---
title: 'Gears of War: E-Day Gameplay Preview & New Details Explained - Unlocked Clips'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=lJn4JUTrk7k'
video_id: 'lJn4JUTrk7k'
date: 2026-07-28
duration_sec: 981
---

# Gears of War: E-Day Gameplay Preview & New Details Explained - Unlocked Clips

> Source: [Gears of War: E-Day Gameplay Preview & New Details Explained - Unlocked Clips](https://youtube.com/watch?v=lJn4JUTrk7k)

## Summary

In this clip from IGN's Unlocked podcast, Miranda and Ryan discuss their behind-closed-doors preview of Gears of War: E-Day, covering new lore, movement mechanics, and campaign details. They also speculate on why the series is doing a prequel instead of continuing the story from Gears 5.

### Key Points

- **Behind Closed Doors Preview** [0:00] — The hosts attended a group interview with developers for an hour, learning new details about Gears of War: E-Day.
- **New Approach to Lore and Movement** [0:51] — Developers emphasized building the game from the ground up with an empty hard drive, resulting in new movement mechanics and a fresh approach to lore.
- **Not a Franchise Restart** [1:09] — When asked if E-Day is a restart like Star Wars Episode I, developers said no—they are preserving existing lore and enriching it by spending more time with Marcus and Dom.
- **Most Lore-Rich Game** [2:32] — Set entirely in the city of Colonna, E-Day is described as the most lore-rich Gears game ever, with detailed environmental storytelling including posters and references from comics and books.
- **Tin Foil Hat Theory on Prequel** [3:15] — Ryan speculates that Gears 5 didn't sell well and Microsoft pivoted to a prequel to attract PlayStation players, though developers insist E-Day is what they wanted to make.
- **Narrative Difficulty from Gears 5 Choice** [6:26] — Miranda notes that the choice at the end of Gears 5 (saving Del or JD) created a difficult narrative situation, which may have contributed to the decision to do a prequel.
- **Sold on E-Day** [8:49] — Miranda was initially disappointed about leaving Kait's story, but a scene in the bar where Dom is happily talking to Maria on the phone sold her on the prequel's unique perspective.
- **Multiplayer Beta and Movement Changes** [11:52] — A multiplayer beta starts August 6th. Wall bouncing has changed due to new running mechanics (no roadie run punch-in, no screen shake). Active reload bar can be moved to the top right.
- **Campaign Details** [13:59] — Campaign is linear but some levels have larger areas to explore. It's over 14 hours long, the most collectibles ever, and all four members of Bravo squad are playable from the start. Four-player co-op and two-player split-screen are supported.

### Conclusion

Gears of War: E-Day promises a lore-rich, linear campaign with new movement mechanics and a return to the beloved characters Marcus and Dom. Despite initial disappointment over the cliffhanger from Gears 5, the hosts are excited for the prequel's unique story and gameplay innovations.

