It’s been a long time coming, but the promise of a mad world returning has finally come true at the Xbox Games Showcase. The Coalition was on hand to officially announce the next game in the franchise, titled Gears of War: E-Day.
Rather than looking forward to the future, it’s all about going to the past with this game. With that iconic Mad World cover by Gary Jules playing, we get to see two Gears soldiers having it out with the Locust, and they do look quite familiar. It isn’t hard to guess that these are the younger versions of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, and fans all know what E-Day stands for—the coming of the Locusts.
Having made several detours in the past couple of years with Gears Tactics and even helping out on Halo Infinite, it is definitely nice to see The Coalition go back to doing what they know best in Gears of War: E-Day. Will this kickstart another era of third-person shooter dominance for the Xbox brand? Nobody knows, but at least there is going to be a conversation.
The series has been a big part of the Xbox brand in the past decades, and five long years is too long for the franchise to lie dormant, even considering the many changes behind the scenes. While Gears of War 4 paled in comparison to the much more refined Gears 5, potentially charting the future for the franchise, this return to the roots will require some effort from the developers to convince the players that it is well worth the wait.
“We realized that a lot of the words we use to describe the franchise were what our fans also use, phrases like brotherhood, brutality, pathos, awe,” explained creative director Matt Searcy to Xbox Wire. “Why E-Day? That’s the moment it all comes together. It’s the heart of the Gears universe. Everything that happens is shaped by this day.”
“It’s going to feel like a new Gears game, because that’s what it is. It’s us revisiting the tone and the feeling of what makes Gears great, but we’re tapping into new techniques, new processes, and new technology that’s going to make the gameplay feel better than ever. It’s going to be awesome, a game that feels both truly new, and authentically Gears.”
That all sounds great, and at least now we know Gears of War: E-Day is a real game. However, as the studio continues to work on it, more waiting is required, and hopefully, we will find out more soon.
