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The Coalition's Gears 5 has seen a moderate amount of success. Microsoft revealed that the Xbox Game Studios published title has surpassed 3 million players across all platforms in its first week. This impressive number is undoubtedly bolstered by a huge number of users taking up Microsoft on their very generous Game Pass offers.
Like other first-party titles, Gears 5 was another Xbox One game that was available on Xbox Game Pass the same day as its retail release. It was also made available early for those that purchased the Ultimate Edition and those who are subscribed to the newly launched Game Pass Ultimate. Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to both Xbox One games and PC games through Windows 10.
A specific breakdown of players per platform were not given. However, as the game has a unified player base between Xbox One, Windows 10 Store, and Steam, there is no shortage of players to be found online. However, we do have some insight as to how the numbers play out compared to previous games.
We know that Gears 5 had twice as many players when compared to the first week of Gears of War 4. When compared to other Microsoft titles, Gears 5 had the most players since 2012's release of Halo 4.
Microsoft also confirmed that Gears 5 is the biggest ever launch of an Xbox Game Pass title on the PC. In addition, Gears 5 also had the biggest Steam debut of any Xbox Game Studios title, outselling games like Quantum Break, Ori and the Blind Forest, and even Age of Empires II.
We also know that Gears 5 had a peak player count of almost 9,900 just on Steam. Though this number does seem small (because it is), it needs to be noted that the cheapest version of Gears 5 on Steam was still about $60 (USD). Now compare that to being able to get at least two months of Game Pass Ultimate for $2 (USD). Most people are undoubtedly going to choose to play a new, $60 game for just $2.
