Gears of War studio head Rod Fergusson has worn a lot of hats throughout the industry. He seems to have found a home at The Coalition, but a developer talk about his experiences at different studios has shed more light on one of his old projects, Mafia 3.

　　In the talk from PAX South, Fergusson explains how he has transitioned from job to job, going from a position of helping to finish BioShock Infinite to starting a new studio under the 2K umbrella. He suggests that the game may not have been called Mafia 3 when he worked on it, and says that he ultimately left due to creative differences.

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - Loadout

　　Firearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Seonhee Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Koichi Adachi Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Yu Nanba Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter

　　Now Playing: Gears 5 Dares To Be Different

　　"I got to help start a new studio and start working on a new game," Fergusson said. "I never finished it, but ultimately that studio became Hangar 13 and that game became Mafia 3. The reason I didn't finish it was just because of creative differences with senior management there. I had other ideas for this game and the studio and it didn't jibe with what the senior management wanted to do so again, for the second time in my life, I went untethered."

　　That was in 2013, and the following year he took a new role at The Coalition. Mafia 3 released to mixed reviews in 2016. Fergusson didn't offer further explanation of how his vision differed from that of management, but his comments may imply that in those early stages it wasn't a Mafia game at all.

　　On the whole, Fergusson has been open about how his experiences at one studio have shaped his approach at others. He said in an interview with GameSpot that Gears 5's combat, which sometimes lets you approach combat in different ways and choose when to initiate, was inspired by BioShock Infinite. Currently The Coalition is co-developing Gears Tactics.