Gears of War: E-Day Will Return to First Game’s Horror Roots

With The Coalition having recently announced the newest game in the Gears of War franchise, Gears of War: E-Day, brand director Nicole Fawcette and creative director Matt Searcy have spoken further about the game, and how it will offer a return to some of the more horror-styled elements of the original Gears of War.

Since Gears of War: E-Day is prequel to the original game rather than a direct sequel to Gears 5, with the game taking place fourteen years before Emergence Day, Searcy calls the game a “what-if story” of sorts.

“For us, it’s like a what-if story,” said Searcy in an interview with IGN. “What if the ground opened up and monsters came out? Yeah, it’s set on a fictional, other planet, but there are very human reactions and stories we get to tell. To do that, we need to be able to tell a story that feels like a horror story.”

The development wants to go with more of a horror route for Gears of War: E-Day while still keeping the franchise’s sci-fi roots intact. For players that might not have had the chance to play the original Gears of War, the game had plenty of horror-styled moments that focused more on showcasing the horror of the Locust Horde’s invasion.

“We looked back at what people felt like when they played Gears of War or any of the Gears – Gears 4 included,” said Sceary. “But when people tell you what they remember playing, the things that stood out to them, the feelings, a lot of it is about these, kind of dark, almost horror-esque, scary moments.”

“So we basically took that feeling, that vision that’s in everybody’s head, and we’re like, ‘That’s the game we’re going to build.’ We’re going to build that game with all the skills we’ve learned, with all the technology we’ve built, and sort of go hard at that,” he continued. “So definitely part of the story is about reintroducing the locust to Gears as scary monsters from the ground come up. And then you realize as it goes on, this is not just monsters, there’s an army here and it’s bigger than anybody thinks it is.”

Sceary and Fawcette went on to talk about how the studio can make use of current technology through Unreal Engine 5 to make its visions of Gears of War‘s scary moments come alive, thanks to a higher level of fidelity.

“Through Unreal Engine 5, we now can show the locust at that visual fidelity that is believable as scary creatures from the subterranean,” said Fawcette. “And so, like you saw in the trailer, we’re really kind of leaning into those horror vibes as fans remember it and as time has moved on. What was scary in 2006 is very different than 2024. There’s sort of that just doubling down on how people remember how they feel about it.”

Unveiled over the weekend, Gears of War: E-Day will put players in the shoes of classic series protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. The game will pit players against the Locust Horde.

Gears of War: E-Day doesn’t yet have a release date. It is coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S.