Gears of War E-Day Is the Brutal Prequel the Series Desperately Needs

A new Gears of War game is coming, but it isn’t a sequel to Gears 5. Following Gears’ most controversial ending, developer The Coalition is moving backwards with Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel covering the most devastating moment in the series’ history.

Described as a reinvention of the series, E-Day tells the story of Emergence Day, the first time humanity crossed paths with the destructive Locust. Playing as a younger version of series protagonist Marcus Fenix alongside Dom Santiago, fans will experience the most brutal events on the planet Sera.

Gears of War: E-Day will continue the series’ trademark third-person cinematic action, this time with Unreal Engine 5 powering every moment. The new game is described as a “classic Gears of War game that feels authentic next to the original, but with truly next-gen tech behind it.”

“It’s going to feel like a new Gears game because that’s what it is,” Creative Director Matt Searcy said. “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.”

In the game’s new reveal trailer, we see a young Marcus Fenix desperately fighting for his life against a standard Locust drone, the basic enemy we’ve seen him slay by the thousands. This teases a harsher, more brutal combat system, complete with the over-the-top gore the series has been missing since the end of the original trilogy.

While Gears 5 was a fantastic game, it left the series in a tough spot with its ending. While we hope that Gears 6 eventually concludes that story, Gears of War: E-Day has already brought a spark to the franchise that has been missing since the end of Gears of War 3.

With Xbox reportedly looking to create a complete remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, we may see more classic Xbox series return to their roots. After the brilliant showing of Perfect Dark and the gameplay-less reboot of Fable, Xbox may have finally pulled its thumb out of its behind and created some absolutely banging games.