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Gears of War: E-Day is a new installment in the Gears franchise that takes us back to the start of it all. No, it's not a remake or a remaster of the original Gears of War. Instead, Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the franchise, featuring an origin story that depicts the Locust invasion on Emergence Day.
It seems like the developers at The Coalition weren't quite sure how to continue the story after Gears 5 presented two possible endings, so back to the beginning we go. Specifically, we're going back to a period set 14 years before the original game. The story in E-Day will feature a look at Emergence Day through the eyes of a young Marcus Fenix as he battles against the Locust and forms a friendship with an equally young Dom Santiago.
As the game unfolds, we’ll get to see how an ill-prepared world responds to a threat like the Locust. The Coalition are being very intentional to recast the Locust not simply as foes but as living nightmares. These aren’t your typical alien or zombie videogame antagonists; they’re mysterious, formidable creatures that dwell beneath the earth, tapping into our deepest fears. “The design brief was pretty simple,” explains Creative Director Matt Searcy. “Locust are the ‘monsters under the bed.’ What would happen to the people of Sera in seeing this overwhelming army of monsters and trying to figure out…what are you going to do?”
“We transformed the drone into something fearsome, physically intimidating, and utterly brutal,” Studio Art Director Aryan Hanbeck notes, highlighting its enhanced status just behind Marcus and Dom in the announce trailer. “Getting the drone right was crucial; everything else with the Locust we’re scaling up from there.”
E-Day will still feature familiar story themes that fans of the franchise have come to expect. These things include the ideas of "shared burden, belonging, trust and loyalty."
To give some background context leading into the story of E-Day, Marcus and Dom are connected through Dom’s older brother, Carlos, who died on the battlefield with Marcus. The pair were best friends, so Marcus and Dom are in the early stages of forming a kinship over a shared loss and navigating those emotions together.
“We’re telling the origin story of Marcus and Dom and their bond… this is the bond that defines the franchise,” Searcy adds. “They’re not the characters we know from Gears 1 to 3. They don’t have 10 years of fighting the Locust between them. When the game opens, there’s supposed to be peace on Sera, and they’re trying to figure out life without this person they both loved.”
“People are going to see the formation of this brotherhood that is so iconic to Gears.”
Dealing with the new Locust threat becomes the more pressing concern for the two friends over the course of E-Day, but those emotional beats will still course through the story as you play. Fawcette says this is particularly exciting:
“They are a lot more vulnerable, and I think that’s a really modern take on those two characters,” Brand Director Nicole Fawcette explains. “There’s a weight they carry between them, and that creates a really interesting tension as they navigate their own relationship.
“You have this intimate story set amid this wider backdrop of what’s happening on this apocalyptic day. I think, for fans, it’ll be really compelling to dig deep and explore their bond and how it changes over time.”
“We’re telling the origin story of Marcus and Dom and their bond… this is the bond that defines the franchise,” Searcy adds. “They’re not the characters we know from Gears 1 to 3. They don’t have 10 years of fighting the Locust between them. When the game opens, there’s supposed to be peace on Sera, and they’re trying to figure out life without this person they both loved.”
“People are going to see the formation of this brotherhood that is so iconic to Gears.”
Dealing with the new Locust threat becomes the more pressing concern for the two friends over the course of E-Day, but those emotional beats will still course through the story as you play. Fawcette says this is particularly exciting:
“They are a lot more vulnerable, and I think that’s a really modern take on those two characters,” Brand Director Nicole Fawcette explains. “There’s a weight they carry between them, and that creates a really interesting tension as they navigate their own relationship.
“You have this intimate story set amid this wider backdrop of what’s happening on this apocalyptic day. I think, for fans, it’ll be really compelling to dig deep and explore their bond and how it changes over time.”
E-Day does not yet have any sort of release date, so it's probably still a ways away.
