Gears of War is a video game franchise that debuted on November 9, 2006 with Gears of War for the Xbox 360 and was a best-seller. The fictional universe of the series takes place on the fictional planet Sera and focus on a war between humans and creatures known as Locust. The franchise has since spawned several novels, art books, a series of comic books, and a board game by Fantasy Flight Games, with a film currently in pre-production.

Video games

Title Details
Gears of War

Original release date(s):
  • NA: November 9, 2006
  • EU: November 12, 2006
  • AU: November 24, 2006
 Release years by system:
2006—Xbox 360
2007—Microsoft Windows[1]
Notes:
  • A Limited Collector's Edition was released in a steel case with an additional disc with environment and stages artwork and a book titled Destroyed Beauty.
Gears of War 2

Original release date(s):[2]
  • WW: November 7, 2008
 Release years by system:
2008—Xbox 360[2]
Notes:
  • A Limited Edition version was released featuring a SteelBook case, bonus content DVD, a book titled Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2, and exclusive Xbox Live downloadable content.[3][4]
  • Expansions:
  • "All Fronts Collection" (2009)
Gears of War 3

Original release date(s):[2]
  • WW: September 20, 2011
 Release years by system:
2011—Xbox 360[2]
Notes:
  • A Limited Edition version was released featuring a SteelBook case.
  • Expansions:
  • "RAAM's Shadow" (2011)
  • "Horde Command Pack" (2011)
  • "Versus Booster Map Pack" (2011)
  • "Forces of Nature Map Pack" (2012)
  • "Fenix Rising" (2012)
Gears of War: Judgment

Original release date(s):
  • NA: March 19, 2013
  • AU: March 19, 2013
  • EU: March 22, 2013
 Release years by system:
2013—Xbox 360
Notes:
  • It serves as a prequel of the first game.
  • Epic Games co-developed the game with Polish studio People Can Fly.
  • Expansions:
  • "Call to Arms" (2013)
  • "Lost Relics" (2013)
  • "Dreadnought" (2013)
  • "Haven" (2013)
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

Original release date(s):[5]
  • NA: August 25, 2015
  • AU: August 25, 2015
  • EU: August 28, 2015
 Release years by system:
2015—Xbox One
2016—Microsoft Windows
Notes:
Gears of War 4

Original release date(s):
  • WW: October 11, 2016
 Release years by system:
2016—Xbox One
2016—Microsoft Windows
Notes:
  • Set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and the single-player campaign focuses on the story of Marcus Fenix's son, J.D. and his friends Kait Diaz and Del Walker.
  • The first main entry in the series to be developed by The Coalition
Gears Pop!

Original release date(s):
  • WW: August 22, 2019
 Release years by system:
2019—iOS
2019—Android
2019—Microsoft Windows
Notes:
  • Mobile real-time strategy video game in which two players battle using Funko Pop!-stylized characters from the Gears fictional universe, with gameplay similar to Clash Royale.
  • Mediatonic led the game's development.
Gears 5

Original release date(s):
  • WW: September 10, 2019
 Release years by system:
2019—Xbox One
2019—Microsoft Windows
2020—Xbox Series X and Series S
Notes:
  • Direct sequel to Gears of War 4 with Kait Diaz as the central protagonist, while J.D. Fenix is playable in the first chapter of the campaign
  • Gears 5 will receive visual enhancements for the Xbox Series X upon its launch, including higher resolution textures, new visual effects such as volumetric fog, and running at higher frames per second[6]
  • A Limited Edition version was released, which includes the Ultimate Edition of the game, a Limited Edition Xbox One X console, controller, headset, wireless keyboard, mouse from Razer, external hard drives from Seagate, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and the standard versions of Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Gears of War 4[7]
  • Expansions:
Gears Tactics

Original release date(s):
  • WW: April 28, 2020
 Release years by system:
2020—Xbox One
2020—Microsoft Windows
2020—Xbox Series X and Series S
Notes:
  • A spin-off title with gameplay similar to the X-COM series, and serves as a prequel of the first game.
  • Set one year after Emergence Day and 13 years before Gears of War and focuses on Kait Diaz's father, Gabriel Diaz.

