New Gears of War Rumor Angers Longtime Fans

Gears of War fans are finding themselves frustrated by the latest rumor tied to the franchise that has appeared online. Since first debuting back in 2006 on Xbox 360, the Gears of War series has consistently been praised on multiple fronts. Not only has the throughline story and campaign of each individual entry been popular with players, but the multiplayer and Horde modes found in many installments have been arguably just as popular. Now, in the wake of recent rumors suggesting that a Gears of War collection of entries from the past would be coming to Xbox and PS5 later this year, it sounds like this bundle might not come with everything that was found in the older games.

In a rumor coming by way of user @DetectiveSeeds on X, it has been said that this upcoming Gears of War collection will be out in August. Beyond its release, though, the rumor claims that there will be no multiplayer game modes from any of the Gears of War games included. This would instead put the emphasis on the campaigns from each GoW title, with Horde mode and Beast mode’s inclusions still being unknown.

To add further credence to this rumor, reporter Jez Corden said that he has also heard that the upcoming Gears of War collection won’t feature PvP multiplayer. While he did note that multiplayer should be present in the form of campaign co-op, it doesn’t seem like PvP is something that will ever be added.

As you might expect, this rumor has greatly upset many Gears of War fans who were growing excited about the prospect of returning to the multiplayer components of these older titles. Perhaps more than any other Xbox franchise outside of Halo, Gears of War has always had a thriving multiplayer community. With the original Gears of War trilogy now almost 15 years in the past, though, it has made it difficult to revisit each game’s multiplayer, even if the servers are still active.

What still remains a mystery is whether or not Horde mode and Beast mode will be in this collection. Horde mode was introduced in Gears of War 2 and has since become a staple of the series. Beast mode was then added to Gears of War 3 and is essentially the inverse of Horde as it allows players to control the Locust rather than humans. Given that both game modes are more co-op in nature, it sounds like they have a good chance of appearing in the Gears of War collection whenever it comes about. Still, Xbox could choose to make this bundle exclusively tied to the campaigns, which would be an even greater disappointment.

How do you feel about the prospect of this rumored Gears of War collection not shipping with multiplayer? Will this sway your decision to purchase the game if it is released later this year? Let me know for yourself down in the comments section.