In the 2024 Xbox Showcase, The Coalition unveiled the next entry in theGears of Warfranchise:Gears of War: E-Day. It was confirmed thatE-Dayis not a spinoff likeGears of War: JudgmentorGears Tacticsbut rather the next mainline entry in theGears of Warseries. As its title suggests,E-Dayis a prequel set 14 years before the firstGears of Warand will focus on Emergence Day, the beginning of the Locust War on Sera. Despite fans' excitement with a return to the classic duo of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago,Gears of War: E-Daycontinues to leave the present-day story fromGears 5high and dry.
The Fallout of Gears of War 4 and Gears 5
In 2016, The Coalition continued theGears of Warstoryline withGears of War 4set 25 years after the end ofGears of War 3and the end of the Locust War and Lambent Pandemic. The new conflict appeared to be an underdog story of people striving to become free from the tyrannical Coalition of Ordered Governments and their army of DeeBees following the war. However, it quickly turned into a renewed war against the Locust.
Instead of completely dying at the end ofGears of War 3, the Locust went into a chrysalis form and turned into a new, evolved form called the Swarm that began kidnapping and mutating humans into their ranks.
This war continued inGears 5and focused on the new, young trio of JD Fenix, Del Walker, and Kait Diaz. While Fenix was the protagonist ofGears of War 4,Gears 5focused primarily on Diaz asGears of War 4revealed that she was the granddaughter of the Locust Queen Myrrah. Diaz learns more about her family’s past andconnections with the Locust origins inGears 5as the remaining humans and COG military struggle to survive against the Swarm.
The Cliffhanger of Gears 5
Gears 5ends with the majority of Hammer of Dawn beacons being destroyed and the resurrected, Queen Myrrah-possessed body of Diaz’s mother Reyna Diaz confronting Kait Diaz. JD and Del attempt to save Diaz but are choked by her mother. The player is left with a choice to either save JD or Del, with Reyna killing the other.
This choice causes slight changes tothe end ofGears 5, with most characters mourning both deaths, but Marcus suffers more from his son JD’s death than Del’s. The game ends with COG survivors defeating the Kraken and vying to kill Reyna and the Swarm before they can cause any more harm.
While the Locust’s origins were hinted at inGears of War 2, they were fully revealed to be COG Imulsion and Rustlung experiments inGears 5.
The Future of Gears 6 May Rest with Gears of War: E-Day
While fans may have to wait longer to learn what the canonical ending ofGears 5is and see the Swarm conflict possibly end inGears 6,E-Daymay introduce some plotlines that could tie into it. WithE-Dayset at the beginning of the Locust War, The Coalition may focus more on the origins of the Locust and the long-term machinations of Queen Myrrah. This may be told through collectibles’ descriptions or direct campaign storylines.
E-Daymay show the early life of Reyna Diaz and how she and her father, Doctor Torres, reacted to Locust society and their war on humanity. Reyna is expected to be around 30 years old by Emergence Day and one year later, her father would be killed by Ukkon, the lead scientist of the Locust Horde. Reyna was later rescued by her future husband,Gabriel Diaz, as seen inGears Tactics. Doctor Torres may have left a device or a method to truly destroy the Locust and the Swarm during his travels with Reyna; likewise, Marcus and Dom may stumble upon this inE-Dayand have it be a future MacGuffin inGears 6.
Gears of War: E-Day Can’t Abandon Gears 5’s Cliffhanger
An officialGears 6is likely many years away, leaving fans of the young trio frustrated that their story will remain incomplete nearly five years later and beyond. In any case,Gears of War: E-Daywill hopefully lay the groundwork for events in both the originalGears of Wartrilogy as well asGears of War 6.
Gears of War: E-Day
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The Story of E-DayFourteen years before Gears of War, war heroes Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago return home to face a new nightmare: the Locust Horde. These subterranean monsters, grotesque and relentless, erupt from below, laying siege on humanity itself. New FoundationsBuilt from the ground up with Unreal Engine 5, Gears of War: E-Day delivers unprecedented graphical fidelity.
