Gears of War: E-Day sits at 88 on Metacritic. Most critics giving it that score are calling it a masterpiece — the best Xbox exclusive in years, a 10-out-of-10 prequel that finally gives fans the Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago origin story they have waited decades for. One major outlet, PC Gamer, is not having it. Their early verdict: great shooting trapped inside a horribly overstretched campaign that never dares to build on its opening ideas. Technically, everyone is reviewing the same game. The gap between those two positions is enormous.
Kalona on the Brink
Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War trilogy, developed by The Coalition. The game takes place in the city of Kalona on planet Sera, caught at the moment a fragile post-war peace collapses as the Locust horde bursts through the surface on Emergence Day. The story follows Beta Squad — veterans Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago alongside new characters Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes — across three days and nights of chaos and survival.
It is the story Gears fans have been asking for since the original 2006 game. Marcus and Dom’s pre-trilogy backstory was always referenced but never shown. E-Day finally shows it, in a campaign built on Unreal Engine 5 that multiple reviewers have called the best-looking video game currently available.
“Witnessing the COG at the height of their military power — the scale and destruction you’ve never seen before, and despite all that military might, the story is surprisingly intimate.” — Playday
Why Most Critics Love It
The overwhelming consensus among launch reviewers is that E-Day delivers. PureXbox gave it 10/10 and called The Coalition “a studio that irrefutably gets what makes these games so special.” Playday awarded another 10/10, describing it as “as thoroughly compelling a package as I have played this generation.” Multiple outlets praised the combat system, the cover-based gunplay, the new enemy types that make holding position harder than ever, and the Unreal Engine 5 visuals.
The Horde Siege mode — up to 30-minute runs with mixed objectives, new characters, and progression — was widely praised in outlets that managed to review it. Versus multiplayer was locked out of the review period entirely; that score will factor into Metacritic later.
PC Gamer’s Dissenting Verdict
PC Gamer’s review-in-progress takes a decidedly different position. The writer describes a campaign that is “waaaay too long” at 20-plus hours, one-note in its objectives — essentially “shoot those locusts” repeated until the credits roll — and notably absent of the tonal variety that the best Gears games achieved. The cover-based combat itself gets praise: “great shooting,” the reviewer concedes, “trapped in a horribly overstretched campaign.”
The prequel-story angle lands particularly hard: “a story that clearly didn’t long to be told.” The review remains in progress, covering only the campaign; PC Gamer plans to update once multiplayer opens for testing. Whether the final score shifts upward once versus mode factors in remains to be seen.
When You Can Play It
Gears of War: E-Day officially launches 6 October 2026 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, including Steam. It is available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from launch day — one of the biggest Game Pass additions of the year. Premium Edition owners (, or a upgrade for Game Pass subscribers) received early access from 1 October. Those editions also include five Seasonal Customisation Packs, with the first, the Emergence Pack, available immediately.
The Metacritic 88 is a campaign-only figure. Versus multiplayer was entirely locked during the review period, which is unusual for a major title. The Coalition did not make the competitive mode available to press before launch — meaning a substantial part of the game remains unscored at release. Given how polarising the campaign appears to some reviewers, the multiplayer review phase could push the aggregate in either direction.
The divergent reviews do not change the fundamental picture: the most anticipated Xbox game of autumn 2026 is landing on Game Pass on day one. Whether the 20-hour campaign feels like a masterpiece or a slog is a question you can now answer for yourself.
