Summary
It’s been a while sinceGears of Warfans had anything to look forward to. After all,the last mainline Gears game was released in 2019, and the last game of any kind wasGears Tactics, as well as support forthe now-discontinued Gears Pop! – a mobile game mashup between Funko Pop! and Gears of War. That all changed on Sunday, when, at the end of the Xbox Games Showcase,the next Gears of War title was revealed.
Officially titledGears of War: E-Day, the latest entry in the shooter franchise is a prequel set years before the events of the first game. E-Day takes place during Emergence Day, aka the event that set the series in motion, when the Locust descended on Sera.
It is arguably the franchise’s most important event, though it’s never been explored outside of conversations and in-game lore. E-Day will change that by allowing players to see the events through the perspective of a young Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago.
It’s certainly a change of pace for the series, but longtime fans of the series were a tad bit confused about its place in the larger franchise. That’s because the last mainline title,Gears 5, ended on a massive cliffhanger that would seemingly lead into Gears 6. Of course, E-Day is not Gears 6, and with no concrete release date for it, then it would appear that Gears 6 might be even further off. ButThe Coalition, the team behind the current titles, hasn’t forgotten about where it left off.
The Coalition Is ‘Not Retreating’ From The Main Storyline
Ina tell-all post on Xbox Wire, creative director Matt Searcy and brand director Nicole Fawcette discussed the decision to go back in time after Gears 5. Per the post, The Coalition is proud of its work on Gears of War 4 and Gears 5 and will not be abandoning the overarching storyline it established.
“We’re super proud about Gears 4 and Gears 5 and the stories that were told,” Fawcette said. “We’re not retreating from that storyline in any way. But in [this] moment, we had an opportunity to write our next step, and this one just felt too good to miss.” That next step being the story of how it all began, which, according to The Coalition, is too pivotal to not tell.
In that vein, E-Day is not a spin-off, likeGears of War: Judgment. Instead, it’s a mainline tale, and per Xbox Wire, “the events of the game not only serve as an exciting origin tale of two beloved characters, but it also adds detail and context to this period that will resonate through stories that will follow.”
Elsewhere, it was revealed that E-Day is not just an origin for Marcus and Dom, but for all of Gears. An example given is the famous Chainsaw Lancer, which coincidentally doesn’t exist during E-Day. That is one of the stories that will be told. “[The Chainsaw Lancer] doesn’t currently exist in that period… but it’s not a Gears game if you’re not chainsawing Locusts," Fawcette explained.
So, while this isn’t directly Gears 6, it seems like The Coalition has good reason to stray from its cliffhanger in Gears 5. Whatever is told in E-Day will seemingly impact all future entries. And, at the very least, there’s confirmation that Gears 6 will be a thing at some point, even if fans have to wait a while.
