Gears of War games in order: chronological and release

Gear of War E-Day is the next game in the Gears of War series, and to help get you up to speed before the prequel hits Xbox consoles and PC, we’ve listed out all the Gears of War games in order. Below, you’ll find lists of the Gears games in both chronological and release order.

Including spin-offs, there are seven Gears of War games in the series so far that all contribute to the overall Gears lore — you won’t see GearsPOP! in this article, I’m afraid. All of the Gears series is still playable today on Xbox consoles (thank you, backwards compatibility) and with a Game Pass subscription.

Gears of War games in release order

Playing the Gears of War series in release order is generally the best way to experience everything the Gears universe has to offer. While there are specific parts of certain games that do jump around in the Gears timeline, it’s easier to play the series starting with the oldest game, Gears of War, and working your way through to the modern entries. Here are all the Gears of War games (excluding GearsPOP!) in release order:

1. Gears of War (2006)
2. Gears of War 2 (2008)
3. Gears of War 3 (2011)
4. Gears of War: Judgment (2013)
5. Gears of War 4 (2016)
6. Gears 5 (2019)
7. Gears Tactics (2020)
8. Gears of War: E-Day (TBA)

Gears of War games in chronological order

Now, this chronological list has some caveats, as some sections/DLC packs in some of these titles jump around in the timeline.

Some of the Gears of War 4 prologue is set before Gears of War: Judgment, and Judgment itself has two campaigns, with the Aftermath campaign taking place during Gears of War 3. There’s also the Gears of War 3: Raam’s Shadow DLC, which is set before the events of Gears of War just after Emergence Day. If you truly wish to play the Gears series in chronological order, bear those caveats in mind.

1. Gears of War: E-Day
2. Gears of War: Judgment
3. Gears Tactics
4. Gears of War
5. Gears of War 2
6. Gears of War 3
7. Gears of War 4
8. Gears 5

How to play through the Gears of War games in timeline order:

Gears of War: E-Day

• Release date: TBA
• Developer: The Coalition
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC

Although details are limited, The Coalition has shared a little about what we can expect from this prequel. Set 14 years before the events of the first Gears of War game, Gears of War: E-Day tells the story of Emergence Day (the day the Locus Horde first erupted from the ground on the COG homeworld of Sera) through the eyes of Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. According to The Coalition, E-Day has been built from the ground up using Unreal Engine 5, which offers a big leap in technical capabilities.

Gears of War: Judgment

• Release date: March 22, 2013
• Developers: People Can Fly, Epic Games
• Platforms: Xbox 360, PC

Gears of War: Judgment is a spin-off to the Gears of War series that follows fan favorites Baird and Cole before they meet Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. In the prequel, which is set in the aftermath of Emergence Day, Baird, Cole, and Kilo squad have been arrested and are on trial for treason. The story is told through a series of flashbacks where we learn that Kilo squad goes against direct orders to use a lightmass missile to take out the fearsome Locust General Karn and his army in Halvo Bay.

Judgment has a second campaign called Aftermath, which is set 17 years later during Gears of War 3. In Aftermath, Baird and Cole return to Halvo Bay to find reinforcements for the upcoming assault on Azura.

Gears Tactics

• Release date: April 28, 2020
• Developer: Spash Damage, The Coalition
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Gears Tactics is another prequel spin-off to the main Gears of War series that breaks away from the traditional third-person cover-based shooting the franchise is known for. Tactics is a turn-based tactics game that’s similar to Firaxis’ XCOM series. Set a year after Emergence Day, the government is in disarray, and cities on the planet of Sera are becoming overrun by the Locust Horde. Playing as Gaberial Diaz (Kait Diaz’s father), you set out to find and eliminate Ukkon, the lead scientist of the Locust Horde.

Gears of War

• Release date: November 17, 2006
• Developer: Epic Games
• Platforms: Xbox 360

Set 14 years after Emergence Day, Gears of War follows Marcus Fenix, a former soldier who has spent the last four years in prison. After being reinstated into the COG army, Fenix, along with Delta squad members Dominic Santiago, Damon Baird, and Augustus Cole, are sent on a suicide mission to deliver a lightmass bomb to the heart of a series of underground caverns that the Locust Horde calls home.

Gears of War 2

• Release date: November 7, 2008
• Developer: Epic Games
• Platforms: Xbox 360

Gears of War 2 picks up six months after the events of Gears of War. While the lightmass bomb did wipe out the majority of the Locust forces, enough survived for the Horde to rebuild, and they’ve started using giant Riftworms that can sink entire cities. The sequel follows Fenix and Delta as they try to stop the Locust from sinking the human city of Jacinto. However, Delta soon learns that the Locust are fighting a civil war with a faction of strange organisms that have been infected with Imulsion known as the Lambent. Fenix and crew soon come up with a plane to wipe out both the Locust and the Lambent once and for all.

Gears of War 3

Release date: September 20, 2011
Developer: Epic Games
Platforms: Xbox 360
Gears of War 3 is the final game in the original Gears of War trilogy and is set 18 months after Gears of War 2. After Jacinto is leveled in an attempt to destroy the Locust, the last remnants of humanity have relocated to the island of Vectes. Unfortunately, the Lambent decides to invade Vectes, and Delta squad is tasked with hunting down a top-secret weapon capable of killing all of the Lambent and Locust on Sera.

Gears of War 4

• Release date: October 11, 2016
• Developer: The Coalition
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Gears of War 4 takes place 25 years after the events of Gears of War 3 and follows the story of J.D. Fenix (son of Marcus Fenix), Delmont “Del” Walker, and Kait Diaz (daughter of Gabriel Diaz from Gears Tactics). With humanity slowly rebuilding after the detonation of a super weapon designed to eradicate the Lambent and Locust, a new threat dubbed the Swarm has emerged and is abducting humans to turn them into more Swarm creatures.

Gears 5

• Release date: September 10, 2019
• Developer: The Coalition
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Gears 5 is set a few months after Gears of War 4 and continues the stories of Kait, J.D., and Del, who have been reinstated back into the COG army. While continuing their fight against the deadly Swarm, Kait sets out to uncover the truth about her family’s connection to the Locust.