Gears of War E-Day's Xbox exclusivity did not move the needle for Xbox Series X|S sales, according to Circana games analyst Mat Piscatella.
Speaking to The Game Business, Piscatella notes that – despite negative reception from fans and mixed reviews – PS5 sales in September 2026 were boosted compared to September 2025 thanks to Marvel's Wolverine. He notes that the console bundle and new DualSense controller also did well sales-wise, adding, "In terms of an old-school, 'here's an exclusive game and we're going to sell some consoles and some accessories with it,' I think it's about as good as you could hope from an IP that isn't the level of Spider-Man."
However, the same can't be said for Xbox. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma made a big song and dance about how Gears of War E-Day will be exclusive to Xbox consoles, despite word that a PS5 version was far in development, but since launch, it doesn't seem to have done much for the platform. UK Xbox sales data from Nielsen IQ showed a 22% drop in October, while Circana saw no uplift in the US. Piscatella notes, "All of the new programs they're putting into place, at least in the sales and engagement data that I look at, I'm not seeing [them] have any positive impact.
"Saying Gears is going to be exclusive hasn't made any difference in terms of the hardware trend. In fact, it keeps getting worse," Piscatella says, also noting that since Call of Duty was removed from Xbox Game Pass as a day one release, "you lost a ton of engagement on Xbox because it's no longer on Game Pass, and you got no benefit."
As for Xbox consoles, Piscatella says, "It's really hard to find any signs of positivity or hope on that platform right now." He adds, "Everything they're doing seems to be getting Twitter likes from the most passionate part of their fan base, but other than that, in terms of actual results, I'm not seeing anything right now. And I'm looking really hard."
