During the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, we learned that Gears of War: E-Day is slated to launch in 2026.
First revealed back during last year's showcase, Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the original Gears of War trilogy, telling the story of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago during the titular event that devastated humanity as the Locust Horde emerged from underground.
While we didn't actually see new gameplay, or a CGI trailer, or anyone from The Coalition, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer made a comment toward the end of the showcase that spells out when players can expect to play E-Day.
"I'm excited to share that players will get to celebrate 25 years of Xbox with a new Fable, the Next Forza, Gears of War E-Day, and the return of a classic that's been with us since the beginning," Spencer says.
As the original Xbox first launched back in 2001, a 25-year celebration being marked by those new games clearly points to a 2026 launch window.
Intriguingly, Spencer's statement also implies Forza Horizon 6 will finally be out the next year. While Playground Games used to launch a new Forza Horizon game every other year, the release cadence has dramatically slowed down since 2021's Forza Horizon 5.
Even though Emergence Day is coming next year, players eager for more Gears of War won't be waiting quite that long. Gears of War: Reloaded is launching on Aug. 26, 2025, bringing a remastered version of the original game to players on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and for the first time ever, PlayStation 5.
Gears of War: E-Day is presumably coming to Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam and Xbox PC), and Xbox Cloud Gaming. As an Xbox first-party title, it'll also be available day one in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
