A new report claims to reveal the development budget for the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, with the franchise’s triumphant return costing several hundred million dollars. Gears of War: E-Day will be the first new main-series Gears of War game in seven years.
The highly anticipated new entry in the Gears of War franchise will mark many departures from past games. E-Day will bring players back 14 years before the story of the original Gears of War, following protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago after the end of the Pendulum Wars. As the title of the game suggests, Gears of War: E-Day will heavily center on the Emergence Day event that saw the Locust Horde launch its first attack on humanity. A recent report from a prominent gaming insider is now sharing the budget that The Coalition and People Can Fly had to work with on E-Day.
Gears of War: E-Day Commits a Cardinal Sin That Can Never Be Forgiven
The newest footage of Gears of War: E-Day’s gameplay looks great, but there is one major change that is impossible to ignore.
Gears of War: E-Day Has a Massive Development Budget
- Development budget for Gears of War: E-Day: upwards of $400 million
A recent statement from Tom Henderson on the Insider Gaming podcast reveals the massive budget for Gears of War: E-Day. According to Henderson, Gears of War: E-Day boasts a development budget upwards of $400 million, which he claims is “insane” for a Gears of War game. Henderson was hesitant throughout the podcast about whether Gears of War: E-Day would be able to earn enough to make up its budget, claiming that it “wasn’t going to make any money” and that many gamers would not buy an Xbox just for Gears of War. Gears of War: E-Day is currently scheduled to be released on October 26.
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The podcast also saw Henderson comment on the recent decision from Xbox to cancel the planned PS5 release for Gears of War: E-Day. The game was heavily rumored to be launching simultaneously on PlayStation 5 alongside its Xbox debut, with PEGI ratings even listing a PS5 version for the shooter. Henderson referred to E-Day skipping the PS5 at launch as a “cheap win” for Xbox, asserting that his doubts about the game’s success remained even when it was rumored to be coming to PS5.
Microsoft’s decision to reverse course on bringing Gears of War: E-Day to PS5 comes as Xbox has recently shifted its position with several of its games. Recent years have seen several of Microsoft’s biggest first-party franchises releasing on PS5, including Fable, Gears of War Reloaded, and even a remaster of the original Halo coming to the console. Forza Horizon 6 was confirmed to be coming to the PS5 before the end of 2026, fresh off its massively successful launch on Xbox Series X/S and PC. The change could also affect future releases from Microsoft’s first-party franchises, potentially remaining as Xbox exclusives.
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Gears of War: E-Day is just one of several major new releases set to come to Xbox consoles throughout the rest of the year. The previously mentioned Halo: Campaign Evolved showed new missions now and is set to launch on July 28, revamping the game that birthed one of Xbox’s biggest first-party franchises. Xbox will also be one of the platforms to welcome one of the biggest gaming releases of recent years, with the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 planned to finally launch on November 19. Xbox looks to have a big second half of 2026 ahead, and Gears of War: E-Day will likely serve as one of the biggest highlights.