It has been revealed that the protagonist of Gears of War 4, JD Fenix, was named after a fallen friend of his father, Marcus Fenix.
During the game’s panel at this year’s Comic-Con International, studio head Rod Fergusson revealed that the full name of Gears of War 4’s lead protagonist is James Dominic Fenix. Fans of the original series will be familiar with the name, as Dominic was Marcus Fenix’s brother-in-arms who sacrificed his life in the original trilogy.
.@TheJohnDiMaggio just peer-pressured @GearsViking into revealing JD officially stands for "James Dominic". #GearsofWar4 #SDCC2016
— Ray Carsillo (@RayCarsillo) July 21, 2016
This isn’t the only Gears of War 4 news to be released at Comic-Con. A new trailer was released that showed off a new map for the game’s multiplayer mode. Entitled Forge, the new map takes players to an industrial area that is falling to ruin. The map will offer players a number of options for both long-ranged and close-quarters combat, with a wide array of cover opportunities for both.
Also released was nearly seven minutes of gameplay. In the gameplay, we see protagonist JD fight against a new threat alongside his companions, including his father, Marcus. In the footage, we see that the core cover-to-cover gameplay that has been a staple in the series is intact. We also see additions to the series’ classic combat, including the use of combat knives.
Gears of War 4 is set to release on October 11th. It will be available on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.