Gears of War: E-Day Developers Take Pride in Being the Mainline Xbox Title and Focus on Exclusivity
THE Gears of War: E-Day developers The Coalition say they are “proud to be one of the premier Xbox titles” as Microsoft refocuses on exclusivity.
Studio art director Aryan Hanbeck and creative director Matt Searcy spoke about The Coalition’s place in the Xbox portfolio during an interview with the gaming news content creator. Destin Lergarie (via MP1st). Searcy said he and the rest of the team were “proud” when asked what they thought of Gears of War: E-Day’s status as an Xbox exclusive.
“Well, we feel good because Gears has such a long history… It’s part of the DNA of Xbox. It’s built into it,” he said. “At The Coalition, we’re so honored to have Gears and to be the ones to carry on this legacy. We know how much it means to people. We know how much it means to us.”
Gears of War: E-Day is firmly a console exclusive, but there was a lot of confusion about which platforms Gears of War: E-Day would be available on just four months ago. The once-Xbox-exclusive franchise debuted on PlayStation consoles when the original remaster, Gears of War: Reloaded, released in August 2025. Many took its presence on PS5 as a sign not only that the series would continue to come to Sony’s console, but also that the days of exclusive titles were perhaps almost behind us – and for a while, that seemed to be the case.
Ads leaked and the rumors were officially shut down Xbox Games Showcase 2026 when Xbox CEO Asha Sharma proudly declared that Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago’s Emergence Day prequel story would be will only come to Xbox Series X/S and PC. It was a shock decision that came as gaming entity Microsoft launched a a broader push for more exclusive games. Perhaps even more shocking at the time were the announcements that immediately followed, including the company’s promise to never release Xbox exclusive titles on competing platforms.
After a leaked splash art fanned rumors that Xbox hastily decided to cancel a Gears of War: E-Day PS5 port, the company has said so. did not make any “last minute” decisions regarding the choice of its platform. While Searcy said it brought joy to the Coalition to see its new game spark Microsoft’s renewed interest in exclusive titles, making sure they made a good game was the first priority.
“I think it’s true for most game developers: You’re just passionate about your craft,” he said. “We’re all gamers first and foremost. We love making games. We love making Gears. So from our perspective, we just wanted to make the best Gears game possible. We wanted it to be a technical and artistic showpiece, and I think seeing Asha on stage saying, ‘To come back to Xbox, we’re going back to Gears,’ yeah, that’s a really cool moment.
He continued: “We know how much Xbox means to a lot of people. We’re proud to be one of Xbox’s core titles – I think it’s been that way for a long time – and it’s pretty cool to come out now and fill that role again.”
Gears of War: E-Day launched in Early Access for Premium Edition players on PC and Xbox Series X/S on October 1, 2026. Its full launch will follow this week on October 6. IGN’s first review, which covered only the campaign mode, returned a 9/10. The game the story director was fired just a week before it hit players’ hands a few days ago. NOW, more developers at The Coalition prepare for additional layoffs.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer at IGN. He is best known for his work on sites like The Pitch, The Escapist and OnlySP. Be sure to follow him on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
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