Gears of War: Reloaded’s Steam Reviews Could Leave E-Day…

Gears of War: Reloaded, the latest installment in Microsoft's long-running franchise, is essentially a remaster of a remake of the original Gears of War. However, unlike Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, which was only available on Xbox and the Microsoft Store, this version of the game is available on both Steam and PlayStation 5. Even though Gears of War: Reloaded is almost the exact same game as its predecessors, it does feature some technical enhancements that are aimed at bringing it up to modern standards. The game not only has 4K textures, improved controls, and HDR support, it can also run at up to 120 FPS in multiplayer modes.

One would think, given how basic a remaster Gears of War: Reloaded is, that it would run on all devices without any hiccups whatsoever. On PC, however, the game surprisingly suffers from a number of strange issues. Gears of War: Reloaded currently has a measly 50% user score on Steam, with many reviewers pointing out its lack of split-screen co-op, limited settings options, graphical glitches, and frequent crashing problems. While Microsoft and The Coalition have confirmed that they are planning to release some patches to fix these issues, they can't let the next big Gears game have a launch as troubled as this.

Although Gears of War: Reloaded doesn't have split-screen co-op, it's worth noting that the PC version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition didn't have it, either. Split-screen co-op was only available in the Xbox port of the game.

The Coalition Can't Let Gears of War: E-Day Have a Launch as Troubled as GoW: Reloaded's on PC

Gears of War Reloaded May Be Writing a Check It Can't Cash For PlayStation Fans

Unlike GoW: Reloaded, Which Runs on UE3, GoW: E-Day Will Use UE5

Just like the original title that it's based on, Gears of War: Reloaded runs on a modified version of Unreal Engine 3. This version of the engine is, of course, more than 20 years old at this point, and it's no longer supported by its original creators. While Reloaded certainly does look better than most of the other games that used Unreal Engine 3 back in the day, it still lags behind modern titles due to the technical limitations of the software framework that it runs on. This, however, won't be a problem for the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, since it's going to use the considerably more modern Unreal Engine 5.

gears of war e day story — Gears of war e day story

When Gears of War: E-Day was first revealed during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft posted an interview with The Coalition on the official Xbox website that shared some more details about the game. The Coalition's Studio Technical Director, Kate Reynor, said in the interview that E-Day will take full advantage of all the advancements that Unreal Engine 5 has to offer. She not only confirmed that the game will have "over 100 times more environment and character details than Gears 5," but also that it'll feature next-generation destruction, gore, and animation technology. Reynor added that, with Gears of War: E-Day, The Coalition intends to follow in the original Gears of War's footsteps by setting "a new standard in technical excellence."

Unreal Engine 5 Games Have Often Been Plagued by Technical Issues

While it's great that Gears of War: E-Day is seemingly going to be a graphical powerhouse, the fact that the game runs on Unreal Engine 5 may be a point of concern for some people. As many gamers may know by now, UE5 isn't exactly the most well-optimized engine out there. Others that have used the engine, including games like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Black Myth: Wukong, have suffered from a lot of technical issues at launch, especially on PC. UE5’s ability to deliver stunning visuals often comes at the expense of performance on most platforms.

GoW: E-Day Should at Least Be as Polished as GoW 4 and 5 at Launch

Gears of War Delta Squad Kait Diaz JD Fenix Del Walker Fahz Chutani

In spite of Gears of War: Reloaded's unusually rough launch, The Coalition has, for the most part, had a pretty good track record when it comes to dealing with Unreal Engine. Gears of War 4 and 5 may have utilized UE4 rather than UE5, but the games ran surprisingly well on most platforms, including the original Xbox One. Instead of repeating the mistakes it made with Gears of War: Reloaded, hopefully The Coalition gives Gears of War: E-Day's optimization the same care and attention as it did with those two titles.