Gears Of War: E-Day Cost $500 Million To Make, It's Claimed

Gears Of War: E-Day Reportedly Cost $500 Million To Make, Not Counting Marketing Published Oct 22, 2026, 10:24 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com Earlier this year, it was reported that Gears of War: E-Day cost $400 million to make, meaning it would need to become the best-selling entry in the franchise just to recoup its development costs. However, a new report suggests the budget may have been even higher. Windows Central refuted Insider Gaming's initial $400 million estimate in June, arguing that it failed to account for The Coalition's work supporting other studios under the Xbox umbrella. However, Kotaku now claims that a source close to Xbox's plans put the budget at over $500 million. To recoup its development budget before marketing, Gears of War: E-Day would likely need to sell over 10 million copies. For comparison, Gears of War 2, the best-selling entry in the series, reportedly sold 6.75 million copies. E-Day is nowhere close. Gears Of War: E-Day Has Reportedly Only Made $37 Million, Or 7.4% Of Its Budget Shortly after launch, Alinea Analytics reported that the game had sold 230,000 copies, most of them on Steam, where Valve takes a 30% cut. 1.7 million subscribers also played the game via Game Pass, but only 722,000 of those paid $30 for advanced access. Alinea estimates that altogether the game has generated $37 million in revenue, equal to 7.4% of its reported budget. Launching on PS5 may have helped, but Kotaku's source suggests that E-Day was unlikely to recoup its costs regardless of the platforms it launched on, and that the game may instead be used to rebuild activity on Xbox. They aren't wrong. Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the original game, reportedly sold 648,000 copies on PS5, making The Coalition an estimated $32.4 million. So, even if E-Day matched those PS5 sales, which it may not have given the $70 price tag, it would still only amount to $70 million in revenue, or roughly 14% of the game's budget. Whichever way you slice it, half a billion dollars is a ludicrous amount to spend developing a game, unless it has the cultural cachet of Grand Theft Auto 6. And to put it bluntly, Gears of War doesn't. Systems Released October 6, 2026 ESRB Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact Developer(s) The Coalition Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios Engine Unreal Engine 5 Genre(s) Third-Person Shooter, Action, Adventure, Horror