Gears of War: E-Day review — The Coalition's best work in years

Gears of War: E-Day launches October 6, 2026 on Xbox Series X/S and PC, developed by The Coalition and People Can Fly. After nearly seven years without a mainline entry, the series returns to its origins — Emergence Day, the moment the Locust Horde first broke through the surface and changed the Gears universe forever.

The game follows Marcus and Dom arriving in the city of Kalona to be honored as heroes of the Pendulum Wars, only for the Locusts to erupt from underground and tear the city apart across three in-game days. Two new squadmates join them — Mags, a reluctant veteran pulled back into service, and Lucas, a by-the-book recruit with a habit for useless trivia. Lucas is underdeveloped for most of the campaign, though a late-game story beat brings him up to the level of his squadmates. The reviewer notes it just happens too late. On the gameplay side, E-Day moves away from both the linear shooting galleries of the early games and the wide-open spaces of Gears 5, landing on city streets packed with collectibles, side missions, weapon mods, and armor upgrades. A deep customization system lets players tune each gun and tactical ability to their playstyle. Improved traversal and what the review describes as masterfully arranged battlefields round out the package.

The Coalition took over the Gears franchise from Epic Games with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition in 2015, then shipped Gears 4 and Gears 5 — the latter being the most ambitious entry in the series but a divisive one among longtime fans. People Can Fly, the studio behind Bulletstorm and Outriders, co-developing E-Day is an interesting pairing, and based on this review, it paid off. Setting the game at Emergence Day is a smart move: it's the most mythologized moment in Gears lore, referenced constantly across the original trilogy but never shown in full. Letting players experience the fall of Kalona firsthand — with the outcome already sealed no matter how many Locusts they cut down — gives the game a horror-tinged weight that the series hasn't had since the original.

The review calls E-Day The Coalition's finest work since taking over the franchise and says it gives fans genuine reason to care about Gears again. The game is rated Mature and releases October 6, 2026.