Just before players get their hands on it, The Coalition has shared what happens with Gears of War: E-Day after release. The studio has two full seasons planned, a batch of limited-time events, a ranked mode arriving a week after launch, and an achievement so demanding it makes the series’ infamous Seriously look tame.
The game itself takes you back to the very start of the conflict, to Emergence Day, when the Locust Horde first burst out of nowhere and launched a long war against the COG. The story spans three days and serves as a kind of origin tale for Bravo Squad’s Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. If you want the technical details before you dive in, we covered them when E-Day went gold.
Season 1: Emergence
Season 1 is called Emergence and kicks off alongside the Early Access period that starts on October 1. It runs for a full eight weeks and wraps up on December 1. The Coalition has planned three limited-time events for it, including Halloween-themed activities and one called “Thanksgibbing”. More details are promised as each event gets closer.
Dates worth marking down:
- October 6 – the game officially launches and Weekly Challenges begin, refreshing every week.
- October 13 – Versus Ranked goes live.
- Gears of War: Reloaded rewards – if you earned the Prison Breakout and Re-Up achievements, exclusive rewards unlock for you.
Season 2: Legacy and the 20 Years of Gears event
Season 2 arrives in December under the name Legacy, and The Coalition describes it as a “love letter to the franchise” and its players. The centerpiece looks to be the 20 Years of Gears event, packed with new content inspired by iconic moments from the series.
You don’t have to wait until December for everything, though. On November 7, the actual anniversary date for the franchise, the developer plans to hand out a special gift to all players.
The studio also named the three seasons that follow: Infiltration, Pendulum, and Season 5’s Devotion. No further details were shared about any of them for now.
Mythic Achievements and the Dead Serious grind
Microsoft has confirmed that Gears of War: E-Day will be the first new release to bring Mythic Achievements to the Xbox ecosystem – essentially Xbox’s answer to the PlayStation Platinum trophy. Once you unlock every achievement a game offers, the Mythic achievement pops alongside a “heroic frame” that makes it stand out in your list. Members of the Xbox Insiders program will also notice that Microsoft has retroactively added Mythic Achievements to eligible games going as far back as the Xbox 360, so you may already have a few without realizing it.
In E-Day, that top-level achievement is called Dead Serious, and it’s the successor to the series’ legendary Seriously. To earn it, you need to:
- complete 100% of the campaign on Insane Difficulty,
- rack up 25,000 kills in Versus,
- max out your player level,
- and max out all four classes in Horde.
It’s clearly not a casual weekend project. Anyone who pulls it off gets an exclusive Medal, Player Title, Banner, Emblem, and Icon, plus a Legendary character skin once Season 2 begins.
What it means for you
If you’re jumping in at Early Access on October 1, you start earning Season 1 progress right away, with Weekly Challenges and ranked following within the first two weeks. If you’d rather wait, Season 2 in December looks like the bigger draw thanks to the anniversary content. Either way, you can keep up with everything through our Gears of War coverage, and the full lineup of editions is listed on the official Gears site.
FAQ
The official launch is on October 6, with the Early Access period starting on October 1.
Season 1, called Emergence, runs for eight weeks and ends on December 1. It includes three limited-time events, among them Halloween and “Thanksgibbing” themed activities.
Versus Ranked launches on October 13, a week after the game’s official release.
You have to finish 100% of the campaign on Insane Difficulty, get 25,000 kills in Versus, max out your player level, and max all four classes in Horde. The reward is an exclusive Medal, Player Title, Banner, Emblem, Icon, and a Legendary character skin when Season 2 starts.
Season 1 is Emergence, Season 2 is Legacy, followed by Infiltration, Pendulum, and Season 5’s Devotion. No details have been shared about the last three yet.