Gears of War: E-Day
The Coalition · Shooter, Horror, Action
RELEASE MILESTONES
Overview
Experience Emergence Day – the brutal origin story of one of gaming’s most acclaimed third-person shooter franchises.
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Emergence Begins
Experience the horror and brutality of Emergence Day. Fourteen years before the original Gears of War, join Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago in a gripping origin-story campaign as the Locust Horde first erupt from below, igniting a desperate fight for survival. Rally your squad and fight on in multiplayer with a reimagination of Gears’ iconic PvE mode, Horde Siege, or go head-to-head with a refined Versus PvP.* Built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, Gears of War: E-Day delivers the most immersive Gears yet.
The Story of E-Day
Fight through the chaos of Emergence Day in a gripping origin story campaign.
Battle alone or rally up to four players online across Campaign, Horde Siege, and Versus.*
Horde Siege PvE – Back and Bigger Than Ever
Survive a city under siege in an evolved take on Gears’ iconic co-op wave survival mode built for larger maps, more players, and bigger battles.
Choose your class - Assault, Marksman, Medic, or Breacher - then drop in as a 4-player squad to fight back the Locust.
Team up with multiple squads to conquer shared objectives and take down world bosses. Survive to earn rewards, unlock customization and improve your loadout for the next match.
Versus Returns – Refined and Focused PvP
Battle across all-new maps and refined fan-favorite 4v4 modes.
Choose your level of competition. Lock in and climb the ranks in Ranked or jump into Social playlists for a more relaxed match.
Modernized controls and movement make combat feel more fluid while retaining Gears’ signature cover-based feel. Jump, vault, slide, and flank with intent.
A Terrifying Threat from Below
A darker, grittier tone and reimagined enemies restore fear and dread to the series.
Atmosphere and detail are pushed further than ever. The world feels more grounded, believable, and dangerous.
Familiar enemies are more threatening, joined by all-new creatures and villains that reestablish a true sense of horror.
Feels Like Gears. Plays Like New.
Iconic cover‑based combat returns, enhanced with modernized movement and traversal that add freedom and verticality.
Fan‑favorite weapons return and are reimagined, alongside all‑new weapons built for brutal, close‑quarters combat.
Rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5
A new technical foundation for Gears. Built for modern performance with 4K resolution and up to 60FPS across Campaign and Multiplayer.*
Optimized to Customize
Enjoy a great experience on any setup with smooth performance across a wide range of hardware, with borderless/exclusive/windowed display modes, uncapped frame rates on capable hardware, ultrawide support (21:9 and 32:9) for gameplay and menus, and KBM/controller remapping.*
Advanced Performance & Graphics*
Play in crisp 4K Ultra HD with HDR10 and hardware ray-traced lighting, reflections, and shadows.
Push performance further with PC features including NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR “Redstone,” optional Frame Generation and Multi Frame Generation on supported hardware, Variable Rate Shading, and a built-in benchmark mode.
Handheld-Ready & Cross-Platform Play
Fully optimized for handheld play on Steam Deck, Xbox Ally X, and Xbox Ally devices.
Optional account linking lets you carry progress with roaming saves, connect with friends, and send cross-platform invites – then squad up in 2-4 player online co-op or jump into competitive multiplayer for up to 8 players across supported platforms.
*Important Information
Pre-Order Offer: valid with pre-orders made before October 6, 2026 (7:59 am PT) except early access to the Open Beta requires pre-order before the end of the Open Beta early access period (expected to be from August 6-10, 2026; dates may vary by platform and subscription). At participating retailers while supplies last. Pre-order benefits may require redemption of a single-use code. Consult your retailer for details. Limit: 1 offer per person/account.
4K, Ultrawide, HDR, Uncapped, 60FPS & Advanced Graphics: requires compatible, capable hardware and display.
Game requires initial download. May require future updates (additional storage may be required). All downloads and updates require significant storage and broadband internet connection (ISP fees apply). You must accept the Microsoft Services Agreement. May require additional hardware and subscriptions. Content, features, services, online play (if applicable), and support not available in all regions and may vary, change, or terminate. Microsoft Account required.
