With the announcement of Gears of War E-Day, the question of when the upcoming shooter will be released is top of mind for many
Coming from Gears 4 and 5 studio The Coalition, E-Day is set to focus on the emergence of the terrifying Locust Hoard. It will be the franchise's first prequel and will bring the series' original main characters Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago into the spotlight after several games without them.
The game was first shown off at Xbox Games' 2024 Summer Showcase, with a debut trailer that harkened back to the franchise's humble beginnings on Xbox 360.
When Will Gears of War E-Day Be Released?
Given the brevity of the Gears prequel's announcement on June 9, 2024, it can be assumed it is still at least a couple of years away, but the next few months will be very telling on that front.
All that was shown off at the Xbox Game Showcase was a stunning CG visual piece from veteran animation studio Blur. While exciting, it lacked any sort of gameplay, perhaps indicating where the game sits in development.
If a gameplay showcase happens sometime before the end of the year, whether it be at the Game Awards in December or another location sooner, then the prequel could be further along than some may think.
E-Day studio The Coalition's last game (excluding support on projects like Halo: Infinite, Gears Tactics, and the Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 demo) was Gears 5 which was released in September 2019.
That means it has been nearly five years since their last proper release - ample time to get close to finishing a modern triple-A title like a new Gears game.
However, it has been reported Gears of War E-Day is not the only thing they have pursued in that time.
According to insider Jeff Grubb (via The Gamer), who spoke about the studio during a February 2023 episode of his Games Mess Mornings show, "there's been two games cancelled" at The Coalition since Gears 5:
"It does seem like they feel like 'well, we are up to speed because we worked on ['The Matrix Awakens'],' and so they have cancelled that smaller project as well as another project. So there's been two games cancelled there. This was all reflected in the layoffs that happened at Microsoft that did hit The Coalition a little bit, but the studio is now going to move on fully to 'Gears 6.'"
Taking that into account, that would bump E-Day's potential release down the road a bit, as it reportedly took some time for the studio to settle on it as its next project.
The running rate these days for tentpole game development seems to be about a five-year dev cycle. So, say E-Day went into full production two or three years after Gears 5, that would put a potential release for the shooter sometime in 2026.
There is a chance it could be coming sooner though. The Verge's Tom Warren wrote in one of his Notepad newsletters (via Reddit) shortly after the game was announced that he had "heard it was targeting a release in 2025." That information may have been held back during the reveal though to give the team some wiggle room.
Looking at Xbox's upcoming slate with games like Fable, Doom: The Dark Ages, and South of Midnight coming in 2025, and Perfect Dark, Blade, and Contraband seemingly beyond that, there is no rush to get E-Day out the door.
However, a 2026 release for the game seems to make the most sense.
What To Expect in Gears of War E-Day
Gears of War E-Day is a big moment for the Gears franchise. Instead of moving forward on the timeline, the game will jump back for the very first time.
The prequel is set to explore the emergence of the Locust Hoard on Sera (a.k.a. E-Day), which is essentially the inciting incident of the entire Gears of War universe.
This will bring fan-favorite characters from the original Gears trilogy Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago back into the fold for the first time since Gears 3 in 2011.
In a conversation with Xbox Wire about the game, Gears of War E-Day Creative Director Matt Searcy described the upcoming prequel as "a new Gears game" that "revisitp[s] the tone and the feeling of what makes Gears great:"
“It’s going to feel like a new 'Gears' game, because that’s what it is. It’s us revisiting the tone and the feeling of what makes 'Gears' great, but we’re tapping into new techniques, new processes, and new technology that’s going to make the gameplay feel better than ever. It’s going to be awesome, a game that feels both truly new, and authentically 'Gears.'"
He added that this is "the origin story of Marcus and Dom and their bond," something fans have been itching to see since they were first introduced to the characters back in 2006:
"We’re telling the origin story of Marcus and Dom and their bond… this is the bond that defines the franchise. They’re not the characters we know from 'Gears 1' to '3'. They don’t have 10 years of fighting the Locust between them. When the game opens, there’s supposed to be peace on Sera, and they’re trying to figure out life without this person they both loved. People are going to see the formation of this brotherhood that is so iconic to 'Gears.'"
This 'origin story' will not just show the beginning of the Dom and Marcus relationship or the first time the citizens of Sera have to take on the terrifying alien Locusts. It is also going to explore other aspects of the beloved gaming franchise and where it all began.
This, according to Brand Director Nicole Fawcette, includes the series' iconic Chainsaw Lancer weapon, which "doesn't currently exist in that period:"
"[The Chainsaw Lancer] doesn’t currently exist in that period… but it’s not a Gears game if you’re not chainsawing Locust!"
So, surely gamers will get to experience the beginnings of the sadistic death machine the franchise has become known for as well.
Gears of War E-Day has no known release date.
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