Yet another high-profile Xbox franchise is making the leap to PlayStation. While Halo isn’t yet making the transition, Gears of War is about to join the likes of Forza Horizon 5 in crossing the divide. Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the first game in the series from 2006, is coming to PS5, PC (on the Xbox PC app and Steam) and, naturally, Xbox Series X/S on August 26. However, it’s not making its way to Nintendo Switch 2, at least for the time being.
The game costs $40, though it will also be on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on day one. Those who bought the digital version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition before the remaster announcement will get a free upgrade. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will also be able to play the third-person shooter on Xbox Cloud Gaming.
The Coalition, an Xbox studio that focuses on Gears of War, worked on the remaster with Sumo Interactive and Disbelief. The game includes all of the Gears of War DLC at no extra cost, including a bonus act for the campaign and all multiplayer features. There will be some characters and cosmetic items that you unlock through progression.
As ever, you can play through the campaign with a friend either online or in classic split-screen co-op. There’s cross-play for all platforms with support for up to eight players in the versus multiplayer mode. If you sign in with a Microsoft account (which isn’t required), you can enable cross-progression. So if you pick up Gears of War: Reloaded on PS5 and play the campaign or multiplayer there, you can continue where you left off on a phone or tablet via Xbox Cloud Gaming, for instance.
Along with “platform-specific features,” Gears of War: Reloaded includes support for 4K HDR visuals, framerates of 60 fps in the campaign and 120 fps in multiplayer modes, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and other visual, audio and performance enhancements. Microsoft is also promising that the campaign will have zero loading screens.
The Coalition has another Gears of War project in the pipeline. During last June’s Xbox Games Showcase, Gears of War: E-Day was revealed. Outriders studio People Can Fly is co-developing the game, which does not yet have a release window.
