while it's definitely worth picking up, it's not quite perfect. Read on for our take.

This subscribers-only restriction to online matchmaking is somewhat understandable when you consider that the same service on the Xbox 360 also requires a Gold account. However, those not shelling out for a monthly subscription on the PC will have only a basic list of matches to choose from, a list which glaringly lacks a column for displaying your ping to each game. And though a Live Gold account is easily justifiable on the Xbox 360--required in order to play multiplayer at all--the same can't be said for PC-only gamers. Because the only major incentive to a GFW Live Gold account is matchmaking, this seriously reduces the value of the service in comparison to Xbox Live, forcing Gears-hungry consumers into a conundrum. Read more...

CliffyB has updated his blog at 1UP, talking about bringing Gears of War to the PC. More specifically, he talks about the controls.

GameSpot, 1UP and IGN all have Gears of War previews posted, checking out the PC version of the game. You can find our impressions here.

Have you been holding out to play Epic's latest Xbox 360 "exclusive" on the PC? Get out your calendar: Gears of War for Windows makes its way to stores on November 6th.

The game will feature five new singleplayer chapters, a new "King of the Hill" multiplayer game mode, three new multiplayer maps, a game editor, and the first and last showdown with the infamous Brumak boss. Also included will be all of the Xbox 360 downloadable content released thus far, for a total of 19 multiplayer maps. For more information and impressions, check out our full preview.

To celebrate the announcement, we have a variety of media to peruse, including shots of the new multiplayer maps, a look at the game editor, some pictures of the Brumak monster, a whole bunch of glamorous poses, and a pair of exclusives.

"The timing is right for this... we didn't want [to wait] 3-4 years," said Epic producer Rod Fergusson at a recent press event. Flanked by Gears of War director Cliff Bleszinski and Gears PC lead level designer Jim Brown, Fergusson explained that bringing the game to the PC was a natural move--especially considering it had actually been running on the PC during the project's early showings at E3.

Bleszinski echoed that sentiment, adding that the port had been under development since just after the original Xbox 360... Read more

Coinciding with the November 6th release date announcement, I recently had a chance to get some play-time in with the Gears of War PC port, and ended up devouring almost everything it had to offer. Is it worth the investment in this jam-packed season of gaming? Read on to find out.

But much like Resident Evil 4, Gears of War was a deliberately paced game, and not one that would immediately take to the PC platform. Though it adds new content in the form of five singleplayer chapters, three multiplayer maps, and some improved visuals, it all really comes down to the controls--and thankfully, developer Epic Games has nailed that aspect in every way.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Mercury subscribers can use the HD stream.

There's a Q&A with Epic's CliffyB on bit-tech.net. The designer is asked about Gears of War and more.

There's a Gears of War preview on GameSpot this morning, going hands-on with the exclusive content found in the PC release.