Gears 5 Breaks Launch Records for Xbox Game Studios

Gears 5 has had a very successful launch, according to Xbox. How successful? So successful, in fact, that the partly open-world shooter has broken what appears to be a number of records for Xbox Game Studios — including the biggest launch of this generation. The Coalition has seemingly succeeded, though there’s still all the post-launch content to think about.

According to the official post on Xbox Wire, Gears 5 brought in over three million players on launch weekend and broke the record for biggest launch week of any Xbox Game Studios title this generation. Additionally, it states that this doubled Gears of War 4‘s first week, bringing in players on a scale that hasn’t been seen for an Xbox Game Studios title since Halo 4 in 2012.

Now, none of this is without some caveats. Gears 5 was also included as part of Xbox Game Pass, which means that subscribers were able to play without actually buying a copy. And this first week performance that broke records includes the four-day early access period. That doesn’t even begin to get into the various limited-time promotions for folks that play the game early. That isn’t to say that the records are without merit; they just have a whole new set of circumstances compared to video games of the past. (The game was also, according to Xbox, the best-ever debut for Xbox Game Studios on Steam.)

Have you had a chance to play Gears 5 yet? Were you part of the record-breaking launch, or are you looking forward to playing in the near future? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

Gears 5 is currently available on Xbox One and PC. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the latest and greatest video game in the Gears franchise right here.