--- title: "Gears of War: E-Day Hits an 87 on Metacritic, but Its Exclusive Launch Is Raising Money Questions" description: "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." url: https://gaming.skoop.news/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-5-758568/ published: 2026-10-23T03:38:21.381928-04:00 modified: 2026-10-23T03:38:21.381951-04:00 section: "Gaming & Streamers" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["E-Day", "Game Pass", "Gears of War", "Alinea Analytics", "Studio Art Director Aryan Hanbeck", "Xbox CEO Asha Sharma", "Call of Duty", "Microsoft", "PS5", "PlayStation"] hashtags: ["#GamePass", "#GearsOfWar", "#AlineaAnalytics", "#gaming", "#gamingclips"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Xbox_Game_Pass_availability_by_country.jpg/1280px-Xbox_Game_Pass_availability_by_country.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # 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. Published 2026-10-23 · Updated 2026-10-23 · Gaming & Streamers, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) - Alinea Analytics estimated E-Day sold 230,000 copies in its first week and generated $37 million in revenue. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) - Gears of War: Reloaded had already launched on PS5, and Alinea Analytics estimated it sold 684,000 copies there. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) ## 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) It holds an 87 Metascore, rated higher than the last two games in the series. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) The game is out as an Xbox console exclusive, kept off PlayStation on purpose. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) Xbox CEO Asha Sharma declared that E-Day would be a console exclusive to Series X and S. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) ## 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) A large part of that revenue came from Game Pass subscribers paying $30 for the Premium Edition Upgrade to unlock early access. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) Microsoft has not released official performance metrics for E-Day, and has stayed quiet on how many people have played it. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) 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]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) According to the source, it was unlikely to recoup its costs no matter which platforms it came to. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) ## 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) Asha Sharma then decided against releasing the latest Gears entry on PS5. [[3]](https://mp1st.com/news/gears-of-war-e-day-devs-proud-game-is-an-xbox-exclusive) 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) Reloaded cost $40 while E-Day costs $70, so the comparison is between games at different prices. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) ## How it compares with Gears 5 Gears 5 brought in over 3 million players at launch. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) Microsoft's press release said it was the most-played Xbox Game Studios title in its first week since 2012's Halo 4. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) No comparable player figure exists for E-Day, since Microsoft has not shared one. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) ## 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]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) Call of Duty was taken out of day one on Game Pass. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) Forza Horizon 6's PS5 release, originally due in 2026, has been delayed until January 2027. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) Next year's Fable had already been publicly promised as a day-one release on PS5, which is too late to change. [[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) 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]](https://mp1st.com/news/gears-of-war-e-day-devs-proud-game-is-an-xbox-exclusive) ## 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]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) 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]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) If you play on PlayStation, Microsoft has not made any comments suggesting E-Day will appear on other platforms. [[3]](https://mp1st.com/news/gears-of-war-e-day-devs-proud-game-is-an-xbox-exclusive) Official performance numbers from Microsoft are the thing to look for, since it has not released any. [[1]](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) ## Sources 1. [The Case For Exclusivity When Gears Of War: E-Day Cost Over $500 Million To Make](https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-exclusivity-when-gears-of-war-e-day-cost-over-500-million-to-make-2000747986) — Kotaku 2. [Gears Of War: E-Day’s Performance Could Dictate The Future Of Xbox](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/10/06/gears-of-war-e-days-performance-could-dictate-the-future-of-xbox/) — Yahoo Finance 3. [Gears of War: E-Day Devs “Proud” Game Is an Xbox Exclusive](https://mp1st.com/news/gears-of-war-e-day-devs-proud-game-is-an-xbox-exclusive) — MP1st Image: Photo: map made using Mapchart.net GonzalezRio / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xbox_Game_Pass_availability_by_country.jpg) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/