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Gears of War: E-Day Hits an 87 on Metacritic, but Its Exclusive Launch Is Raising Money Questions
E-Day is the best-reviewed Gears game in years, yet estimates of its first-week sales and the cost of keeping it off PS5 tell a more complicated story.
The best Gears score in over a decade
Gears of War: E-Day has the highest Metacritic score of any entry in the franchise since the original Xbox 360 trilogy, which is good news for Xbox players who wanted a return to form. [1] It holds an 87 Metascore, rated higher than the last two games in the series. [2]
The game is out as an Xbox console exclusive, kept off PlayStation on purpose. [2] Xbox CEO Asha Sharma declared that E-Day would be a console exclusive to Series X and S. [2]
What the sales estimates say
Alinea Analytics estimated E-Day sold 230,000 copies in its first week and generated $37 million in revenue. [1] A large part of that revenue came from Game Pass subscribers paying $30 for the Premium Edition Upgrade to unlock early access. [1]
Microsoft has not released official performance metrics for E-Day, and has stayed quiet on how many people have played it. [1] E-Day is estimated to have sold fewer than 100,000 copies on Steam so far, and it is also available through Game Pass on PC. [1]
The cost side looks heavy. E-Day took six to seven years to make and reportedly cost hundreds of millions of dollars in development. [2] According to the source, it was unlikely to recoup its costs no matter which platforms it came to. [1]
The PS5 money left on the table
Gears of War: Reloaded had already launched on PS5, and Alinea Analytics estimated it sold 684,000 copies there. [1] Asha Sharma then decided against releasing the latest Gears entry on PS5. [3]
Selling 684,000 copies of E-Day on PS5 would have translated to roughly $33 million in additional revenue after Sony's standard platform fees. [1] Reloaded cost $40 while E-Day costs $70, so the comparison is between games at different prices. [1]
How it compares with Gears 5
Gears 5 brought in over 3 million players at launch. [1] Microsoft's press release said it was the most-played Xbox Game Studios title in its first week since 2012's Halo 4. [1]
No comparable player figure exists for E-Day, since Microsoft has not shared one. [1]
The wider Xbox picture
Game Pass growth was previously close to flat, and it lost millions of subscribers when Microsoft raised its price by 50%. [2] Call of Duty was taken out of day one on Game Pass. [2]
Ex-PlayStation executive Shawn Layden called Xbox's situation the company's 'Dreamcast moment' and said Xbox has not been competitive with PlayStation for years. [1] Forza Horizon 6's PS5 release, originally due in 2026, has been delayed until January 2027. [1] Next year's Fable had already been publicly promised as a day-one release on PS5, which is too late to change. [2]
Studio Art Director Aryan Hanbeck said the team was proud to be called out as an exclusive, which he saw as validation of its work. [3]
What it means for you
If you own an Xbox Series X or S, E-Day is the way to play the highest-rated Gears game in years. [2][1] If you play on PC, it is on Game Pass, and it has sold an estimated fewer than 100,000 copies on Steam so far. [1]
If you play on PlayStation, Microsoft has not made any comments suggesting E-Day will appear on other platforms. [3] Official performance numbers from Microsoft are the thing to look for, since it has not released any. [1]
Sources
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