Gears of War: E-Day is set 14 years before the events of the original Gears of War and tells the story of the first Locust emergence on Sera. We'll follow younger versions of the series' original heroes, Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, as they begin their fight against the Locust invasion. This event is the catalyst for everything we know and love about Gears of War.

Fans of those mainline Gears of War games can expect to feel at home with how Gears of War: E-Day feels. The Coalition is working to recreate and improve the series' trademark third-person action, charging between cover in life-or death situations, all set within an explosive campaign that combines satisfying gameplay and emotive, character-led storytelling. However, all this is told through a modern lens, and rooted in groundbreaking technology, giving The Coalition room to really build out those elements. It's a careful balance – a classic Gears of War game that feels authentic next to the original, but with truly next-gen tech behind it. 

Bringing the Monsters Back

Gears of War: E-Day is set 14 years before the events of the original Gears of War and tells the story of the first Locust emergence on Sera. As the game unfolds, we'll get to see how an ill-prepared world responds to a threat like the Locust. The Coalition are being very intentional to recast the Locusts not simply as foes but as living nightmares. These aren't your typical alien or zombie videogame antagonists; they're mysterious, formidable creatures that dwell beneath the earth, tapping into our deepest fears. "The design brief was pretty simple," explains Searcy. "Locust are the 'monsters under the bed.' What would happen to the people of Sera in seeing this overwhelming army of monsters and trying to figure out ... what are you going to do?" 

The Gears of War: E-Day Open Beta is your chance to get hands on with Gears of War: E-Day and provide essential feedback to help ensure the best Day One experience possible when the game launches on October 6.

• Early Access runs from August 6th – August 10th 
• Open Beta access is available for all players from August 13th – August 17th

Open Beta Times & Content 

Early Access to the Beta is available to players who have pre-ordered the game across XBOX Series X|S, Steam and/or Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass Members. It begins on August 6 at 12 pm PT and ends on August 10 at 10am PT. 

The second weekend is open to all players on all eligible platforms, regardless of their pre-order status. The second weekend is scheduled to begin on August 13 at 12pm PT and end on August 17 at 10am PT.  

Beta content will be the same each weekend. Players in the Early Access period will be the first to experience the evolution of Gears’ iconic PVE mode – Horde Siege – and our refined 4v4 Versus for competitive play.

Beta content features only a subset of launch content. To see the difference between what’s available in the Beta and what’s available at launch see below. 

Open Beta Exclusive Rewards 

To thank you for playing the Open Beta, we’re giving you rewards! Might seem obvious, but you must play the Beta to obtain these. As you complete challenges, these rewards will unlock for use in the Open Beta and later be in your inventory at launch.  

• Epic Blast Damage Mags Character Skin – Hit Player Level 20 
• Rare Crush the Bug Weapon Skin Set – Extract from Horde Siege 8 Times on Infantry difficulty or higher. 
• Crush the Bug Banner – Get 25 Headshots 
• Crush the Bug Emblem – Perform 10 Revives 
• Crush the Bug Icon – Perform 5 Prototype Lancer Chainsaw Executions 
• Open Beta Medal & First in the Fight Title – Launch the Multiplayer Beta 

Open Beta PC Specs 

Playing on PC? Ensure you’re ready to go with our recommended BETA specs for PCs. Please note: These are not our launch specifications. We will update with final specifications ahead of the launch date. 

How you download the Gears of War: E-Day Multiplayer Beta client depends on where you placed your pre-order: 

• XBOX (Digital): By pre-ordering on XBOX or through the XBOX for PC App, starting today, the Beta client should automatically appear for download under “My Games and Apps” on Xbox or “My Library” in the PC App for you to download. If you don’t see it, try searching for “Gears Beta” in the Store.
• Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass Member: Early Access to the Open Beta is included as a part of your Game Pass Membership. Simply search for “Gears Beta” in Game Pass and download the client.  
• XBOX (Physical & Collector’s Edition): If you pre-ordered a physical version of Gears of War: E-Day, you should have received an email from the retailer you purchased the game from. For the Collector’s Edition, regardless of whether you ordered on XBOX or Steam, a code should have been emailed to you. If you have not received a code, please check your spam folder. Still no code? We suggest you reach out to the XBOX Game Studios Shop Customer Service before reaching out to Gears Community for assistance.
  US Customer Service
  EU Customer Service
  Once you receive a code, redeem at xbox.com/redeem.  
• Steam (Digital): Starting today, the Beta client should be automatically added to your Steam Library as a part of your pre-order.

Please update to GeForce Game Ready Driver 610.74 before launching. The game will not launch on other NVIDIA drivers until updated.

