Over the course of 3 days last week, Xbox and The Coalition invited members of the press and others to experience the multiplayer aspect of the highly anticipated and long-awaited Gears of War: E-Day. With much thanks to The Coalition and XBOX, I had the chance to check it out.

Starting next week, players will be able to jump into the GoW: E-Day multiplayer open beta and get a taste of what to expect when the full game launches on October 6, 2025. Let’s look at what’s coming!

What is Gears of War E-Day Multiplayer?

During the upcoming open beta, players will be able to experience 2 modes:

• Horde Siege (PVE)
• Versus (PVP)

Horde Siege in E-Day multiplayer introduces a 12-player PvE mode where three squads defend Kalona, each pursuing their own objectives while crisscrossing large, immersive city maps as they battle relentless Locust forces. In order to succeed, the 3 squads need to work together. Not only do they have primary objectives to complete, but there are also secondary tasks that can be completed to improve their match score.
For this preview, we had access to one Map. At launch, there will be three maps.

Versus is the classic Gears’ signature PvP experience, where teamwork, map control, and weapon mastery determine victory. Players will battle across a variety of competitive multiplayer experiences designed to reward communication, strategy, and mechanical skill.
For this preview, we had access to 2 modes and 2 maps; the full game will have 4 modes and 6 maps.

Practice Makes Perfect

Outside of the multiplayer modes, E-Day offers players two practice options. Boot Camp is good for new players who need to familiarize themselves with the basic movement and other mechanics in the game. The second option is Combat Training; this mode allows players to try all of the various weapons and gadgets that they will find in both the Gears of War: E-Day campaign and multiplayer.

Gearing Up For the Fight

Once you’re ready to take on the Horde, you will need to pick your class. You will be able to choose one of 4 classes to take into battle. Each comes with different perks and abilities that will be added to as you level that class up.

• Assault – Midrange fighter uses cover while keeping enemies contained. Uses the Sonic Disrupter to stun enemies and break enemy lines.
• Breacher – Point-blank tank, going toe to toe with the enemy, who uses the adrenaline injector to refill health, temporarily decrease incoming damage, and increase damage dealt.
• Marksman – Ranged precision fighter that uses the pulse drone to highlight enemy locations
• Medic – Your best friend on the battlefield. Deploys the Stim Vaporizer that will both heal and revive downed team members. It can be the difference between a win and a wipe.

It’s important to note that class leveling is independent of the overall player level. Each class levels independently of each other as well.
For the Beta, each class was capped at 10; at launch, each class will cap at 30.

E-Day Horde, What to Expect

The first time you play Horde mode, you will go through an onboarding mission that will familiarize you with what to expect in the other, larger modes.

• Blitz – Shorter missions, good for limited game time
• Siege – Standard mission time
• Horde – They just keep coming and getting bigger and badder.

Hit the Ground Running

After you choose your class, form your squad, and pick your mode of choice and the level you wish to play, it will be time to face the Locust Horde. Each mission will consist of primary objectives and secondary objectives. The number of each type will vary depending on the Horde mode chosen.

You Have Work To Do

Primary objectives might start with needing to liberate a key structure on the map, and if you’re in one of the longer modes, there will be multiple primaries to get done before your team can be extracted.
There are also secondary objectives that are purely optional to complete. The payoff for completing secondary objectives can be substantial. Your team may get Squad Perks to improve your power mid-match as well as Weapon Parts that are used to unlock new mods. You and your squad will score higher if any or all of the secondary objectives are complete. You must successfully extract to keep any earned Weapon Parts.
I noticed that at least some of the secondary objectives are on a timer, and if you don’t complete them within that time, they “fail”—something to keep in mind.

Who’s the Boss?

In addition to Secondary Objectives, you will periodically encounter map-wide events such as a COG Resupply or a Boss Invasion, where large Locust bosses enter the map and require cooperation across multiple squads to defeat.

Ammo and Equipment Isn’t Free

Throughout the map, you will find supply caches that will allow you to purchase ammo and refill or change equipment such as grenades, auto turrets, and decoys. The types of equipment available to you will vary depending on player level. Early on, this can be frustrating, as you won’t have frag grenades for quite a few levels.
The “Energy” required to purchase the ammo and equipment must be gathered on the battlefield by the squad. Energy collection is shared across the squad, while spending for refills and equipment is individual. So be sure to collect all that energy!

You Aren’t Alone In The Fight

For E-Day, there will be 3 squads of 4 players each in a Horde match. Communication will be the key to securing all the objectives as well as survival. You’ll want to assist the other squads. Squads may also extract at different times, so your team may be left alone to finish the job.

Get To The Choppah!

Once you finish doing the job(s) assigned to your squad, you will need to work your way to the extraction point, which, surprise surprise, will need to be cleared before your ride can land and pick you up. But be careful, just when you think you’re clear…

What About E-Days Versus Mode?

Gears of War: E-Day brings back their signature 4v4 versus mode. Each team attempts to control points on the map throughout each round.

In Versus mode for the beta, there are 3 ways to play:

• Social Bots – Good for new players and players who don’t want to deal with extreme try-hards. But don’t let your guard down; these bots were pretty sweaty.
• Social Quickplay – For more casual players
• Ranked – For those looking to challenge themselves and others

All modes in versus grant XP points for overall levelling and class skill-ups.

We Are All The Same (At The Start)

At the beginning of each match, players will start with the same gear:

• Prototype Lancer
• Snub Pistol
• Smoke Grenade

Each map will have a combination of weapon pick-ups at key points that the players can compete for and possibly shift the game in their favor.

Gears of War: E-Day Accessibility

As with the previous entry in the Gears of War line, the accessibility options are quite robust.

From the standard things like subtitles, captions, and colorblind modes, the game provides both visual and audio pathing cues. When you first boot the game up, menu narration is on by default, and the player is greeted with various accessibility options. Even with that, I suggest you take the time to go through the full accessibility suite to look at what’s available.

Some options like Aim Assist have multiple settings so that the player can choose what works best for them. It’s important to note that Aim Assist only works in Horde Siege for multiplayer. I can assume it will function in the campaign, but can’t confirm that. Audio targeting cues are back, as well as other audio cues that I don’t recall being in the previous Gears of War offerings.

My Overall Experience

I played the Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer beta on my Series X; overall, it was a very positive experience. I played the game in “balanced” mode, which meant it was targeting 40 FPS. A few times, mostly when the chopper was coming in to land, I would get some very noticeable frame drops and stuttering visuals. I also noticed that some of the menus still needed to be updated so that the class titles used are the same across the different screens.

The movement felt good, and the cover system and mantling, as well as the ability to leap over gaps, made traversing the terrain look and feel more natural.

With the exception of the very minor issues I ran into in this beta build, I think the Gears of War: E-Day multiplayer experience will be an overall positive experience for players of all levels.

E-Day Multiplayer Open Beta

Pre-order any edition of Gears of War: E-Day to secure early access to the Open Beta.

• Open Beta is scheduled to start Thursday, August 6th

Players who digitally pre-order Gears of War: E-Day are automatically granted Early Access to the Open Beta and do not require a Beta Code. Players who pre-order a physical edition should expect to receive a Beta Code at the point of sale from participating retailers, granting entry into Open Beta for Early Access.