Gears of War: E-Day Premium Upgrade

What the Premium Upgrade is

The Premium Upgrade is an add-on that turns a Standard copy — or Game Pass access — into the Premium experience. It is sold separately from the game. The full Premium Edition, by contrast, bundles the base game and the extras for $99.99.

Pure Xbox framed it simply: the upgrade is for Game Pass subscribers who can already play the base game, while the Premium Edition is for people buying outright. The store listing states that it requires the base game or a Game Pass Ultimate membership, sold separately.

What the upgrade includes

• Up to 5 days of early access (October 1)
• Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack (campaign only)
• Five Seasonal Customization Packs, starting with the Emergence Pack at launch
• 1,000 Iron, the premium in-game currency

These are exactly the same extras as the Premium Edition. Each seasonal pack contains two character skins, two weapon skin sets, two poses, and a banner, emblem and icon. The remaining packs after Emergence arrive as they are released. Our Premium Edition page details the Emergence Pack.

Who can buy it

The tier matters. Only Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass include new releases on day one, so only those members can pair the upgrade with Game Pass access. Our Game Pass page explains each tier.

The catch: it does not include the game

In other words, the upgrade only works alongside a way to play the base game. Owning the Standard Edition is one; an active Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription is the other. Without either, the upgrade alone does not let you launch the game.

This is why some players prefer the full Premium Edition. It costs more up front, but you own the base game and the extras outright, with no subscription involved.

Upgrade vs Premium Edition: the cost

If you buy the Standard Edition and then the upgrade, you pay the same $99.99 as buying Premium in one go. There is no penalty for starting with Standard and deciding later. That flexibility is the main reason not to rush the decision.

For Game Pass members, the upgrade is the cheapest way to get the Premium extras. The trade-off is that your access to the base game depends on staying subscribed.

How to buy it

1. Make sure you own the Standard Edition, or have an active Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscription.
2. Open the Gears of War: E-Day page on the Xbox store, from your console, the Xbox app or xbox.com.
3. Select the Premium Upgrade ($30) and complete the purchase with the same Microsoft account you play on.
4. Launch the game; the extras are applied to that account.

Early access through the upgrade

Xbox Wire confirmed that early access was open to Premium Edition owners and to Game Pass subscribers who bought the Premium Upgrade. It began on October 1 at 8:00 AM PT (15:00 UTC) worldwide. The full game launched at the same time on October 6.

Without the upgrade, Game Pass members got the October 6 date. Now that the game is out, the early access benefit has passed, so the upgrade's value today rests on the cosmetic packs and Iron.

Activating it on PC and Xbox

E-Day supports Xbox Play Anywhere. An upgrade bought from the Xbox digital store works on both Xbox consoles and PC through the Xbox app. There is no separate activation step — sign in with the same Microsoft account on both.

This answers a common question from Italian players searching how to activate Premium for Xbox from PC. As long as the account matches, the upgrade appears automatically. Steam purchases follow Steam's own library instead.

Quick answers

• Does it include the game? No — you need the Standard Edition or Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass.
• Is it the same as the Premium Edition's extras? Yes, the same early access, weapon pack, seasonal packs and 1,000 Iron.
• Does Game Pass Premium count? No. Game Pass Premium is a subscription tier that did not include E-Day at launch.
• Do I need to activate it separately on PC? No, with Play Anywhere it follows your Microsoft account.

Collector's Edition owners

Collector's Edition owners do not need to buy the upgrade. The Collector's Edition includes the full Premium content; unboxing videos of the Xbox version show a Premium Upgrade code inside the SteelBook alongside the disc. The Steam version provides a digital code instead.

See our Collector's Edition page for everything in the box.

Is the upgrade worth $30?

Before launch, the main reason to buy was five days of early access. As LaserBolt put it, the cosmetics alone are not worth $30 to most people. With early access over, the question is whether you want the seasonal packs and 1,000 Iron.

• Worth it if: you play a lot of Horde Siege or Versus and want the cosmetics, or you would spend Iron anyway.
• Skip it if: you are mainly here for the campaign, which is identical without it.

You can always add it later, since it is sold separately. Our how long to beat guide can help you decide how much you will play.