Key Insights from the Gears of War: E-Day Showcase

Gears of War: E-Day marks the next major chapter in the beloved Xbox series, but it’s not a direct sequel to Gears 5. Instead, this installment takes players back to the origins of the conflict with the Locust, showcasing the chaos that ensues on Emergence Day.

During a recent Xbox Showcase, developer The Coalition unveiled exciting details about the game, which were further elaborated in a comprehensive post. Here are eight essential highlights to keep in mind.

Set primarily in the city of Kalona, Gears of War: E-Day illustrates the city’s rapid descent into chaos over three days as the Locust emerge from the ground, unleashing destruction on the planet Sera. Players will witness how Marcus and his allies confront this unprecedented threat.

“At first, people are completely bewildered,” art director Aryan Hanbeck explains. “Then they’re being slaughtered by monsters. Eventually, you’ll encounter groups attempting to fight back. Exploring how civilians react and how we respond to them has been one of the most fascinating aspects.”

The Coalition emphasizes that this is the first Gears of War title built entirely from the ground up, without reusing any assets from previous games. The transition to Unreal Engine 5 has allowed the team to incorporate a wealth of new graphical features and to recreate all the classic elements of Gears, including character models and weapons.

Even the iconic “Bwwamm” sound that plays after defeating the last enemy in a skirmish has been completely reimagined.

“We literally rebuilt everything from scratch,” says studio technical director Kate Rayner. “Characters, enemies, weapons, animations, sounds, the world itself.” Brand director Nicole Fawcette adds, “Everything you see in E-Day was created specifically for this game.”

The goal for Gears of War: E-Day was to craft a cover shooter that retains the essence of the original games while introducing new mechanics. For instance, characters like Marcus can now slide from a sprint, enhancing mobility when seeking cover or navigating tight spaces.

The game also features various types of cover, including lower environmental elements that require players to go nearly prone. For the first time in the series, players can jump, adding verticality to levels and allowing exploration of Kalona’s rooftops.

Despite being a prequel to the first game, E-Day introduces new weaponry, including a handheld grenade launcher that looks particularly fun. There’s also a new Locust-designed shotgun that fires acid-like Emulsion, melting enemies on impact.

As for the backstory of these new weapons, perhaps they were misplaced during shipping or fell into a hole.

While Kalona is a vast and intricately designed city, the developers clarified that this is not an open-world game.

“We’re not an open-world game, but this technology has enabled us to create a city that feels alive,” creative director Matt Searcy explained. “In previous titles, levels were often linear and disconnected. Now, when we view Kalona in the UE5 editor, we can see an entire, cohesive city.”

Although Marcus and Dom are central to the franchise’s emotional narrative, their early days remain largely unexplored. This gap has proven advantageous for the team, with Fawcette describing this period as “negative space” that they can fill without disrupting established lore.

“Fans know Marcus and Dom as best friends who fought in the Locust War,” Fawcette noted. “But did you know Dom had a family? He had two kids and a brother who died before the war, who was also Marcus’s friend? There were tensions.”

The team has enlisted Karen Traviss, who authored some of the Gears novels that provide the scant details about their earlier lives, to assist in crafting E-Day’s narrative.

This game delves into more than just the origins of Marcus and Dom’s friendship.

Players will also discover how the iconic chainsaw Lancer rifle was developed. According to Gears lore, this famous weapon wasn’t utilized during the Pendulum Wars preceding E-Day; instead, it was created with Marcus’s help during the early days of the Locust invasion. Players will experience this creation process firsthand with the early prototype.

Interestingly, during a presentation, the team revealed they found the original model of the chainsaw used for the audio recordings of Gears 1’s Lancer and brought it back to re-record it in higher fidelity.

Gears of War: E-Day will feature a new 12-player PvE multiplayer horde mode, the largest ever in the franchise.

Horde Siege is a revamped 12-player PvE mode where three squads defend Kalona across expansive city maps, reimagining the classic Horde mode first introduced in Gears 2. Fans of competitive PvP will be pleased to know that the classic 4v4 versus modes are returning as well. Players can also participate in an open beta ahead of the game’s October launch.

Gears of War: E-Day is set to release on Xbox and PC on October 6. Pre-ordering grants players early access to the open beta.