Gears of War: E-Day — Everything We Know

Xbox’s universally acclaimed exclusive series Gears of War is on the cusp of receiving a brand-new chapter in its timeline. Aptly titled Gears of War: E-Day, the upcoming installment in the third-person shooter saga will reportedly return to its roots, meaning, you can go ahead and discard JD and Kait for the time being (Gears 6 is still a few field goals away from seeing the light of day, apparently) and instead cast your attention on the original trilogy—the trio of titles that saw the likes of Marcus and Dom take to the center stage against the Locust infestation. In other words, E-Day will serve as a prequel to 2006’s Gears of War. It’s about time, too.

So, what more do we act you know about the latest chapter in the beloved series? Well, if you are keen to learn a bit more about it, then be sure to read on for a few quick pre-purchase pointers. Here’s everything we can tell you about Gears of War: E-Day.

What Is Gears of War: E-Day?

Marcus  🤝 Dom.

Emergence Begins in our next mainline game, Gears of War: E-Day. pic.twitter.com/hSLEFmul9t

— Gears of War (@GearsofWar) June 9, 2024

Gears of War: E-Day is an upcoming third-person shooter developed by The Coalition. It is to be a prequel for 2006’s Gears of War, and so, naturally, the story itself will revolve around the events leading up to Locust invasion, as well as the aftermath of the catastrophic attack. Going by the footage that was shared during the Summer Game Fest, the latest chapter in the series will once again feature Marcus Fenix as its primary protagonist, as well as Dom, the “brother-in-arms-type” companion who went on to play a vital role in the original trilogy.

As mentioned earlier, E-Day will not have any direct connection to the mainline series, meaning Gears 5 is still, at least at the time of writing, a fair ways from seeing its natural conclusion, as are the storylines of its protagonists, Kait and JD. But of course, that’s a story for another day. *Cough* Gears 6.

Story

Gears of War: E-Day will take place fourteen years before the events of the first game in the series. In a nutshell, the game will center its focus around one thing, in particular: the Locust invasion, as well as the aftermath of the outbreak on a local scale. Again, players will take to the role of Marcus Fenix, a known war hero who, in the wake of reaping the benefits of a previous war, is returning home to embrace the new threat that dawns on humanity.

“Fourteen years before Gears of War, war heroes Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago return home to face a new nightmare: the Locust Horde,” the blurb reads in part. “These subterranean monsters, grotesque and relentless, erupt from below, laying siege on humanity itself.”

According to the devs, the story will take place over several in-game days, and will aim to capture the beating heart of the looming conflict between the humans and the Locust. In other words, it won’t be an enormous saga of events that cover a selection of time periods, but rather, a single chunk of happenings, all of which will occur in a relatively short amount of time.

Gameplay

At the time of writing, neither The Coalition nor Xbox Game Studios have lifted the veil on any gameplay details that are to feature in Gears of War: E-Day. With that said, we do know that it’ll follow in a similar path as its predecessors. On that note, it’ll likely adopt a traditional third-person perspective, as well as a series of classic Lancers and other pre-Judgement relics, weapons, and projectiles. Aside from all of that, though, there really isn’t all that much that we can touch base on at present.

Whilst we could certainly argue that the upcoming game will likely feature a split-screen or online co-op mode, nothing has been confirmed as of yet. However, given the series’ rich history of shoveling such modes down our throats since the beginning, it seems awfully likely that E-Day will also receive the same features. Don’t quote us on that, though.

Development

The Coalition, a subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios, initially revealed the plans to bring Gears of War: E-Day to consoles and PC back in the beginning of June — specifically, at the Xbox Showcase, which just so happened to also highlight several important features, including a nifty teaser trailer for the game, as well as its general premise and character designs.

According to the devs, Gears of War: E-Day is currently operating under the hammer in Unreal Engine 5, and is due to arrive on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and Game Pass at some point in the foreseeable future. But more on that shortly.

Trailer

Thanks to the Xbox Showcase that aired during the annual Summer Game Fest earlier this month, we do in fact have a bit of footage to share. You can check out the initial announcement trailer for Gears of War: E-Day in the clip embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Gears of War: E-Day hasn’t received a concrete release date just yet, but given the fact that the game has only just been announced, it seems highly unlikely that it will launch before the latter half of 2025 at the earliest. The good news here is that, while the game hasn’t been stapled to an official launch date, The Coalition has confirmed that its platforms will include both Xbox Series X|S and PC. What’s more, it will also be playable on Xbox Game Pass, too, meaning those who have a subscription to either PC Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass will have immediate access to E-Day on day one. So that’s a plus!

Interested in staying up to date with the Gears saga? If so, then be sure to check in with the developer via their official social handle here for all of the latest updates. If, however, anything even the slightest bit noteworthy does pop up ahead of its hopeful 2025 debut, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Gears of War: E-Day when it arrives on consoles? Let us know your thoughts over on our official social channel here.