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 →
Checked October 5, 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 went gold on September 17 and comes out October 6 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam, and on Game Pass the same day.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 Coalition's known-issues posts, then open a ticket with Gears support.
Help and support →What to sort out this week
All times are 8:00 a.m. Pacific (15:00 UTC). Your own time zone is shown next to each date once the page loads.
Pre-install on September 29
Downloads open on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam for anyone who pre-ordered and for Game Pass members. On PC the game needs 115 GB on an SSD.
September 29, 8:00 a.m. PT
Early Access on October 1
Premium Edition, Premium Upgrade and Collector's Edition owners start up to five days early. Game Pass on its own doesn't include Early Access.
October 1, 8:00 a.m. PT
Launch on October 6
Everyone else, including Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, plays from October 6. Pre-orders placed before 7:59 a.m. PT that day still get the Exfil Dom skin and weapon skin set.
October 6, 8:00 a.m. PT
Playing on PC? A graphics card with hardware ray tracing is required; cards without it aren't supported. The minimum is an RTX 2060 or RX 6600 class card with 6 GB of video memory and 12 GB of RAM. Full PC specs →
Played the beta? Rewards you unlocked through beta challenges are waiting in your inventory at launch. The Liquid Death pose promotion runs until November 30.
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 →Hunting collectibles? All 140 by act and chapter, with a checklist that saves in your browser, plus Hard Cases and side missions. Collectibles guide → · 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.
- Campaign lengthOpen
No hour count has been given.
- What Seasons 2 to 5 addOpen
The Coalition has named them (Legacy, Infiltration, Pendulum and Devotion) but hasn't said what each one adds.
- The other two Horde Siege mapsOpen
Golden Quarter was the beta map. Three maps ship at launch; the other two haven't been named. The October 5 patch notes mention a Downtown West Blitz mission, but the map list hasn't been published.
- 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.
- PlayStationOpen
No PlayStation version has been announced.
Latest official posts
Checking for new posts…
Where this comes from
- 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