Gears of War: E-Day Is an Origin Story, Built in Unreal Engine 5

For those anxiously waiting to see Gears of War 6, there’s some bad news. The Coalition has revealed a new Gears of War game, but it’s Gears of War: E-Day, an origin story of the Locust invasion on Emergence Day through the eyes of Marcus Fenix. This means we’ll be following younger versions of the Gears of Wars’ series original heroes, Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. According to Creative Director Matt Searcy and Brand Director Nicole Fawcette, Gears of War: E-Day will continue to be a third-person action game, focusing on charging between cover in life-or-death situations, a gameplay style the series is known for. However, the team is working on recreating and improving that experience, aiming to deliver a classic Gears of War game that feels authentic next to the original but with next-gen tech behind it.

Gears of War: E-Day is set 14 years prior to the events of the original Gears of War. The story will focus on the Locust and how the world wasn’t prepared for such a threat, told through the eyes of a much younger Marcus and Dom. This means Gears of War: E-Day will also serve as an origin story for Marcus and Dom, showing how their friendship and bond form to lead the franchise. The game is being built in Unreal Engine 5, and the trailer we see below is actually in-engine.

The team also wanted to stress that it is content with the stories told in Gears 4 and Gears 5 and has no plans to abandon them. But collectively, they wanted to tell an iconic origin story, which is why E-Day is the next mainline entry for the franchise—it’s not a spinoff. No release date or window were announced.

Gears of War: E-Day Official Announce Trailer