Gears of War: E-Day Trailer Wasn’t Rendered in Real Time

As rumored ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft ended its big June event with Gears of War: E-Day, the next game from The Coalition.

The debut trailer looked fantastic, but since it aired on the show fans have debated whether it was rendered in real time or not. A spokesperson from The Coalition has now clarified to Gamespot that the footage was indeed not in real time.

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The Gears of War: E-Day trailer was made in collaboration across The Coalition, Blur Studios and GNet developed using in-game models, textures and environments--all captured in Unreal Engine 5. It was not captured in real time as some have suggested.

Having said that, The Coalition (the first AAA studio to transition to Unreal Engine 5) clarified it has big ambitions for the game's visuals, including ray tracing support for lighting, reflections, and shadows. Studio Technical Director Kate Rayner said to Xbox Wire:

With the advancements in Unreal Engine 5, the leap in technical capabilities is tremendous. Our ambition is to, once again, set a new standard in technical excellence. We have fully modernized Gears from the ground up, infusing the DNA of Gears with the full capabilities of modern gaming technology. Every character, environment, and animation in Gears of War: E-Day has been completely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, allowing us to portray the Gears universe with unprecedented detail and fidelity. The original ‘Mad World’ trailer made a real statement by using in-engine footage. We’re pushing that even further with Unreal Engine 5. Our goal with the announcement trailer was to highlight our commitment to pushing the boundaries of both storytelling and technology in gaming.

The Coalition is confident in the prequel not just because of the visuals, either, promising it will be the best game in the franchise yet. According to rumors, it might launch next year on PC and Xbox Series S|X.