Gears of War: E-Day Horde mode shines while Versus plays it safe

We went hands-on with the ‘Versus’ and ‘Horde’ multiplayer modes of the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, ahead of its full launch in August.

Gears of War: E-Day is the upcoming PC and Xbox console exclusive, the next entry in the popular cover-shooter series that began in 2006. In this latest release, we’re taken back to when it all began. Emergence Day, the day that the Locust horde, hidden deep beneath Sera, came to the surface to swarm and take over the planet.

We play as a young Marcus Phoenix and Dominic Santiago, along with fellow crew members, Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes, collectively known as Bravo Squad. We get to experience humanity's fight for survival during the opening moments of the Locust invasion in Marcus’ hometown of Kalona.

Fans of the Gears of War series have been waiting for this story for years, but before we experience the story campaign, we have some thoughts to share on its multiplayer offering following the aforementioned hands-on preview. During a handful of multiplayer sessions, I got to play the Versus and Horde modes, and I came away feeling quite mixed.

Gears of War: E-Day Versus mode is as brutal as ever

Since the 2006 original, the Versus mode in Gears of War has always felt highly competitive, regardless of whether a match is ranked or not, and it feels like Gears of War: E-Day is no exception. In Versus, two teams, COG (humans) and Locust, battle it out. I got to play the traditional Team Deathmatch (most points win) and Control (players earn points for controlling zones in the map).

For better or worse, I feel like the Versus mode hasn't evolved a great deal over the last few games. Depending on your perspective, that can be either a good thing or a bad thing. Regardless, you'd better get used to players diving all over the place, blasting shotgun shells. As with previous iterations, cover is king and going gung-ho will most likely result in a quick death. So, use cover and work as a team because the skill ceiling remains very high in Gears of War: E-Day.

If you’re familiar with Team Deathmatch and Control in any game in the series, especially Gears 5, you’ll know what to expect here. One major improvement, which reflects the game as a whole, is the change in control schemes. Now, moving about the map feels less clunky, and you can sprint by pressing the analogue stick. Other control functions have changed, but nothing all that major and you will get used to it very quickly. It’s a small quality of life improvement that I appreciated, but you can revert to the legacy controls if you choose.

Teamwork makes the dream work in Gears of War: E-Day Horde mode

For me, Horde is where the real Gears of War multiplayer fun is to be had, ever since its inception in the 2008 sequel. The concept is simple: work as a team to fight hordes of Locusts and bosses for as long as possible, with each new wave increasing in difficulty. Between rounds, you can set up your defences around your chosen perimeter, in the hope that it will slow the enemy down.

The time that I spent with the Horde mode in Gears of War: E-Day was thrilling, and I was disappointed when it came to an end. It certainly had me wanting more. It speaks volumes that in my last match, the team of random players with whom I was paired all stayed together until the test servers closed down. It felt like we all wanted to squeeze every second of fun from this Horde as humanly possible.

Developers, The Coalition say that this is the biggest Horde mode ever, which sounds very generic, because most developers and publishers say similar words about all things new, no matter the game. But in terms of map size, this is absolutely the largest yet in the series, and those maps are filled with objectives, weapons, enemies, bosses and more. Additionally, rather than having one team fight the Locust hordes, there are three teams of four on the same map, all trying to complete unique objectives.

The team that I was paired with weren't really working as a team; they seemed to be quite rogue. So about halfway through the game, I ended up fighting alongside a different team, and these were the players with whom I stayed until the servers closed. Even though none of us spoke through a headset, we all had each other's backs, we all had an unspoken role; it felt special. I’ve not had that multiplayer vibe with randoms online for many years.

There were also four character classes available in Horde: Assault (Lanciers being a default-type weapon), Medic (which speaks for itself), Marksman (sniper) and Breacher (shotgun). You can also equip abilities/mods that will help you individually and the team as a whole, such as drones, mines, ammo and more.

In the two maps that I played, once all the waves were defeated, it ended with a race to the extraction zone when the last objective was to get to the chopper. However, before we board the chopper, you will be swarmed by even more relentless hordes in one last final stand. This version of Horde was an absolute blast; it was faster, more frantic and felt like teamwork was even more of an emphasis. As cliché as it sounds, this could be the best Gears of War Horde mode yet.

Gears of War: E-Day will be released on October 6, 2026, on PC and Xbox Series X/S. It will also launch day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.