The near-future prospects of theGears of Warfranchise recently got even better with the announcement ofGears of War: Reloaded, a comprehensive and faithful remaster of the franchise’s debut 2006 title. It is clear that The Coalition and Xbox Game Studios are looking to introduce a new generation of players to the project that started it all forGears of War, while giving all fans something to stay engaged with the franchise during the wait forGears of War: E-Day.
While the initial announcement ofGears of War: Reloadedwas enough to create a lot of excitement within the franchise’s community, one detail of the reveal is the most remarkable by far. It was recently confirmed thatGears of War: Reloadedwill eventually be available on PlayStation consoles, which is a watershed moment for the IP, and this opens up a lot of questions for any futureGears of Warprojects. While it may be time for the originalGears of Warto finally make its way over to PlayStation, it will be very interesting to see how Microsoft handles the potential forGears of War: E-Dayto also make its way over to Xbox’s largest competitor.
Gears of War: Reloaded Opens the Door For E-Day on the PlayStation
Gears of War: Reloadedis a new way to experience the first gamein the franchise, with its graphically impressive promotional material and features such as full multiplayer with crossplay building on the solid foundation of the original game.Reloadedis confirmed to be releasing on Xbox, including Xbox PC and Cloud Gaming, with Steam and PlayStation also set to feature the title when it launches on August 26.
This marks the first time inGears of War’s 20-year historythat one of its entries will be available on PlayStation consoles.Gears of Warhas instead always stood as a bastion of Xbox’s exclusive game library. While havingGears of War: Reloadedextend its availability to PlayStation can be seen as a great way to flesh out the game’s crossplay multiplayer and to truly celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original game, the loss of Xbox exclusivity status forGears of Warcontinues a staggering trend for the Microsoft console.
Gears of War: Reloadedis set to launch as a day-one title for Xbox Game Pass, while also featuring cross-platform progression and co-op campaign capabilities.
Many Xbox Game Studio titles are timed exclusives these days; titles likeIndiana Jones and the Great Circlehave made the jump over to PlayStation four months after launch.TheForzafranchise moved to PlayStation availability in April, and consistent rumors even claim thatHaloentries likeThe Master Chief Collectionwill also come to the Sony platform in the near future.
Gears of War: E-Day on PlayStation Consoles Would Follow a Clear Pattern From Microsoft
While this can be a worrying time for Xbox fans, these surprising platform shake-ups seem indicative of Microsoft’s move away from attempting hardware dominance, with exclusives falling to the wayside to breathe more life into acquired studios andthe Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The proud announcement ofGears of War: Reloadedon PlayStation consoles comes across as a real statement of intent from Microsoft in terms of the franchise’s future. It now seems very likely thatE-Daywill follow suit.
Gears of War: E-Daywill tell a prequel storyto the events of the first game. Though no statements currently suggest that the game will release on PlayStation,Reloadedhas already set an obvious precedent, and the narrative links betweenReloadedandE-Daymake it seem extremely likely that bothGears of Wargames will find a home on PlayStation alongside their usual Xbox availability.
