The Coalition rebuilt Gears of War: E-Day in Unreal Engine 5

The Coalition rebuilt Gears of War: E-Day from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, creating new characters, enemies, weapons, animations and systems. The game is set in the fictional city of Kalona and will launch on Oct. 6 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, cloud and Steam; it is available day one on Game Pass Ultimate. An open beta begins Aug. 6, with pre-orders granting early access and cosmetic bonuses.

The studio began development without reusing assets or legacy code. Technical director Kate Rayner described starting from “an empty hard drive” and rebuilding characters, sound, animation and the world specifically for this title. Creative director Matt Searcy framed the project as translating the announce trailer into a playable experience, aiming for what he called “the gameplay version of that trailer.” Art director Aryan Hanbeck highlighted a UE5 lighting tool, MegaLights, as a factor in achieving higher contrast and deeper shadows for a darker atmosphere.

E-Day confines its narrative to Kalona across a tight three-day timeline. The story follows Bravo Squad-Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, joined by new playable characters Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes-and does not cut away to other locations. Voice cast for Marcus and Dom returns with John DiMaggio and Carlos Ferro. Writer Karen Traviss consulted on the project, providing backstory material used without contradicting existing franchise elements.

Gameplay keeps Gears’ cover-based combat while expanding movement and encounter options. Players can slide from sprint, vault and for the first time perform jumps that enable vertical flanking across rooftops and broken buildings. Cover transitions are smoother and cover comes in a wider range of shapes and heights. Environmental hazards include e-holes, which let Locust erupt through the ground, sinkholes that can pull down vehicles and buildings, and micro-destruction that degrades cover during fights.

Weapons have been rebuilt or introduced for the origin period. The Gut Puncher is a grenade launcher with player-controlled detonation, the Incinerator is an Imulsion-fueled shotgun, and the Chainsaw Lancer is presented with an in-world origin devised during the invasion sequence. Enemy progression starts with feral wretches and scales to organized Locust forces with commanders.

Multiplayer modes have been reworked. Horde Siege is a 12-player PvE mode in which three squads defend Kalona across large maps, facing shared objectives and world bosses. Versus returns with refined 4v4 maps and updated traversal. The campaign supports up to four-player online co-op and two-player split-screen on console.

The game marks the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Studio leadership said the development pause before E-Day allowed the team to rebuild core systems and visual elements rather than porting older assets. Technical sessions on the engine work, including MegaLights, are scheduled for upcoming developer events.