Gears of War: E-Day on Game Pass: Which Tiers Get It on October 6, and Who Plays Early

Gears of War: E-Day joins Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 6, but a Game Pass subscription alone does not get you in early. Early access, live since October 1 at 8:00 a.m. PT, requires the $99.99 Premium Edition or the $30 Premium Upgrade. Full launch is Tuesday, October 6, at 8:00 a.m. PT (11:00 a.m. ET, 15:00 UTC), and everything below was checked on October 2, 2026.

Which Game Pass tiers get Gears of War: E-Day on October 6?

Only Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass are confirmed for day one on October 6. Xbox’s game page lists both. Ultimate also covers cloud play, while PC Game Pass is PC only. Xbox has not named the Essential or Premium plans for this game. Xbox’s plan page says Essential does not include new releases on day one and that Premium adds new Xbox-published games within a year of launch, but Xbox has not said whether E-Day will join either.

Xbox’s fine print adds that online campaign co-op, Horde Siege, Versus and other multiplayer features require a Game Pass subscription that includes online multiplayer, sold separately. It does not break that down by platform, so check the terms for yours.

Who can play Gears of War: E-Day early, and what does it cost?

Early access is open to Premium Edition owners and to Game Pass subscribers who add the $30 Premium Upgrade; everyone else waits until October 6. It began October 1 at 8:00 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC) and runs up to five days.

The Premium Edition and the upgrade both add the Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, five Seasonal Customization Packs (the Emergence Pack at launch, the rest as released) and 1,000 Iron, the in-game currency. The Collector’s Edition bundles the game (an Xbox Series X disc or a Steam code), the Premium upgrade, a 15-inch Marcus and Dom statue and a COG tags replica; the Xbox Game Studios Shop’s product data flagged both versions unavailable on October 2. Pre-orders placed before 7:59 a.m. PT on October 6 carry the Exfil Dom skin and an Exfil weapon skin set at participating retailers while supplies last, per Xbox’s fine print.

Can PC Game Pass subscribers buy the Premium Upgrade?

Microsoft’s own listing says the upgrade requires the base game or Game Pass Ultimate, and it does not name PC Game Pass. Xbox Wire says Game Pass subscribers can play early with the upgrade but does not name a plan, and one outlet guide says PC Game Pass qualifies too while others stay vague. We could not confirm that from a first-party source, so open the upgrade’s Microsoft Store listing on the account you plan to use before paying. The upgrade is a DLC-style add-on: Microsoft’s listing says it requires a game, sold separately, so it cannot be bought alone.

What platforms is Gears of War: E-Day on, and is it coming to PlayStation?

Gears of War: E-Day is on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, through the Microsoft Store and Steam, with cloud play through Game Pass Ultimate and GeForce NOW. Xbox says Xbox Play Anywhere gives shared progression and achievements across Xbox Series X|S and PC, and Steam lists Windows only. No PlayStation version has been announced, and Xbox’s own pages list none.

What does Gears of War: E-Day need on PC?

Steam’s listing requires a hardware ray-tracing-capable GPU, an SSD and 115 GB of free space.

The listing also names the i7-6850K, RTX 5050 and RX 9060 at minimum, and the RTX 5060 and RX 9060 XT at recommended. One independent PC benchmark published October 1 described the top graphics preset as very demanding.

What are Horde Siege and Versus in Gears of War: E-Day?

Horde Siege is a 12-player PvE mode played as three squads of four on a shared stage, and Versus is a 4v4 PvP mode. Xbox lists four Horde Siege classes (Assault, Marksman, Medic and Breacher), shared objectives and world bosses. Versus has four modes, with Ranked and Social playlists. The campaign plays solo, in two-player split-screen on console only, or with up to four players online. Xbox says the game runs at 4K and up to 60 fps in campaign and multiplayer on a compatible display.

What are the reviews saying so far?

Critics are broadly positive: as of October 2, 2026, Metacritic read 86 for Xbox Series X and 84 for PC, and OpenCritic’s Top Critic Average was 88. Metacritic’s Xbox score rests on 29 reviews (26 positive, 3 mixed, none negative) and PC on 27, while OpenCritic showed 91% of critics recommending. Those figures were still moving, and individual Metacritic Xbox scores run from 100 down to 50. Reviewers praised the movement and gunplay. Some found the story thinner than the action, the open areas and side content weaker, and the AI squadmates unreliable.

Multiplayer is not yet fully reviewed. Most reviews cover only the campaign, and Game Informer’s piece is an unscored review in progress because the multiplayer servers were off at the embargo. These are critics’ opinions, and we have not played the game.

What should you do before October 6?

If you have Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, the game costs nothing extra on October 6, so pay only if you want the early days and the Premium extras. If you are on Essential or Premium, wait for Xbox to name your plan rather than assume. For another Xbox release that used the same early-access upgrade, see our look at Halo: Campaign Evolved’s reviews, release date and Game Pass .