Gears of War: E-Day releases on October 6 and marks the earliest point in the series' storyline.Over twenty years, prequels, spin-offs, and remasters have piled up around Marcus Fenix, so it's easy to get confused about the order of the games.We put everything on the shelves: first, two ways to complete the series, then each part according to the plot.
Two ways to complete the series
Upon release, the series looks like this: Gears of War (2006), Gears of War 2 (2008), Gears of War 3 (2011), Judgment (2013), Ultimate Edition remaster (2015), Gears of War 4 (2016), Gears 5 (2019), Gears Tactics (2020), Gears of War: Reloaded remaster(2025) and E-Day (2026).
According to the plot, the order is different: E-Day, Judgment, Gears Tactics, Gears of War, the second and third parts, then Gears of War 4 and Gears 5. Time in the series is counted as years before and after Breakthrough Day, Emergence Day.
E-Day: the beginning of the war
The prequel shows the day it all began.After 79 years of Pendulum Wars between the human factions COG and UIR, the parties reached a truce, and six weeks later the Locust Horde emerged from the ground.In 26 hours, she destroyed a quarter of the population of the planet Sera.The game will tell about these events through the eyes of young Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, 14 years before the first part.
It will be released on October 6 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and will appear on Game Pass on the day of release.We have collected details about PC requirements in a separate news.
Judgment: the early months of the war
The 2013 spin-off for Xbox 360 follows Baird and Cole, two of Marcus' future companions, during the early months of the war.The story is presented in the form of memories of the Kilo detachment at a military tribunal.The game was made by People Can Fly together with Epic Games.
Gears Tactics: strategy about Kate's father
Turn-based tactics in the spirit of XCOM was released in 2020 on PC and Xbox.The action takes place approximately a year after Breakthrough Day.Sergeant Gabriel Diaz, father of Gears 5 heroine Kate Diaz, and Major Sid Redburn hunt scientist Ukkon, who has found a way to give the Locust the ability to regenerate.The genre here is different, but publications call this story an important part of the canon.
Gears of War: the first game in the series
The 2006 original for Xbox 360, and in 2007 for PC, begins 14 years after Breakthrough Day.Marcus Fenix spent about four years in prison, but the COG army needs every fighter: people are preparing a last attempt to destroy the Horde with the Lightmass bomb.Together with Dom, Marcus leads Delta Squad, which includes Augustus Cole and Damon Baird.
Today, the easiest way to complete it is in the remaster of Gears of War: Reloaded, which was released on August 26, 2025 on Xbox Series X|S, PC (on Steam) and PS5.This is the first game for the series on PlayStation consoles.The remaster runs in 4K, shows 60 frames per second in the campaign and up to 120 in multiplayer.
Gears of War 2: Siege of Jacinto
Six months after Operation Lightmass, Delta Force and a large COG army try to stop the Locust from flooding the city of Jacinto.The 2008 game for Xbox 360 shows the origin of the enemies and introduces the Lambent: creatures infected with Imulsion that push the Locust out of the dungeons and onto the surface.
Gears of War 3: the finale of the trilogy
Three years after the sinking of Jacinto, survivors live on Vectes Island.Former COG Chairman Prescott returns with news of a weapon that could destroy both Lambent and the Locust.It is being secretly developed together with Adam Phoenix, Marcus's father.The game was released on September 20, 2011 on Xbox 360 and closed the story of the first trilogy.
Gears of War 4: a new generation of heroes
The story jumps forward 25 years.Main characters: JD Phoenix, son of Marcus, Keith Diaz and Del Walker.This is the first numbered part made by The Coalition studio.The game was released on October 11, 2016 on Xbox One and PC.It gradually becomes clear that instead of the previous enemies, a Swarm has appeared: the Locust, changed after applying a countermeasure against the Imulsion.
Gears 5: Kate's Story
The direct continuation of the fourth part was released on September 10, 2019 on Xbox One and PC, and in 2020 received a version for Xbox Series X|S.The game takes place several months after the events of Gears of War 4, but now everything is shown through the eyes of Kate, who must understand her own connection with the Locust.The finale of the campaign takes place in the city of New Ephyra, and the Hivebusters expansion adds some more story after that.
Main games and spin-offs
Marcus and Kate's main arc requires neither Judgment nor Gears Tactics: both stories stand on their own.Reviewers advise newcomers to play through the series in release order because the story order reveals the Locust mysteries ahead of time.
Our opinion: to prepare for E-Day, Gears of War: Reloaded and a brief recap of the second and third parts are enough, and Judgment and Tactics can be left for later.If you want to start with a prequel, E-Day works as an early plot point, but some of the surprises of the series will then lose their force.
We have collected five more main releases of the month in the selection of October games.
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