"Gears of War 4" is in the early stages of development after recently being sold to Microsoft's Black Tusk Studios. It also was the subject of a faked leak claiming a release date stemming from a hack. Here is everything currently known about the game, which should have a release date somewhere late in 2015.

Since the IP changed hands recently a lot of fans have been wondering what to expect from the franchise in this latest installment. 

Black Tusk producer Rod Fergusson told Polygon in a recent interview,  "There are some things that even though people try to copy us, we don't think they've nailed. I think the cover system, there's a feel to a Gears of War game that I've yet to find in another game where it feels the same. Whether it's the fluidity, the weight, the heaviness to the characters, the way that it feels like to be in cover, the roadie run character, those sorts of things."

A big problem was that the most recent installment of the game attempted to change the basic mechanics, and fans generally did not like it. 

"With Black Tusk, we have to show that we have a legitimate claim to this IP and be able to show we know how to do it right before we do it differently,"Fergusson told Polygon in an interview. "So I think there's a combination. It's about finding the right things to change. And there are some things that even though people try to copy us, we don't think they've nailed. I think the cover system, there's a feel to a Gears of War game that I've yet to find in another game where it feels the same. Whether it's the fluidity, the weight, the heaviness to the characters, the way that it feels like to be in cover, the roadie run character, those sorts of things.

"So there's things that I think are uniquely Gears that you just have to double down on, and then there's things we go, 'Hey, is there a way to be more contemporary with other mechanics that have maybe found their way into the genre that you have to take notice of?'

"Gears of War 4" is still in the infancy phase, and the release date would be late 2015 at the absolute earliest. However there were reports that it was coming out earlier, which turned out to be the result of a hack. Polygon reports that the official Xbox Twitch account was hacked when words like "gow_repercussion" and "embargo 11/7/14" were published.

Twitch has acknowledged that the account was compromised during Gamescom 2014.

 "As a precautionary measure, we temporarily removed highlights and past broadcasts for those channels since it's in the early hours of the morning in Cologne," a representative from Twitch said.

Lester Speight who played Cole Train, alco caused some confusion when confirmed in his Twitter account that he will be returning as the voice actor of the game's protagonist.

"@MistaPeerez: @lesterspeight have you gotten a call about a new gears? You have to reprise your role! #whoobaby" "Yup!"

- Lester Speight (@lesterspeight) July 4, 2014

However, Train quickly denied that he was formally contacted by anyone from Gears of War 4, and that his tweet was just misinterpreted. Speight was only saying he was willing to take part in the new game.

The "Gears of War 4" release date is still a far way off, but if you are as excited as I am, every little detail helps. Check back for more information as we get closer to the late 2015 (or 2016 if there are problems) release date.