Gears of War: E-Day director says the new shooter will "absolutely be doing more" linear levels instead of Gear 5's open-ended maps

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It sounds like E-Day will be a denser experience

Gears of War E-Day What's Hot
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Gears of War: E-Day is ditching Gears 5's open-world levels for a more linear experience. 

That's according to Gears creative director Matt Searcy, speaking to GamesRadar+ during a group interview at Summer Game Fest 2024. The director revealed that Gears of War: E-Day, the new prequel game taking place years before the original third-person shooter, is set in the city of Kalona, a brand new location for the Gears of War franchise. 

"We've worked on Gears now in our studio for like, 10 years. We've got a really good handle on things that work really well in gears, as well as like things you want to keep pushing and trying. We know for sure that Gears, you know, has those linear, epic moments in them," Searcy said when asked about E-Day taking the series back to its more linear roots. 

"We've done a bunch of them, we know how to do that," the creative director continues, speaking of the linear moments in the Gears of War series. "And we will absolutely be doing more of that," Searcy confirms, pointing to how Gears of War: E-Day is set entirely within a city, and how a cityscape naturally lends itself to more linear opportunities.

"It's gonna feel new and also authentically Gears at the same time because we're able to take all the things that we know were awesome and bring, you know, new techniques and expertise as well as a new engine all of it," Searcy concludes. 

Elsewhere in the interview, Searcy confirms to GamesRadar+ that E-Day won't be set over just one day, but over multiple days. It'd be natural to assume the former, given that E-Day was a singular, catastrophic event in the Gears of War world, but apparently, the new game will focus on Marcus and Dom as they deal with the fallout of the Locust invasion, not just the initial attack.

Gears of War: E-Day's gorgeous trailer wasn't just CG, it used assets "that players will see in the final game."

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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