Do Boot Camp first
A short course on the new movement: slides, mantles and the shorter cover cancel. Then try Combat Training with friends.
Practice modes →
Out now · checked October 7, 2026
Gears of War: E-Day guide
The Coalition's prequel puts Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago in the city of Kalona on the day the Locust come up from underground, fourteen years before the first game. It came out October 6 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam, and it's included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
- Developer
- The Coalition
- Setting
- Kalona, 14 years before Gears 1
- Modes
- Campaign, Horde Siege, Versus
- Platforms
- Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam
- Price (US)
- $69.99 · Premium $99.99
Out now
Where to start
Season 1: Emergence began with Early Access on October 1 and runs for eight weeks, until December 1. New posts from The Coalition show up in the news list below.
Pick a Horde Siege class
Four classes, 30 levels each. Start on Blitz missions and remember that weapon parts only count if your squad extracts.
Horde Siege guide →Something broken?
Check the launch known issues (reload a checkpoint if an objective gets stuck), then open a ticket with Gears support.
Known issues →What's in the game
Squads of up to four online in every mode, and two-player split-screen on console.
Campaign
- 5 acts
- Co-op for up to 4
- Insane difficulty
Marcus and Dom, home from the Pendulum Wars, trying to get through the first days of the invasion. Secondary objectives, hidden collectibles and weapon mods along the way.
Campaign guide →
Horde Siege
- 12 players
- 4 classes
- 3 maps
Three squads of four share one battle, each with its own objectives, then fight their way to an extraction. Class levels, mods and weapon parts carry between matches.
Horde Siege guide →
Versus
- 4v4
- 4 modes
- 6 maps
Team Deathmatch, Conquest, Demolition and the new Crucible. Everyone starts with the same loadout, and there are no weapon mods in PvP. Ranked and Social playlists. Ranked opens October 13.
Versus guide →Going for 100%? All 140 collectibles, 125 Hard Cases, 17 side missions and 36 Supply Cache stations, with directions, a checklist that saves in your browser and a chapter-by-chapter route. Collectibles and checklist → · 100% route → · All 54 achievements →
Which version gets you what
| Edition | Price | Plays from | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $69.99 | Oct 6 | Digital or disc. Pre-order bonus: Exfil Dom skin and Exfil weapon skin set. |
| Premium | $99.99 | Oct 1 | Five seasonal customization packs (Emergence pack at launch), 1,000 Iron, Bravo Squad weapon pack for the campaign. |
| Premium Upgrade | varies | Oct 1 | Adds Early Access and the Premium content to a copy you already have. |
| Collector's | limited run | Oct 1 | Marcus and Dom statue, replica COG tags, SteelBook, plus the Premium upgrade. Xbox Series X disc or Steam code. |
| Game Pass | Ultimate or PC Game Pass | Oct 6 | The full game on day one. Online play on Xbox needs a Game Pass tier that includes online multiplayer. |
Sources: The Coalition's editions guide ↗ and Xbox Wire, September 17 ↗.
What we still don't know
These stay open until The Coalition or Xbox says something. We don't fill them with guesses.
- What Seasons 3 to 5 addOpen
Season 2: Legacy is built around the 20th anniversary, with a birthday gift for all players on November 7 and the Dead Serious reward skin. The later seasons are named (Infiltration, Pendulum and Devotion) but what they add hasn't been published.
- The other two Horde Siege mapsOpen
Golden Quarter was the beta map. Three maps ship at launch; the other two haven't been named in anything official we've found. The October 5 patch notes mention a Plaza Ruins Blitz mission, without saying whether that is a map.
- Season 1 event datesOpen
Halloween, 20 Years of Gears and Thanksgibbing each run for two weeks, and the Halloween event has a Trick or Treat mode. The Coalition hasn't given start dates yet.
- Mythic AchievementsOpen
The Xbox completion achievement was removed at launch to support an upcoming Mythic Achievements feature. No date has been given.
- Nvidia shader deliveryOpen
Advanced Shader Delivery works on AMD hardware now, with Nvidia support promised later in October.
- PlayStationOpen
No PlayStation version has been announced.
Latest official posts
Checking for new posts…
Where this comes from
- Global launch tips guide · Xbox Wire, Oct 6
- October 5 patch notes · The Coalition, Oct 5
- Early Access launch, cloud play and soundtrack · Xbox Wire, Oct 1
- Season 1 dates, events and Ranked · The Coalition, Sep 30
- Collector's Edition support · The Coalition, Sep 29
- Gone gold, pre-install and PC specs · Xbox Wire, Sep 17
- Full achievements list · Xbox Wire, Sep 9
- Gameplay updates · The Coalition, Jul 31
- Multiplayer deep dive · The Coalition, Jul 30
- Editions, pre-order bonus and beta access · The Coalition, Jun 7
- E-Day Direct: campaign, setting and release date · Xbox Wire, Jun 7
- Steam store page
- All Gears of War news