Gears Of War: E-Day Is Bigger, Bloodier, And More Ambitious Than We Expected
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformNews
🎮 Gears Of War: E-Day#Gaming,News

Gears Of War: E-Day Is Bigger, Bloodier, And More Ambitious Than We Expected

GameSpot » All News RSS FeedDarryn Bonthuys4 min read(2 months ago)

Overview & Key Takeaways

Gears of War: E-Day made a big splash during the Xbox Games Showcase, as The Coalition dropped an action-packed preview on audiences. Not only is Gears looking better than ever, thanks to Unreal Engine 5 powering it, but several design choices are also adding up to make the game play better through fluid movement mechanics and levels that'll give you opportunities to put your skills to the test.

GameSpot had the opportunity to take a closer look at the game and sit down with The Coalition's developers to learn more about the prequel. You can check out everything new that we learned from this interview that wasn't shown off in the initial preview in the video below.

https://youtu.be/hh5Swf5p4jo

Gears of War: E-Day is a fresh start for the franchise, and according to The Coalition, the developer started with an "empty hard drive" to rebuild Gears in Unreal Engine 5. The key location for E-Day is Kalona on the planet Sera, a city that will be devastated during Emergence Day when the Locust rise up to attack humanity. The Coalition says that the destruction will be felt throughout the campaign as environments change, and while E-Day isn't an open-world game, its large-scale arenas are combat puzzles waiting for players to solve them through smoother cover transitions and ultraviolence.

Some missions will have tighter spaces to fight in, while others will give players access to entire neighborhoods to wage war in. The main goal is to make players feel like they're in a big-budget action movie as they slide and mantle over obstacles so that they can flank enemies.

Other interesting tidbits from our time with The Coalition include the studio mentioning that E-Day has the longest campaign that it has ever designed--with the studio estimating that it'll take around 14 hours to complete--how E-Day was the story the studio wanted to tell next, and owners of PC gaming handhelds should expect to see it run just fine on those systems.

Gears of War: E-Day launches for PC and Xbox Series X|S on October 3, but it’s not coming to PS5.

Gears of War: E-Day made a big splash during the Xbox Games Showcase, as The Coalition dropped an action-packed preview on audiences. Not only is Gears looking better than ever, thanks to Unreal Engine 5 powering it, but several design choices are also adding up to make the game play better through fluid movement mechanics and levels that’ll give you opportunities to put your skills to the test.

GameSpot had the opportunity to take a closer look at the game and sit down with The Coalition’s developers to learn more about the prequel. You can check out everything new that we learned from this interview that wasn’t shown off in the initial preview in the video below.

VIDEO

Gears of War: E-Day is a fresh start for the franchise, and according to The Coalition, the developer started with an “empty hard drive” to rebuild Gears in Unreal Engine 5. The key location for E-Day is Kalona on the planet Sera, a city that will be devastated during Emergence Day when the Locust rise up to attack humanity. The Coalition says that the destruction will be felt throughout the campaign as environments change, and while E-Day isn’t an open-world game, its large-scale arenas are combat puzzles waiting for players to solve them through smoother cover transitions and ultraviolence.

Some missions will have tighter spaces to fight in, while others will give players access to entire neighborhoods to wage war in. The main goal is to make players feel like they’re in a big-budget action movie as they slide and mantle over obstacles so that they can flank enemies.

Other interesting tidbits from our time with The Coalition include the studio mentioning that E-Day has the longest campaign that it has ever designed–with the studio estimating that it’ll take around 14 hours to complete–how E-Day was the story the studio wanted to tell next, and owners of PC gaming handhelds should expect to see it run just fine on those systems.

Gears of War: E-Day launches for PC and Xbox Series X|S on October 3, but it’s not coming to PS5.

Share:

More in Xbox, Multi-platform

Sega's 84-Hour Open-World Masterpiece Has Aged Like Fine Wine🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platform

Sega's 84-Hour Open-World Masterpiece Has Aged Like Fine Wine

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth had plenty of opposition from other big-ticket RPGs when it launched in 2024. If you missed it, now's the time to play.

🎮 Metaphor🎮 Elden Ring
PolygonNewsabout 9 hours ago
Surprise Xbox Game To Be Announced At Gamescom, Insider Says🟩 Xbox, Multi-platform

Surprise Xbox Game To Be Announced At Gamescom, Insider Says

Microsoft is gearing up to announce a new game at Gamescom this month, it appears, and it could be from an established series. Insider NateTheHate 2(https://x.com/NateTheHate2/status/2088674549428556273) said, "I've heard of a neat Xbox announcement that should be at Gamescom." He said it will be a "new game in a series" as opposed to a new IP. And no, it's not a new Banjo-Kazooie game, he said(https://x.com/NateTheHate2/status/2089442879185748013). He added that, whatever the project is, it's from a franchise that Microsoft owns(https://x.com/NateTheHate2/status/2089457810501251429), but it's not being made by a studio that Microsoft owns(https://x.com/NateTheHate2/status/2089460969919426888). That leaves open a lot of possibilities, so your guess is as good as anyone's right now as to what it may be and which studio could be behind it. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/XboxGamescom.jpg?w=636) Microsoft has an announcement on tap for Gamescom, it seems. That's all we have to go on for now, but with Gamescom coming up soon, we should find out shortly. Xbox is not holding its own dedicated showcase at Gamescom, but it's possible the announcement could come during Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live on August 25. The Xbox booth at Gamescom(https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/07/28/xbox-gamescom-2026/) will feature 25 upcoming games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Fable, Minecraft Dungeons II, Gears of War: E-Day, Metro 2039, Stranger Than Heaven, and Alien: Isolation 2. There will also be live broadcasts from the Xbox booth August 26 and August 27, featuring interviews, guests, gameplay reveals, trailers, "and more." Perhaps one of the interview slots will be about this upcoming mystery game. 2026 is the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and the company has a lot planned(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-unveils-new-25th-anniversary-edition-xbox-series-x-based-on-original-xbox-and-its-gonna-be-pricey/).

🎮 Surprise Xbox Game To Be
GameSpotNewsabout 13 hours ago
Control Resonant Has Gone Gold, but the Physical Release Has Been Delayed🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platform

Control Resonant Has Gone Gold, but the Physical Release Has Been Delayed

Remedy has announced development on Control Resonant is complete though the physical disc release has been delayed a few weeks

🎮 Control🎮 Remedy
PolygonNewsabout 15 hours ago