• Stability and Performance is still a work in progress; you may experience performance dips and/or crashes. 
• Accessibility features such as menu narration are still being refined, you may notice issues.  
• World gameplay issues such as problems with cover, visual popping, streaming and out of bounds issues may be visible. 
• Death camera and executions have known bugs and may result in jittering or unexpected camera angles.

Your challenge & Medal progress, rewards, Class progression and Player Level all carry over to the Open Weekend. The Beta Player Title and Beta Medal as well as any Beta Challenge rewards you unlock will be available for use at launch. However, your Class progression, Player Level and other Medal progress will not carry over to launch and will be reset. 

Please remember, the Beta is not a final product. 

• Stability and Performance is still a work in progress, and you can expect crashes and performance dips. 
• Accessibility features, particularly narrator, are still being debugged and refined. 
• World issues such as cover issues, visual popping/streaming issues and out of bounds issues may be visible

A Tale of Origins

E-Day reintroduces us to Marcus, as he engages in a brutal struggle with the aforementioned Locust Drone. However, unlike our previous outings with him, this is the first time that the seasoned horde-sawing soldier we all know has faced off against an enemy like this. You can feel the strain and helplessness as he jousts with this inexplicable monstrosity – before finally fending it off not with his Retro Lancer, but a nearby television set. It's this flavour of raw, personal brutality and desperation that The Coalition seeks to capture in Gears of War: E-Day – Marcus, and the world around him, are not yet equipped for this level of threat.  

As Marcus teeters on the edge in a fierce close-quarters battle with the Locust, he swiftly outsmarts the Drone by planting the Lancer into the wall, disengaging the bayonet and downing his foe with a kill shot. He takes a moment to recuperate, before plummeting through the floorboards to what would presumably be his death at the behest of a giant emergence hole. We've not seen E-Holes since Gears of War: Judgement and watching this cavernous void swallow up an entire building with ease is particularly terrifying. However, in this moment, we see the reveal of a young Dom Santiago reaching out to help him up, and for longtime fans, it's an emotional homecoming like no other.  

The Beginnings of Brotherhood

This story is told from the perspectives of a much younger Marcus and Dom. While the pair are seasoned veterans of the Pendulum Wars (the human conflict taking place before the series begins), this is a wholly new threat for the pair to navigate: "The best Gears games have these super emotional themes around shared burden, belonging, trust and loyalty, and Marcus and Dom have a really interesting relationship going into E-Day," Searcy says. 

To give some background context leading into the story of E-Day, Marcus and Dom are connected through Dom's older brother, Carlos, who died on the battlefield with Marcus. The pair were best friends, so Marcus and Dom are in the early stages of forming a kinship over a shared loss and navigating those emotions together.

Dealing with the new Locust threat becomes the more pressing concern for the two friends over the course of E-Day, but those emotional beats will still course through the story as you play. Fawcette says this is particularly exciting:

From The Ground Up

Key to The Coalition's vision is that, in another nod to the original game, E-Day won't just be a marvel of gameplay and storytelling – but of technology, too. Game development has come a long way since the first Gears of War game and The Coalition, equipped with Unreal Engine 5, is prepared to take full advantage of this evolution to set new standards in technical prowess.

When the original Gears of War launched, its "Mad World" trailer was nothing short of a revelation. Rendered entirely in-engine, it set a new benchmark for what gamers could expect directly from their gameplay experience—a rarity at a time when the chasm between cinematic trailers and actual game graphics was notably wide. Epic Games' use of their own Unreal Engine not only showcased their confidence in the game's visual and performance capabilities but also boldly declared the engine's power.  

The Future of Gears 

Of course, this isn't the end of other ongoing stories in the Gears series – the team is content with the stories told in Gears 4 and Gears 5 and is by no means abandoning them, but the collective passion for such an iconic origin story was simply too great to ignore. The story of E-Day and the origins of Marcus and Dom are such powerful, pivotal events that The Coalition couldn't wait to tell it. 

It's also important to note that E-Day is not a spin-off, it's a completely new entry to the mainline series, set earlier in the timeline. The events of the game not only serve as an exciting origin tale of two beloved characters, but it also adds detail and context to this period that will resonate through stories that will follow. In E-day, the Locust are not foes that our characters are accustomed to fighting. They are mysterious, formidable and overwhelming – an unforeseen horror that Marcus, Dom, and the rest of Sera must learn to deal with before it's too late. Everything that happens in E-Day will shape the future of Gears of War for the better. 

Gears of War: E-Day is coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC on October 6, 2026.