## Transcript

Uh, we got to see some of this stuff
behind closed doors. Let's start with
Gears, that's where I was That's where I
left off here before my my crazy
tangent. Miranda, you and I got to see
this thing, um, sort of. We didn't
actually see any additional footage,
but we got We basically we talked to the
developers in group interview settings
for an hour.
So, what are your thoughts with that
additional context, additional detail?
Cuz we did learn a few extra things in
those Q&A sessions.
>> Yeah, so I guess this is a a little
promo for myself. Um, I put together I
I was in a curse. I'm like, "I didn't
curse. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, video
editors." It's a huge interview like
overview, um, and I try to keep it
really focused on things that It's
always hard, right? Cuz like they they
only want to show so much, and they've
been pretty tight-lipped on a lot of,
um, aspects of Gears. But, we learned a
lot about how they're approaching lore,
the new movement mechanics. Like,
obviously they keep telling us like,
"You know, we're built this from the
ground up." They're They're big thing is
they have an empty hard drive, so
everything is brand new, completely
custom for this game. Um, and that of
course means that they're going to make
a lot of changes.
Um, and and my concern there was like,
"Hey,
how do I ask if this is a restart of the
franchise without saying it like asking
explicit if it's a restart of the
franchise, right? Cuz like they they
might not want to get into that, and
especially like they they'll never They
have declined to answer both times
you've asked about Gears 6. Like,
basically, "No, this is what we wanted
to make. We're focused on this. Like, if
we're starting with an empty hard drive,
this is what we wanted to do." Um,
and so Gears 6 is just like
who who knows what's going to happen.
However, so kind of how I went about
asking about this without saying Gears 6
was like, "Hey, is this like an
Star Wars Episode 1 approach where
something is going to fundamentally
change in here that will change the view
of the entire series? So, like yes, the
the episode, uh,
4, 5, and 6 are still classics. We love
those.
They're great, but they're also
fundamentally wrong now because of what
they did in one, two, three. Like
there's just like a part of It's just
not It's not wrong. It's just different.
Like the perspective of it is different.
Um,
basically they're like, "No. No. No. No.
No. No. Like we're preserving the lore.
Like what comes after this moment is
still there and if anything it's
enriched cuz you're getting more time
with Marcus and Dom to learn more about
them, more about like
the approach to E-Day, of course, like
what what this place suffered, which is,
you know, massive losses, and then also,
um, getting into some
I think they said that this is like the
most lore-rich game they think they've
ever made because it is also just set in
one setting, so it is just set in the
city of Colonna and they're like, "Yeah,
because of that we were able to get like
really crafty in like what we included,
whether it's posters or graphics or just
different kinds of art from comics, from
books, from other things that you've
seen before
and bring them to life in a new way,
which I was like, "Okay, that's actually
really sick." And like even in the
trailer, if you look at the back of the
bar, there there's a cool train poster
cuz it's like he's a he's a superstar.
He's a like just a
superstar athlete, so it's like makes
sense that he's there.
Um,
I could go on. For Ryan, do you want me
to continue or
>> Can [laughter] I give you my
baseless like tin foil hat theory about
why what why they're doing this prequel?
Cuz
>> Yeah.
>> Uh, so I I'm going to preface this. I
have This is I have zero factual basis
in any of this. This is pure
unadulterated like hook it to my veins
kind of speculation, but cuz it like
can either of you think of a time ever
where a main line game franchise that
has it like a an evolving game-to-game
continuous narrative has ever stopped
[snorts] after a cliffhanger
and gone back and done a prequel as the
next main line [laughter] game. Like
that I don't think that's ever happened.
>> I mean Halo Studios is kind of weirdly
doing that. Not really, but also they're
following the same path. It's [laughter]
not It's not a main line, but they have
three new prequel chapters technically.
>> [laughter]
>> So I guess I guess there's Although this
would probably Halo would probably fold
into this tinfoil hat theory. And so
We Everybody knows Miranda and I love
Gears 4 and 5. We combined reviewed it
single-player, multiplayer. I but I know
there's not as much love for 4 and 5
kind of generally speaking in the
community. My theory is again baseless
pure speculation theory is that
uh that 5 did not sell super well
and the the number was trending down on
the sales chart and they had started to
make their internal pivot towards
multi-platform and they went, "Okay, we
can reset this thing. We can get
PlayStation 5 players in here at the
ground floor with a prequel. Everybody
loves Dom and Marcus. This will sell way
better and we'll we'll go back and do
this."
And there's and of course again, I don't
know the sales numbers. Microsoft
doesn't give that stuff out. The the as
Miranda you said, they insisted in the
behind closed doors session that well