WARNING: Some people may experience a seizure when exposed to flashing lights or patterns in video games.
From the game's Steam store page.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT3,316 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
Most reviewers recommend E-Day. They praise heavy, satisfying combat with a smoother movement set (sliding, climbing and a jump button), a dark and gory tone that brings back the horror of the first game, visuals some call the best they have seen, and Horde Siege, a 12-player take on Horde built around objectives and extraction. About 15% of reviews call it a return to form or the best Gears since the trilogy, and players who team up for the four-player co-op campaign speak warmly of it.
About 22% of reviews report technical trouble, chiefly crashes and freezes (12%) and heavy PC performance demands (14%), and these problems turn up in 41% of the negative reviews. A crash in Horde Siege also costs players the weapon parts they earned in that match. The campaign story divides players: some feel the new squadmates, Mags Carter above all, take the spotlight and the decisions away from Marcus and Dom, while others say the pair still carry the story. Longtime fans also miss legacy features such as chainsaw duels, meat shields and private matches.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Combat and movement that feel like Gears at its bestHigh
Combat, gunplay or movement come up in about 23% of reviews, and most of what those reviews say is praise. Players describe guns with real weight, brutal executions and a cover system loosened up by sliding, vaulting, climbing and what they call the series' first jump button. "Without a doubt this is the best Gears has ever felt and it is not close at all," one reviewer writes. Weapon mods in the campaign and Horde let players build around a playstyle; a bayonet on the Gnasher is the example reviewers bring up. The pushback comes from a smaller group (under 2% of reviews) who find the movement slower or clunkier than in the older games, mostly Versus veterans, and from mouse-and-keyboard players who struggle with the default bindings.
A dark, brutal return to the original trilogyHigh
E-Day is a return to form for about 15% of reviewers, who say the series is "back" or rank it as the best Gears since Gears 3 or the original trilogy. Another 7% single out the atmosphere and horror, and 5% the gore. Players describe watching the city of Kalona go from peacetime to ruin over three days, coming back to streets they fought through earlier and finding them destroyed, and Locust that feel threatening again rather than like cannon fodder. Several compare it to Halo: Reach, a prequel where you know how it ends and the journey still lands. "The horror theme is back and feels as good as it ever has," one reviewer writes. A few wanted it darker still, and a handful felt the gore was lighter than in the trilogy.
Horde Siege, the new 12-player HordeHigh
Horde or Siege comes up in about 21% of reviews, and 9% praise it outright. Three squads of four share a large map, each running its own objectives, then converge for world-boss invasions and race to extraction, with class levels and weapon parts carrying over between matches. "Horde siege is one of the best casual CO-OP experiences ever but still kicks your ass on harder difficulties," one player writes, and a few say it is the mode they expect to sink hundreds of hours into. A smaller group dissents: about 3% of reviews ask for the classic wave-based Horde with fortifications, one calling the new mode a case of "turning a legendary wave-defense staple into a trend-chasing, 12-player extraction shooter clone." Others mention only three maps, random modifiers, low-level players joining the hardest difficulties, and squads that ignore each other.
Graphics and soundHigh
The visuals win praise in about 13% of reviews, often as the best-looking Unreal Engine 5 game the reviewer has played, with standout lighting, character detail and destruction. "Visually this is ridiculously good looking, path tracing, mega geometry, the works," one writes. A smaller group (3%) singles out the sound design: punchy weapons, crunchy impacts, and Metallica as menu music. A few dislike the new score or hit audio dropouts.
Four-player co-op campaignMedium
About 3.5% of reviews talk about playing the campaign with friends, partners or family. "Playing this campaign with my best friends has been some of the most fun I've had playing a video game in at least five years," one writes. The catches are co-op specific: crashes hit groups especially hard, only the host's campaign progress is saved, and a tether pulls players back to the host in the open zones.