Printed

Title Release date ISBN Media type
Destroyed Beauty November 9, 2006 — Supplementary book
  • Released with the Gears of War Limited Collector's Edition package
Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2 November 7, 2008[2] — Supplementary book
  • Released with the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition package[3][4]
Gears of War December 2008 – August 2012 — Comic book series
Gears of War: Aspho Fields October 28, 2008[2] ISBN 978-0-345-49943-1 Novelization
Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant July 28, 2009[2] ISBN 978-0-345-49944-8 Novelization
  • Written by Karen Traviss[13]
  • Second novel in an expected series and is considered canon material[2]
Gears of War: Anvil Gate August 31, 2010[2] ISBN 978-0-345-49945-5 Novelization
  • Written by Karen Traviss
  • Third novel in an expected series and is considered canon material[2]
Gears of War: Coalition's End August 2, 2011[2] ISBN 978-1-4391-8395-3 Novelization
  • Written by Karen Traviss
  • Fourth novel in an expected series and is considered canon material[2]
Gears of War: The Slab May 8, 2012[2] ISBN 978-1-4391-8407-3 Novelization
  • Written by Karen Traviss
  • Fifth novel in an expected series and is considered canon material[2]
Gears of War: Rise of RAAM January 2018 - April 2018 ISBN 978-1-6840-5238-7 Comic book series
  • Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe with art by Max Dunbar
Gears of War: Hivebusters May 2019 - March 2020 ISBN 978-1-6840-5417-6 Comic book series
  • Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe with art by Alan Quah
Gears of War: Ascendance July 30, 2019 ISBN 978-1-7890-9261-5 Novelization
  • Written by Jason M. Hough
Gears of War: Bloodlines April 21, 2020 ISBN 978-1-7890-9478-7 Novelization
  • Written by Jason M. Hough

Other media

Title Release date Media type
Gears of War: The Board Game 2011 Board game
Notes:
Gears of War TBA Film
Notes:

Soundtracks

Title Release date Length Label Ref
Gears of War: The Soundtrack July 31, 2007 69:08 Sumthing Else [15]
Gears of War 2: The Soundtrack November 25, 2008 62:27 Sumthing Else [16]

References

  1. ^ Butts, Steve (2007-10-04). "Gears of War Hands On". IGN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Epic Games and Del Rey Announce Novels in the Gears of War Video Game Universe
  3. ^ a b Gamestop Gears of War 2 Limited Edition Info Archived 2008-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b Gears of War 2 Limited Edition Content Revealed
  5. ^ "Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Release". gearsofwar.com. Microsoft Studios. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  6. ^ Gurwin, Gabe (March 16, 2020). "Gears 5 Is Coming to Xbox Series X With Improvements, Possible 120 FPS Support". GameSpot. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Watts, Steve (August 7, 2019). "New Gears 5 Xbox One X Limited Edition Announced Alongside Lots Of Other Hardware". GameSpot. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  8. ^ Josh Ortega Talks "Gears of War", Comic Book Resources, December 24, 2008
  9. ^ Linde, Aaron (2008-04-18). "Epic Games and DC Plan Gears of War Comic Book". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  10. ^ Ortega & Sharp on Gears of War Comic, Newsarama, July 24, 2008
  11. ^ Sharp's Exclusive Gears of War Comic Nex ws Archived 2009-08-13 at the Wayback Machine, Comicon, August 11, 2008
  12. ^ Traviss, Karen (2008). Gears of War Aspho Fields (Gears of War). Del Rey. ISBN 978-0-345-49943-1.
  13. ^ Traviss, Karen (2009). Gears of War Jacinto's Remnant (Gears of War). Del Rey. ISBN 978-0-345-49944-8.
  14. ^ Berardini, César (2008-01-02). "Gears of War Novel Update. Movie Script Confirmed". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  15. ^ "Music from Gears of War The Soundtrack". Game-OST. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
  16. ^ "Music from Gears of War 2: The Soundtrack". Game-OST. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
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