Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel, not Gears 6

During the June 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, The Coalition announced Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel to the Gears of War series. The game takes place 14 years before the start of the first game, and is built from the ground up with Unreal Engine 5. However, there is no release date, but it will presumably launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

The trailer starts with a protagonist Marcus Fenix as a younger man fighting against a big Locust enemy. When he barely manages to win, he gets pulled up by his friend, Dominic Santiago. The camera then pans out to show a city in ruins. Players are used to a seasoned veteran in Marcus, but E-Day explores a time when he and his comrades were ill-prepared for the Locust threat upon their home planet Sera.

The trailer also brings back the song “Mad World,” the Tears for Fears track covered by Gary Jules that was used for the original Gears of War game that was released in 2006. This time, the track is reimagined for the E-Day trailer, making it darker and grittier.

The Coalition has also confirmed that even though Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel, the studio is not abandoning the stories told in Gears of War 4 and Gears 5. However, The Coalition didn’t want to pass on the chance to tell an origin story, including one regarding Marcus’ famous iconic Chainsaw Lancer weapon. It’s also not a spinoff like Gears of War: Judgment is, but a new entry and mainline title.