{"rewrite":{"id":"r_d19856ba265a1f32c2ff7bf5","clusterId":"c_46ec40cdc241b4f3e677a4ab","slug":"gears-of-war-e-day-opens-premium-early-access-ahead-of-october-7-launch","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Gears of War: E-Day Opens Premium Early Access Ahead of October 7 Launch","summary":"Xbox Game Studios began early access for Gears of War: E-Day on October 2, 2026, the same day it released a launch trailer for the game. Early access is open to buyers of the Premium Edition and to Game Pass subscribers who pay for the Premium Upgrade; the Premium Edition is priced at 14,000 yen including tax. Developer The Coalition built the game as a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War, covering Emergence Day, when the Locust emerged from beneath the planet Sera and killed roughly a quarter of humanity. The trailer shows a younger Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago alongside gameplay footage. The standard edition follows on October 7 Japan time for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Steam, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass support. At the time of writing, Metacritic sits at 87 from 52 Xbox Series X|S reviews and 84 from 27 PC reviews.","whyItMatters":"Reviews landing in the mid-to-high 80s on Metacritic give E-Day one of the strongest critical receptions the series has seen, while the 14,000 yen Premium Edition tier turns early access into a paid upgrade rather than a perk.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe launch trailer and the review embargo broke on the same day, which puts the first paid-access players and the first published scores side by side. Eurogamer Germany gave it a 100 and called the campaign the best in the Gears series to date, singling out the lighting and sound for the survival horror feel of the Locust. CGMagazine gave it a 90 and said the new acid-spitting shotgun and sticky grenade launcher make the new Locust types fun to fight. Meristation and Voxel also scored it 90 on Xbox Series X.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot every outlet agreed on the ceiling. Areajugones scored it 85 and wrote that the campaign\u0026#39;s strong opening does not hold through to the end, and said the game is a perfect prequel rather than the rebirth some expected. XGN gave 85 on Xbox Series X and noted not everything lands as intended. VGC gave an 80 and said almost nothing this year beats the pure gunplay, while Slant Magazine\u0026#39;s 80 described the mechanics as finely tuned but conventional for a cover shooter.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe four-person Bravo Squad in the campaign includes two soldiers named Lucas and Magus, per an early-hands-on impression.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"The Coalition is selling early access at 14,000 yen while Metacritic sits at 87 from 52 Series X|S reviews. Higher-tier entry now lands before the standard edition, so the Premium buyers are also the day-one reviewers.","twitterPost":"14,000 yen buys Gears of War: E-Day four days early, so The Coalition's day-one players are the ones paying the most.","threadsPost":"The Coalition is charging 14,000 yen for early access to Gears of War: E-Day, and the review scores are already public at 87. The people who paid the most get to play first, which means the earliest word of mouth comes from Premium buyers rather than the general launch crowd on October 7.","newsletterBlurb":"Early access for Gears of War: E-Day opened October 2, 2026 for Premium Edition buyers and Game Pass subscribers with the Premium Upgrade, with a launch trailer out the same morning. The Coalition's prequel takes the series back to Emergence Day, 14 years before the original, and the standard edition arrives October 7. Metacritic currently sits at 87 on Xbox Series X|S and 84 on PC.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/968/G096869/20261002024/\",\"title\":\"\\\"Gears of War: E-Day\\\" Begins Early Access for Premium Edition; Launch Trailer Released\"},{\"source\":\"Denfaminicogamer\",\"url\":\"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/261001r\",\"title\":\"\\\"Muscles no matter where you look\\\" - the beefy TPS 'Gears of War: E-Day' is a \\\"manly game\\\" where you can bathe in testosterone soaked in blood, sweat, and bullets. The return of Marcus and Dom's golden duo is hot. Our 'Gears' is back!\"},{\"source\":\"Denfaminicogamer\",\"url\":\"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/261002x\",\"title\":\"Highly Rated: 'Gears of War: E-Day' Earns Metacritic Score of 87/100 in Overseas Reviews; Praised as 'the Best Campaign in the Series'\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/02/173075.html\",\"title\":\"\\\"The series fans have been longing for is right here\\\" - Gears of War: E-Day earns high scores in overseas reviews\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":9541,"outputTokens":1325,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791060563,"createdAt":"2026-10-03T20:43:43.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-03T20:48:21.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T20:48:21.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_46ec40cdc241b4f3e677a4ab","canonicalTitle":"「Gears of War: E-Day」，プレミアムエディション向けの早期アクセスを開始。ローンチトレイラーの公開も","representativeArticleId":"a_5fee679fa3d198289428331a","sourceCount":3,"writtenSourceCount":3,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Gears of War: E-Day\"],\"studios\":[\"The Coalition\",\"Xbox Game Studios\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"release\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-02T06:53:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-02T08:15:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-03T20:48:21.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/968/G096869/20261002024/","title":"「Gears of War: E-Day」，プレミアムエディション向けの早期アクセスを開始。ローンチトレイラーの公開も"},{"source":"Denfaminicogamer","url":"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/261002x","title":"【高評価】『Gears of War: E-Day』海外レビューでメタクリ「87/100」を獲得。「“シリーズ最高傑作”のキャンペーン」と絶賛する声も"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/02/173075.html","title":"「ファンが恋しく思っていたシリーズの姿がまさにここにある」海外レビューハイスコア『Gears of War: E-Day』"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Gears of War: E-Day"],"studios":["The Coalition","Xbox Game Studios"],"people":[],"type":"release","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Gears of War: E-Day entered early access on October 2, 2026 for Premium Edition buyers and Game Pass subscribers with the Premium Upgrade.","The Premium Edition of Gears of War: E-Day costs 14,000 yen including tax.","Gears of War: E-Day launches in standard form on October 7 Japan time for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Steam, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass support.","Gears of War: E-Day sits at a Metacritic average of 87 from 52 Xbox Series X|S reviews and 84 from 27 PC reviews as of early October 2026.","Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War, covering Emergence Day, when the Locust emerged from beneath Sera and killed 25 percent of humanity."]}