Gears of War: E-Day Devs Tease Special 20th Anniversary Gift

Gears of War: E-Day launches October 6 with seasons, events, and a special birthday gift on November 7. The Coalition also details Gnasher changes and missing features.

Remember when a friend first showed you Gears of War in motion? Hard to believe it's been 20 years. And now, after seven years, the series is back with Gears of War: E-Day, launching October 6. To celebrate the big 2-0, The Coalition is teasing a "special birthday gift" for all players on November 7.

In a news post on the official site, the devs laid out what's coming in the shooter's first months. Season 1 actually started during the beta and runs until December 1. It includes all the launch basics—modes, maps—and three two-week events: Halloween, 20 Years of Gears, and Thanksgibbing. Each event brings a special Versus mode, a Horde mission, and special rewards. Ranked play in Versus kicks off October 13, a week after release, so competitive players can dive right in.

Season 2 is dubbed Legacy and covers the franchise's 20th anniversary. That "special birthday gift" arrives on November 7, the anniversary of the original Gears of War's launch. The tease reads: "Crafted as a love letter to the franchise and you, our fans, you can expect a ton of new content inspired by the franchise's most memorable moments." We only have titles for the following three seasons: Infiltration, Pendulum, and Devotion. Not much to go on, but I'm sure they'll deliver chaos.

Following the multiplayer beta, The Coalition shared feedback-driven changes. Series-first tweaks to The Gnasher include a hybrid between muzzle and camera-oriented shooting. "When you fire on a target, we check both the camera and muzzle shots and apply the one that better matches what the player would expect," the blog explains. "This means a shot that looks like it should hit, will hit."

Some mechanics are absent at launch because E-Day was built from the ground up. "Including every legacy feature from Gears of War was not possible for launch," The Coalition says. Features like Meat Shields, Chainsaw Duels, select weapons from the franchise's past, and online work like Private Lobbies and leaderboards are not gone from the franchise—they're just taking time to bring back.

The post also includes a list of bug fixes and tweaks to ensure E-Day runs smoothly. We'll need it to deal with the encroached Locust. In related news, Gears of War: E-Day's director was laid off days after completing development as Xbox cuts reach The Coalition.

What do you think of the 20th anniversary plans? Will you be picking up E-Day on October 6?