Where players are split
Whose story it is: Marcus and Dom or the new squadmatesHigh
About 13% of reviews discuss Mags Carter, the rookie Lucas Reyes, or Marcus and Dom being pushed aside, and the topic comes up in 26% of negative reviews. Critics say Mags talks over the squad, makes the calls even though Marcus outranks her, and stays gloomy throughout, that Reyes's jokes grate, and that the marketing promised a Marcus and Dom story (about 3% say the marketing misled them). "Marcus and Dom barely have any sort of meaningful conversation or connection besides their first and last cutscenes together," one writes. Defenders answer that the pair still lead, especially in Acts 4 and 5, that new characters need room to develop, and that Mags's cough is the series' rustlung rather than asthma. "Marcus and Dom are still the main characters and get plenty of spotlight and moments of bonding," another writes. One positive review takes a middle view: "characters are a bit dull and try to over shadow Marcus and Dom." Separately, about 4% call the writing or dialogue weak, with Marvel-style quips a recurring gripe, and several call the final boss an underwhelming bullet sponge. Side characters such as Tai, the twins Mako and Manu, and Zee Carmine are praised in a number of reviews.
Versus and the reworked movementHigh
Versus, the Gnasher or the movement changes come up in about 11% of reviews, and opinion runs both ways. Fans call it the best Gears multiplayer in years, like the new Demolition and Conquest modes, and say the slower pace and bot matches make it easier for newcomers. Veterans miss the old speed: "Wallbouncing is gutted, but the gnasher is still king," as one puts it. Complaints focus on an inconsistent Gnasher, shots that come from the center of the screen, a Lancer some find too strong, and frequent trades.
The semi-open campaign zonesMedium
The open districts between the linear missions come up in about 6% of reviews. Supporters say they are far tighter than Gears 5's: "They took the quality over quantity approach for map size and the side mission rewards are worth doing for the gun mods." Critics say they stall the story's urgency, send you across the same bridge and streets several times, and bury you in collectibles. "The free roam sections are a mistake," one reviewer writes. Completionists add that hard-case progress does not carry across difficulties and the game will not show which ones are missing.
Earnable cosmetics versus the store and the coin capLow
Monetization comes up in about 3% of reviews. Supporters are pleased that almost every cosmetic can be earned through play, with no paid battle pass: "it's incredibly refreshing to see a game that actually rewards you for playing it." Critics point to a store live on day one with premium skins, and to the weekly limit on earnable coins: "Then put a limit on how much you can gain in a week."
What frustrates players
Heavy PC performance, shader compiling and forced ray tracingHigh
Performance or optimization comes up in about 14% of reviews. Players report heavy CPU load ("This game really pins the cores"), stutter in the open zones and Horde Siege, textures and models loading in as low-poly shapes, and settings that barely move the frame rate: "I change settings and literally nothing changes." Smaller groups object to shaders recompiling on every launch ("The shader compilation every time I boot the game is unacceptable") and to ray tracing that cannot be switched off, with one asking the developers to "make raytracing something we can turn off rather forcing us to have it on 24/7." Others report smooth play and a clear improvement over the beta, and reports from Steam Deck and Steam Machine owners are mixed.
Crashes, freezes and lost Horde progressHigh
Crashes or freezes are reported in about 12% of reviews and in 26% of the negative ones. Some players who enjoy the game report them all the same: "5 crashes in 5 hours. Apart from that the game is fun. But please fix the crashes," one writes. A recurring pattern is a hard freeze after about two hours, which players blame on a memory leak: "the game crashes every time we approach the two hour mark between 1:55 and 2:00." Crashes hit co-op groups and Horde Siege extraction hardest, because a crashed player cannot rejoin with the weapon parts they earned: "Either fix the crashes, OR allow progress to be saved, OR make it so you can join back into the game with the weapon parts you grinded." A few players say a recent update fixed their crashes or stutter, but crash reports kept coming in the days around the standard launch.
