Xbox Games Showcase: The Coalition unveils Gears of War prequel E-Day

The first fight against the Locust

The Coalition

The Coalition announced a new Gears of War game at the summer Xbox Games Showcase, a prequel to the shooter game series called E-Day. Gears of War: E-Day follows Dom Santiago and Marcus Fenix in their first foray against the Locust swarms, so if you’re expecting any kind of conclusion to the Gears 4 and Gears 5 saga, well, don’t.

“We realized that a lot of the words we use to describe the franchise were what our fans also use, phrases like brotherhood, brutality, pathos, awe,” The Coalition’s creative director Matt Searcy said in an interview with Xbox-owned Xbox Wire. “Why E-Day?  That’s the moment it all comes together. It’s the heart of the Gears universe. Everything that happens is shaped by this day.

“It’s going to feel like a new Gears game, because that’s what it is,” Searcy continued. “It’s us revisiting the tone and the feeling of what makes Gears great, but we’re tapping into new techniques, new processes, and new technology that’s going to make the gameplay feel better than ever. It’s going to be awesome, a game that feels both truly new, and authentically Gears.”  

The team didn’t say much else of substance in the interview aside from hinting at explosive action and nightmarish monsters, but they did say that Gears of War: E-Day is built from the ground up in Unreal 5. That means The Coalition could stuff it full of next-gen tech, including raytracing, and big improvements to enemy and character animations.

Gears of War: E-Day doesn’t have a release day just yet, but you can expect it on Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Windows when it does launch.

If you're after more new game announcements, check out our Summer Game Fest roundup and all the games shown off during Day of the Devs2024.