Gears of War: E-Day launches with high scores and big Game Pass numbers
The prequel by The Coalition and People Can Fly returns to Emergence Day with Marcus and Dom, and it is out now on Xbox Series X|S, PC and Game Pass.
Gears of War: E-Day is out. The game launched on October 6 for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC (Steam and the Xbox app), and it is also part of Game Pass. Owners of the premium edition had early access starting October 1.
Back to the beginning
Developed by The Coalition with People Can Fly, the game is a prequel. The story is set in the city of Kalona, on the planet Sera, 14 years before the first Gears of War, during Emergence Day, when the Locust first attack humanity. Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago return, voiced by John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro.
Exclusive to Xbox consoles
Unlike other recent Xbox games, E-Day is not coming to PlayStation 5. Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma described it as "an Xbox console exclusive".
What critics said
- Metacritic: 87 on Xbox and 83 on PC.
- OpenCritic: 85 average, with 90% to 92% of critics recommending it.
- IGN: 9 out of 10.
- GameSpot: 7 out of 10.
The numbers so far
On Steam, the game peaked at 31,517 concurrent players, according to SteamDB. Analytics firm Alinea estimates around 230,000 copies sold in the first week, plus roughly 1.7 million players via Game Pass. These are estimates, not official figures from Microsoft.
New mode
Besides the campaign, E-Day brings Horde Siege, a new take on the cooperative Horde mode, one of the series' trademarks.
After a period of uncertainty around the franchise, the reception suggests Gears is in good shape. For Xbox, it is also an important release in a month with heavy competition, right before Call of Duty and GTA VI.
