Is Gears of War: E-Day on PS5?

The official answer

The decision was announced on June 7, 2026, at the Xbox Games Showcase. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said plainly that Gears of War: E-Day would be an Xbox console exclusive. The official Xbox store lists Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam and Xbox Cloud Gaming — and no PlayStation.

Xbox content chief Matt Booty framed exclusives as important for giving people a reason to get on board with Xbox, naming Gears as part of that plan for 2026. The game launched on October 6, 2026 on Xbox and PC, and joined Game Pass on day one.

Is it a timed exclusive?

According to The Shortcut, no. Its reporting states that E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are not timed exclusives either, and that they will not release on PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2 — only on Xbox and PC.

There has been no announcement of a PS5 version since. As always, plans can change, but nothing official points to a port. We will update this page if that changes.

Why so many people expected a PS5 version

Xbox had previously brought several first-party games to PS5, so many players assumed E-Day would follow. The Coalition's own Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the first game, launched on PS5 in August 2025. That set an expectation that the next Gears would too.

Several signals before the showcase added to it. An official Xbox podcast video briefly showed a PS5 logo alongside E-Day artwork before it was removed. A PS5 rating appeared on PEGI, and Walmart listed a PS5 placeholder page.

On June 6–7, rumours spread that a PS5 version had been cancelled at the last minute. Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb said the game had been going to PS5 and no longer was. The Verge's Tom Warren and Bloomberg sources also described a late change.

Xbox's response to the rumours

Xbox and The Coalition denied that PS5 was ever cut. Xbox's VP of gaming marketing, Aaron Greenberg, said the reports were not true and that knowledge of the decision had simply been limited to a small internal group. He added that it was not a last-minute decision.

• Matt Searcy, creative director at The Coalition: the team never talked about it going to PS5.
• Nicole Fawcette, brand director at The Coalition: it was never changed.
• Game Informer summarised Xbox's position as doubling down on exclusivity and saying it was never planned for PS5.

So the outcome is clear even if the backstory is disputed. Officially, E-Day was always an Xbox and PC game. Some reporting maintains the decision came later; there is no way to settle that from public information.

How to play without an Xbox

PC is the most flexible route, and every version supports crossplay with Xbox consoles. Check the system requirements first, because a graphics card with hardware ray tracing is mandatory. Our Steam page covers account linking and crossplay.

Cloud gaming is the cheapest way to try it if your PC is not up to the task. It is also how Xbox One owners can play, since there is no native Xbox One version.

The business debate

The exclusivity decision sparked a lot of discussion about whether the game can earn back its cost. Commentators argued that combining Xbox exclusivity with day-one Game Pass limits full-price sales. That debate continued through launch.

Some of it rests on a reported development budget of $400 million, attributed to Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson. That figure is unconfirmed, and neither Xbox nor The Coalition has commented on it. The Coalition is reported to have worked on E-Day for about five years.

What you can play on PS5 instead

If you only have a PS5, Gears of War: Reloaded is available on it. It is a remaster of the original 2006 game, released on August 26, 2025 for $39.99. It is not E-Day, but it is the first story in the series, set 14 years after E-Day's events.

Our remake page explains the difference between Reloaded and E-Day in detail. If you decide to jump to PC or cloud for E-Day, start with our beginner tips.

What about Switch 2 and Xbox One?

The same reporting that ruled out PS5 also ruled out Nintendo Switch 2. E-Day is an Xbox and PC game only. There is no announced version for any Nintendo hardware.

Xbox One is a partial exception. There is no native Xbox One version, because the game was built in Unreal Engine 5 for current hardware. But Xbox One owners can still play through Xbox Cloud Gaming with Game Pass Ultimate.

Quick answers for PlayStation players

• Can I play with friends on PS5? No. Crossplay covers Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox app and Steam, but there is no PlayStation version to connect.
• Will it come to PS5 later? Nothing has been announced, and Xbox has repeatedly said it was never planned for PS5.
• Can I use a DualSense on PC? Yes. The Steam version lists DualSense controller support.
• Is there a PS5 version of any Gears game? Yes — Gears of War: Reloaded, the remaster of the first game.

The cheapest way in

E-Day is included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from launch. That makes a PC Game Pass subscription the lowest-cost way for a PlayStation owner with a capable PC to play. Cloud play requires Ultimate.

See our Game Pass page for which tiers include it and how to get early access through the Premium Upgrade.