We recently spoke with the team behind Gears of War: E-Day following their announcements at the Xbox Games Showcase.
Listening to them discuss the new trailers and explain how the game was made, it was obvious the team put a lot of heart and dedication into crafting this prequel to the original Gears of War.
Okay, so E-Day is basically Emergence Day – a seriously messed up event in the Gears universe. It happened before the first Gears game and was a total disaster in the city of Kalona. Imagine a huge Locust invasion, tons of lives lost… it was a dark time, and it’s a big part of why things are the way they are when the games start. It really set the stage for everything that happens later.
Exploring the game’s backstory required the developers to consider existing material, as several novels had already presented different versions of events from this period in the franchise’s history.
It became apparent during our discussion that the developers aimed to pay tribute to the original books, even directly incorporating lines, scenes, and characters into the game.
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We were curious about what led them to approach the story this way, particularly since it would have been simpler to disregard the source material and create their own version.
Nicole Fawcette, the studio brand director at The Coalition, bluntly stated that changing established story details—or “retconning”—is a bad practice.
She explained that the team wanted to show appreciation for both the authors and the readers who have dedicated their time and money to the books.
She strongly emphasized that they’re maintaining the established story because they respect the fans who have invested time in learning it, and they won’t alter it without a compelling reason.
A key challenge for the developers was including the iconic Chainsaw Lancer in the game. It’s a signature weapon of the Gears series, but according to established lore, it wasn’t actually invented until a year after the game’s setting. They had to find a creative solution to make it work.
To solve the problem, the game’s creators had the characters build a makeshift, early version of the Chainsaw Lancer. It wasn’t the polished, final weapon – that hadn’t been developed yet – but a functional model that would let players continue using their favorite weapon.
The adaptation retained several details from the source material, such as a scene in a grocery store where a character named Retrolancer experiences their first setback. Some of the dialogue from this scene was taken directly from the original book.
The game’s story is also influenced by the books, particularly the impending death of Carlos Santiago during the Pendulum Wars, which hangs over the characters Markus and Dom from the beginning.
During the meeting, author Karen Traviss received praise, especially for the backstory details in her book, Aspho Fields. Developers also consulted with her during the game’s production.
If you enjoy the Gears novels, you can rest assured that the game developers deeply respect the source material. They’re striving to create a game that appeals to all players while faithfully recreating the terrifying events of E-Day.
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Gears of War: E-Day will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC on October 6, 2026. Players can try out a multiplayer beta starting August 6th.
Authors
Rob Leane leads gaming coverage at TopMob, managing news and features for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile, and VR games. He creates content for TopMob’s website, social media, and video platforms, and also writes the weekly gaming newsletter. Before joining TopMob, Rob worked with Den of Geek, Stealth Optional, and Dennis Publishing.
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2026-06-10 19:40