this is what we wanted to make which I'm
sure is also true. I'm not saying
they're lying. But I I have to think
that it's it's just so odd that they
would leave the Kate story completely
hanging with no apparent plan to ever
resolve it which I'm not like super mad
about. Like I I've loved those games,
but if they end up resolving that in a
book or a graphic novel or something,
okay. But I just think it's and it's
this is like a little maybe crumb of
anecdotal evidence by the fact that like
there was some leak of of was it a store
page or something that had the
PlayStation logo
attached to to Gears of War E-Day and so
that the scuttlebutt is that this pivot
to Gears E-Day being a a total console
exclusive was a last-minute thing. So,
anyway that's
it I guess it doesn't matter, right? It
is it is what it is, but um that's my
sort of tin foil hat conspiracy theory
on maybe why they just completely bailed
on on Kate's story and the Gears 5
cliffhanger and are coming back to uh to
a prequel.
>> I think also part of it is that they
narratively wrote themselves into a very
difficult spot for how they will format
the next game. So,
like if
your choice has to carry over in some
way and it's very consequential.
And so, but it's going to change the
game for like depending on what you did
for everybody. And like
>> Who did you save, Miranda? Remind me.
>> I saved Del. I let I let JD go because I
I really wanted
I don't know. I wanted to see the drama
with Marcus. Like I'm so sorry.
>> his poor heart.
>> you, but I want to hurt you more.
>> [laughter]
>> This is an abusive relationship.
Um
yeah, I But but that's like huge, right?
Like whatever they would do next, but I
that was my other main theory is that
they just didn't They were like
let's just hold off on this and figure
it out later kind of thing. Future
problem. But they've also been like the
Coalition's been pretty clear and the
various people I've talked to who have
been there and some of them have moved
on at this point, but
every time I talk to them, they're
pretty adamant about like wanting to
like explore different stories within
the franchise. I mean, we saw that that
like their detour with like Hivebusters,
right? We also had Gears
Yeah, they do such a great job like
exploring these other parts of the
series that even though this is that
detour, I don't I think to your point, I
don't feel too too sad. I think at this
point because they they've really sold
me on E-Day as a story.
Um
>> I can't help but do the
the gamer thing of like looking too far
ahead instead of enjoying what's right
in front of me.
>> Yeah.
>> But I can't help but wonder, but where
do they go after E-Day? Like
I I don't know. Cuz Gears of War 1 like
how isn't it like was it 14 years or
something, Miranda? It's some
>> Yeah, there's there's a quite a bit of
time between now and Gears 1. And
there's like Judgment in there kind of
like or Judgment's part like
weirdly in there somewhere. But um
I think
or I hope at least
that they don't just sit in this period
in between E-Day and 1.
But again, like we'll see, right? Like
it it just really
it's really hard to say where they'll
go, but I think
I kind of need to get back on like why I
was sold on this cuz when this was
announced, I think it was pretty like
obvious. I was like rather bummed cuz I
love Kate's story. I love Kate so much
and I think that uh her relationship
with Marcus is really interesting and
they have something cool going there. Um
but the the moment that sold me like I
was locked in during the direct like Uh
they're trying to like set up our
headphones and I was like, "Don't don't
talk to me."
>> [laughter]
>> Like I don't want to talk to you right
now. Leave me alone.
Um I felt so bad, but there's this
moment in the bar like kind of early on
where Dom and Marcus are
just just in the bar and Dom is on the
phone and he's obviously talking to
Maria and he's like, "Love you, baby."
And he's just so happy and I'm like,
"Okay, this is the reason. This is
This is such a like a good reason to
have E-Day cuz obviously this is within
like the first part of the game, but it
is not the beginning of the game. Like
you can tell that we're going to get
some moments with them when they have
like This is what kind of what I wrote
at the interview of like, we have
relative peace. Like we've never really
seen that in old Sarah. Like we've seen
Marcus being really sad and grumpy and
in peace
quote-unquote as an [laughter] old man
and it's really sad and he's really
bitter. Yeah, it's tomatoes.
Thank you.
Um
But so like this is such a unique spot
and of course they're like grieving
Dom's brother, but even still like
they're not
stressed about
the entirety of humanity's future and
how it's collapsed and other things.
Like it's going to be just such a unique
perspective to see these two and and
that's made me really excited basically.
>> Well, yeah, I'm I'm with you. Like I'm
I'm all in on this, too. I mean, I'm I'm
super excited about Again, would I have
loved to have seen the as you noted the
choice that the coalition would have had
to make about how to resolve the the the
choice in Gears 5. That that would have
been quite an interesting thing, but but
yeah, I mean,
I'm thrilled to have Dom back. I'm
thrilled to be exploring E-Day.
Um I I can't wait for this. And so and
it and you know, it's I'll I'll be