Missing legacy features and thin multiplayer optionsMedium
Missing features come up in about 9% of reviews and 17% of negative ones. The same items recur: chainsaw duels, meat shields, grenade tagging, weapon-specific executions and the Boltok pistol. "No private matches is ridiculous. No meat shields is ridiculous," as one long review puts it. Reviewers note that Versus launched without a ranked mode or a way to pick a mode inside Quick Play ("Can't choose a specific game mode in PvP"), and they count six Versus maps and three for Horde Siege, which has no private or solo option. Some reviewers note lore reasons for a few omissions, or that the developers have said features may return.
Price and the paid early accessMedium
Price comes up in about 6% of reviews, and the Premium Edition's early access in about 3%. Reviewers describe paying up to $100 to play early on an unstable build: "Shame to pay £89.99 to play a game early that cannot function past the 2-hour mark." Others call even the standard price too high for the amount of multiplayer content.
Network lag and server regionsLow
Desync, trades, long matchmaking waits and bot-filled lobbies come up in about 3% of reviews. Players outside North America report high ping with no region choice: "this game doesnt have server selection so im being thrown into mexican and south american servers."
Squad and bot AILow
A small group says AI teammates in the solo campaign and the bots that replace players who leave Horde Siege are close to useless: "it will stand next to you watching you bleed out all the time."
Mouse-and-keyboard bindingsLow
Keyboard players say the bindings will not let one key handle sprint, cover and evade as in older games: "I cant have my space button be sprint and evade."
Bullet-sponge enemies and bossesLow
Some Horde and campaign players say enemies soak too much damage on higher difficulties, one noting it "takes an entire Lancer mag to drop one drone, even with extended mag."
Account linking, anti-cheat and bansLow
A few reviews report failing to link a Microsoft account, anti-cheat blocking cloud PCs, or bans with no explanation.
3. The player conversation
The tone is mostly celebratory, with a vocal critical minority. Short reviews are mostly one-line praise along the lines of "Gears is back," while the long ones come from longtime fans who weigh the combat and Horde Siege against crashes and the story.
Reviews written inside the two-hour refund window lean on launch problems such as shader compilation, crashes, performance and controls, and rarely mention the story or Mags. Among players past 25 hours, Horde Siege comes up in over a third of reviews and Mags far more often, alongside lost weapon parts, the open zones and the classic-Horde debate. Versus splits along experience lines, with newer players welcoming the slower movement and veterans mourning wall-bouncing.
The share recommending the game fell after the paid early-access window: 79.6% of game-focused reviews written October 1 to 4 recommend it, against 72.5% of those written October 5 to 7. Those later days brought in the standard-launch buyers, and crash and performance complaints continued after the day-one patch.
4. What the developers could do
- Fix the crashes and the two-hour freeze. Technical problems, led by crashes and freezes, appear in 41% of negative reviews, and even players who love the game describe restarting every hour or two.
- Let Horde Siege players rejoin and keep their weapon parts after a crash or disconnect. Reviewers describe losing 30 to 45 minutes of earned parts when a crash hits at extraction, with no way back into the match.
- Cut PC overhead: keep compiled shaders between launches, ease CPU load and offer a way to turn ray tracing off. Performance comes up in 14% of reviews, and players, some of them on recommended-spec hardware, report stutter, pop-in and settings that change little.
- Add private and custom matches, mode-specific playlists and solo Horde. Reviewers who want to play only with friends or bots, or to queue for a single mode, cannot do either, and ranked play was missing at launch.
- Restore legacy mechanics and add a classic wave-based Horde. Chainsaw duels, meat shields, grenade tagging and weapon-specific executions top the list of missing features, and about 3% of reviewers ask for the old fortify-and-hold Horde.
- Add Versus and Horde Siege maps. Six Versus maps and three Horde maps are a recurring complaint, and Horde Siege players note how quickly the same objectives repeat.
- Give Marcus and Dom more of the spotlight in future story content. The story-focus complaint appears in a quarter of negative reviews, and a few reviewers already hope for story DLC.
- Make squad AI and replacement bots pull their weight. Players say AI teammates leave them to bleed out in the solo campaign, and one describes replacement bots in Horde Siege running off to hide.
