Gears of War 6: Everything We Know

Ever since The Coalition bought out the rights to frontline Gears of War, the series has only continued to rise from strength to strength. And yet, in spite of its newfound purpose as a third-person saga, its future still remains somewhat shrouded in mysteries. And as far as a sixth instalment to the timeline goes, well — who knows. There's a lot of speculation floating about at this point, but we can probably assume that it'll come knocking at some stage. And if not next year, then in the years following on from it.

Anyway, the question isn't will Gears 6 come out, but more when will it come out. It seems that at this point it's hard to tell, though with three years of silence now finally behind us, 2023 seems to be as good a time as any to shed light on the project. Until then, we'll go ahead and fill you in on all the bits and pieces that we currently know on the mystery sequel.

What Is Gears of War 6?

Gears of War 6 is an unconfirmed but almost expected sequel to the highly acclaimed third-person shooter saga. The game will serve as the sixth major instalment in the timeline, and the third since Xbox Game Studios and The Coalition purchased the reins from Epic Games following the end of the original trilogy.

Gears 6 will no doubt explore the same open world format that it tried to dabble in in the fifth entry. As well as this, players can expect to see all the same third-person shooter chaos as before, complete with a boatload of chainsaw-strapped Lancers to boot. How do we know this? Well, it's Gears of War; there isn't a chapter in the book that doesn't feature these. Yet.

Story

The last we saw of Gears of War was with Kait, JD, and Marcus, holding the frontline at New Ephyra. After using Jack as a beacon for the Hammer of Dawn to defeat the Kraken, Marcus warned Kait that Reyna, the Queen of the Swarm, would return. Kait, finally coming to learn of her Locust heritage, vowed to find Reyna first, before she initiated a second assault on the new world.

It's safe to assume that Gears 6 will pick up with Kait, JD, and Marcus, perhaps hunting for the Hive that houses Reyna and the Swarm. Will this result in a dramatic final stand between humanity and the underworld below, or will it merely act as a stepping stone to something much bigger? It's hard to say, but given the fact that Gears of War is one of Xbox's biggest franchises, it's hard to imagine Gears 6 being the last leg of the journey.

Gameplay

Gears of War has mostly kept to traditional wall-to-wall combat from a bullet-riddled third-person shooter perspective. Besides Gears of War 5, which opted to explore some open world routes and additional side quests, the series has pretty much always been a linear story-driven sort of gig with a fixed template and a number of epic clashes and cinematics. It's safe to assume, then, that Gears 6 will follow a similar pattern. Don't take our word for it, though.

Development

It's a little known fact that Epic Games originally sold the rights to the Gears of War IP to Xbox Game Studios due to not knowing what to do with it. To the former, the story was done; it was a saga best left for the archives. Xbox Game Studios and The Coalition, on the other hand, clearly had the intention of squeezing a few more droplets of blood from the chunky cash cow. In

Given the fact that Gears 5 released in 2019, it is hard to picture The Coalition sitting on idle hands right now. Also, the fact that Gears 4 released in 2016 does reveal that there was a three-year slot for development between major releases. Surely, then, this would mean Gears 6 would be here by now? It's wishful thinking, sure, but it's about all we've got at this point. The fact is though, as it's been three years since the last chapter, an announcement for the next should be on the nearby horizon. Q2 2023, maybe?

Trailer

So, has The Coalition released a trailer for Gears of War 6 yet? Well, no, nor will it until the game is formally announced at some point in the—fingers crossed—near future. As it stands, though, it's hard to predict what the trailer will entail. If we had to take a stab at it, then we think it'll likely include Kait, JD (or Del), Marcus, Baird, and Cole, along with the burning remains of New Ephyra—the last location from Gears 5. Anything outside of this is just serious speculation at this point.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Unfortunately, The Coalition hasn't shed light on any particular release date for Gears of War 6 just yet. That said, insiders have claimed that the next leg of the journey will be brought to light on Xbox Series X|S in 2024. At the time of writing, though, it's probably best to take this with a grain of salt, as there's no concrete data that suggests this is legitimate.

The good news is, both Epic Games and The Coalition have a strong history of producing quality editions with plenty of in-game and physical perks. And although Gears 6 has yet to receive any editions outside of the standard one, we can still go ahead and predict that it'll come accompanied with a digital deluxe copy, an Ultimated Edition, and perhaps even a Collector's Edition. Of course, any formal announcement surrounding the editions are yet to be made. Whatever the case, we'll be keeping tabs on the official social feed for when the announcements are finally made. Here's hoping, then, that they come sooner rather than later.

So, what's your take? Are you looking forward to getting your hands on Gears 6 when it eventually comes around? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.