Gears of War 5 revealed as Gears 5, no release date given at E3

News around Gears of War 5 has been rather stilted. It was a given a fifth Gears game would be coming due to the open-ended nature of Gears of War 4 but, with its developer dropping no hints, it was presumed we still had some time to wait for a new entry.

Wrong. At E3 2018, Microsoft unveiled Gears 5 – the rebranded name for the Gears of War franchise.

Prior to the game’s announcement, little was actually known about Gears 5. It’s a bit bizarre that so few leaks actually managed to get out ahead of time, but that’s probably because more people were focused on Halo 6/Halo Infinite rumours.

Details are still scant on what we can expect so far – the above trailer is basically it, for now. However, we’ve compiled everything we’ve been able to discern below.

Gears of War 5: Everything we know so far

Gears of War 5 is being touted as a riskier, more inventive game from new Gears of War developer The Coalition. Intended to follow on from the heels of the rather conservative Gears of War 4 as it begins a whole new trilogy in the Gears of War series, The Coalition has to prove it can do more than simply ape Epic Games’ formula for success.

With the groundwork now lain for the next chapter of Gears of War, here’s everything we know about Gears of War 5 so far.

Gears of War 5 release date: When’s it coming out?

During the announcement of Gears 5, Microsoft and The Coalition neglected to mention a release date beyond a 2019 landing for the series. The release window does align around the same time as past releases, arriving around three to five years between Gears of War games so, a 2019 release places it on the slightly earlier end of that timeframe. 

Gears of War 5 story: What’s it all about?

Without wanting to spoil too much about the end of Gears of War 4, it’s likely that Gears of War 5 will follow on from the events that concluded The Coalition’s last entry into the series. Beyond that, we don’t really know anything substantial about what Gears of War 5 could even be about.

A post-credits scene from Gears of War 4 suggests that Oscar Diaz will make a return, showing him fighting his way out of the clutches of a Snatcher. It’s also expected that the Swarm will return, and we might even get some answers about exactly what’s really going on. Other than that, literally anything goes.

The new cinematic trailer suggests that you’ll be playing as Kait Diaz, instead of Gears of War 4‘s J.D Fenix. This doesn’t mean the other characters aren’t returning, but The Coalition clearly wants to shift away from some of the male bravado that the francise is dripping in.

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Gears of War 5 gameplay: How is it going to play?

For Gears of War 4, Microsoft handed the reins over to The Coalition, a new studio formed out of Black Tusk Studios. Despite being helmed by Gears of War veteran Rod Fergusson, The Coalition was criticised for playing it too safe with Gears of War 4 and not shaking things up enough. It’s believed that, for Gears of War 5, Microsoft is looking to change up just how the series plays.

In an interview with GameSpot, original Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski made his mixed feelings towards the game known, urging Rod Fergusson and the team at The Coalition to take more risks.

“What The Coalition did was give the people what they want,” he explained. “He did the JJ Abrams Episode VII. I’ve watched Episode VII five times. I still get misty-eyed and all excited, but when I think objectively about it, I’m like ‘there wasn’t a lot of risk there’. So I’m hoping they take a little bit more risk in the future.”

There are currently no details around gameplay for Gears of War 5, but we hope The Coalition listens to feedback and Bleszinski’s words. If we’re back to waist-height walls and wave upon wave of Swarm to tackle, it won’t be an overly fun affair. That said, The Coalition showed it had promise to switch things up thanks to dynamic weather storms and the introduction of rideable transforming robots. Unfortunately, it just didn’t push these features enough.

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Gears of War 5 on Xbox One X: What platform will it be on?

As a Microsoft-owned series, you can certainly expect Gears of War 5 to arrive on both Windows 10 PC and Xbox One. Microsoft will undoubtedly push to say it’s available on both Xbox One S and Xbox One X, but as the first title in the series built from the ground up to run in native 4K, it’s likely Microsoft will push for Xbox One X compatibility over everything else.

That said, Gears of War 4 was 4K-enhanced on PC and arrived on Xbox One X with 4K once an update was issued, so perhaps the same will happen here to ensure it still runs smoothly on Xbox One S.