Gears of War has been on a strange journey over the past seven years. 2019 saw the release of Gears Pop, a Clash Royale-inspired mobile game featuring Funko Pop Gears of War characters and the mainline canon entry, Gears 5 (dropping the “of War” – it’s cleaner). In 2020, spin-off Gears Tactics was released to positive reception, and it seemed the series was on track for consistent new games and worthwhile spin-offs. In fact, Gears 5 felt like the continuation of a new trilogy for the series. Marcus Fenix was still hanging around, but he was more of a supportive teacher than a frontline fighter. Gears 5 ended with the promise that the Human/Locust antagonist, Reyna, would return. But that was seven years ago, and she’s nowhere to be seen.
Last year, Gears of War: Reloaded brought the original game outside of the Xbox ecosystem to PlayStation 5. At the time, it felt like a continuation of Xbox’s efforts to spread its games across all platforms, but that has changed as Xbox leadership shifted its plans in destructive and unpredictable directions. Alongside the chaos of laying off thousands of Xbox employees, Gears of War: E-Day seemed like it was going to be a multiplatform game, until Microsoft insisted it wasn’t, despite since-removed assets appearing online showcasing PlayStation logos. It is now a proper Xbox (and PC) exclusive – potentially a starting line for more to come.
But beyond the industry aspects of the game and looking towards the fiction, Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the first game. “Of War” has returned to the title, as have Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. The two are trying to return to civilian life after the Pendulum Wars, when the Locusts emerge from underground and devastate humanity, forcing Marcus and Dom back into combat. The E-Day subtitle is a reference to Emergence Day, the infamous and destructive day the Locusts first appeared, and for longtime Gears fans, actually seeing the event is exciting, but that’s not what I had the chance to play.
Over the course of a few days, I spent time with E-Day’s online multiplayer modes playing rounds of the traditional eight-player multiplayer, as well as the new Horde mode. Returning to Gears’ Versus multiplayer is a shockingly nostalgic experience recalling the late 2000s era of Xbox Live. E-Day does not innovate in any radical way on the multiplayer I remember from those days, but I admit I would probably be frustrated if it stepped too far out of its comfort zone.
Taking cover and moving around, however, feels faster and more fluid than I recall. Sliding into and under cover feels good, and you can climb up and over higher ledges to get out of the way of fire faster. And I am happy to report that the chunky, dirty vibe of Gears where your enemies explode into absurd chunks of meat remains intact (even if your opponents don’t).
If Versus is the throwback mode, Horde is where I felt and appreciated more depth. Classes are not new to Gears of War, but choosing and focusing on the Assault, Breacher, Marksman, and Medic options gave me some sense of ownership over my character’s trajectory in the rounds I played. During my time, I focused on the Medic class, which at its starting line allows you to throw out an item that will restore health to those in proximity with a cooldown. There are also many unlockable, equipable mods to both support your individual character and your larger squad.
Playing a new multiplayer shooter in 2026 that isn’t heavily inspired by Overwatch or Fortnite is almost odd (especially odd when you recall that Epic originally created Gears of War) but I admit it is somewhat refreshing. Plenty of games have figured out fun ways to innovate in the shadow of those juggernaut competitive multiplayer games, but my time felt both familiar and unique in 2026. I don’t know if it’s time to proclaim that Gears is back (I haven’t touched the single player yet), but I bet its multiplayer will stand out against the competition by sticking to its chainsaw guns.
