| Gears of War: E-Day | |
| Developer: | The Coalition |
| Publisher: | Xbox Game Studios |
| Director: | Matt Searcy |
| Artist: | Aryan Hanbeck |
| Engine: | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Series: | Gears of War |
| Genre: | Third-person shooter |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gears of War: E-Day is an upcoming third-person shooter developed by The Coalition and published by Xbox Game Studios. As the sixth mainline installment in the Gears of War franchise and set 14 years before the events of the original game, E-Day is set to be released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.
Set 14 years before the events of the original game, Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, two soldiers from the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG), must survive the Emergence Day in which a race of subterranean creatures known as the Locust Horde emerges from their underground lair and overwhelms the surface world of Sera.[1] The game is set in the city of Kalona, a new location for the franchise.
E-Day was described by the team as an "origin story" focused on the brotherhood between series protagonist Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. The Coalition added the game will have a "modern take" on both characters, who are youthful, "vulnerable" and inexperienced in this game.[2] The team chose Emergence Day as the setting because they felt that it encapsulated several core themes of the series such as the brotherhood between the coalition soldiers, a melancholic tone, and a focus on both brutality and action.[3] [4] The events in E-Day will unfold across multiple days, and the team's goal was to "capture a moment in time" and tell an "intimate" story, exploring how an ill-prepared and desperate civilization react to a sudden, nearly unstoppable apocalypse.[5] [6] Similar to the early games of the series, E-Day had a large focus on horror.[7] Locust Drones, which were cannon fodder in early installments of the series, were redesigned in E-Day to look more intimidating and formidable.[8] It will also introduce the origin of Lancer Assault Rifle, a signature weapon for the series.[9]
E-Day, as a prequel to the original trilogy, was billed as a mainline installment in the series.[10] The team felt creating a franchise origin story was an opportunity "too good to miss", and reiterated that they were not abandoning the story threads established in the newer games in the series.[11] In contrast to Gears 5 which introduced elements commonly found in open world games, E-Day will be a more linear experience.[12] The game was officially announced in June 2024 with an in-engine trailer created in collaboration with Blur Studio and GNet.[13] It is set to be released for both Windows and Xbox Series X/S.[14]