completely honest and I mean, I said
this to you guys in the room just
privately but
it in the initial showcase,
I was like, this doesn't look as amazing
visually as I
expect from Gears, but then when we got
the behind closed doors thing and they
kind of showed some more scenes and
stuff. I it started to it started to
click for me and I'm I'm
I'm kind of curious where it's going to
ultimately land. Like cuz this series
has always visually set the bar. I mean
it's always been like the Unreal Engine
game. I mean it it was the original of
course was 100% that. It was it probably
sold a lot of Unreal Engine licenses
when the first one came out. But um
yeah, I mean October 6th can't come soon
enough. And for anyone that hasn't
heard, there is going to be a a beta
weekend for starting August 6th. So
that's coming up.
>> I'm so excited.
>> you want to give that there's a couple
of we got a couple of quick little like
we didn't see multiplayer, but they gave
us a like top level bit of multiplayer
information.
>> Yeah, so one big thing that I wanted to
highlight for folks in the competitive
scene who get like really deep in um
wall bouncing's changed. So obviously
the way they do running has changed
pretty significantly. Like it's not the
classic roadie run in the way that we
know it. Like they don't punch in, their
screen doesn't shake, they pull out. Um
I guess also that's changed with sliding
and how cover works. So uh they said
that wall bouncing does not work the
same way. You can still cancel on
specific ways that work, but it's just
not going to be like exactly as it was
before. Um
they also we didn't talk too too much
about multiplayer. It's more like
movement cuz they were like, well, at
least in my sessions like weird type of
sessions to be clear. Um
they're like, we're going to
learn more multiplayer later. But that
that was kind of part of it. And of
course the four player thing just being
central to all facets of this. So you're
going to play four player multiplayer,
four player in horde even though it's 12
people. So you'll be in a squad of four.
So like things like that is going to be
there.
Um I guess some other like mechanical
stuff the
active reload bar that pops up that you
see in the
in the demo and I guess in the trailers
and stuff in the gameplay, you can move
that back up to the top right. Like you
don't have to keep it in the middle.
Yeah, I was like at first I was just
like wait, what is happening? Why is
this just right in front of me? Like I
think that is a great as I said like
onboarding for new people or if you're
trying to learn some of the active
reloads, I think that is helpful. But
for like folks like you and I, Ryan,
like we
move it up, please. Move it up. Like
[laughter] I don't I don't need that
here.
Um, and then some other like quick
nuggets on the silly about multiplayer
that I just wanted to highlight before
we have to move on.
I could talk about Gears all day. We did
this whole podcast [laughter] about
Gears.
Um, but I will spare you guys. Um,
they said that the campaign is still
linear, but that some levels feature a
larger areas to explore. Like this is
not an open world sandbox, which you
know, makes sense for Gears. But that,
you know, as they showed that there
going to be other things to do in some
of the larger levels. So for instance,
like there are people they they showed
where there's like a survivor out there
that you need to go help or you can
help. Um, obviously there'll be
collectibles. They said this is the most
collectibles they've had in the game. Of
course we're going to have cog tags.
They said that this is longer, quote
unquote, longer than any campaign
they've built
um, at over 14 hours. So
we got some like meat there. And that
also all four members of Bravo squad are
playable right from the beginning and
that you don't have to play as Marcus.
So if like if you just want to play Dom
as as Dom the whole game, you can.
>> Oh, I'll just add um, for cuz it's
people may be wondering four player
co-op, two player split screen. Yes. So
that that's I know that's a lot of
people are always curious if it's if
it's all four on one console. Not not
for this one. Two, you can go two and
two if you want or two and one and one I
guess, but um, yeah, that was that was
the only other nugget. So
yeah [snorts]
uh, so that means in less than two
months we'll be playing multiplayer and
then what? What are we like four months
away from the game? So
um, from the whole thing. Yay.
>> Yay.
>> Michael
>> yeah.
>> Let's talk about Fable.
>> All right.
>> Fable time. Well, actually well, quickly
I want to say I am this is the most
excited about him I've been about Gears
and talking to Miranda at the Xbox
event. I have so much respect for
Miranda's love for Gears.
She was dropping mad lore on me and you
basically looked at me he's like,
"People say that Gears doesn't have
story and they're wrong." And I was
like,
"That's you know what, Miranda? You have
convinced me." But, I am looking forward
to E day and I'm also looking forward to
Fable.
>> Thanks for checking out this clip from
Unlocked, IGN's weekly Xbox show. If you
enjoyed it, don't forget to watch the
full episode at youtube.com/igngames.
New episodes of Unlocked drop every
Thursday on IGN Games, ign.com and your
favorite podcast platforms. Thanks for
watching and we'll see you next time.
>> [music]