Gears of War: E-Day Adds Judgment Studio as Co-Developer

The studio behind Gears of War: Judgment has revealed that it is now working on the next entry in the series, Gears of War: E-Day. This past summer, Xbox announced that the next Gears of War game, E-Day, would serve as a prequel to the entire saga. Since that time, no additional news on the project has come about, but some rumors have suggested that GoW: E-Day could arrive in 2025. And while that has yet to be confirmed, we now know a bit more about what’s happening behind the scenes.

In a new post on its official website, developer People Can Fly revealed that it is now working on Gears of War: E-Day. Previously, People Can Fly served as a support studio on the first three Gears titles and later helmed the 2013 spin-off Gears of War: Judgment. In recent years, People Can Fly has predominantly focused on its co-op third-person shooter, Outriders, which was created in tandem with Square Enix. Now, with that partnership over, it has returned partner on Gears of War: E-Day with primary developer The Coalition.

“People Can Fly is thrilled to be working on Gears of War: E-Day, the next mainline game in the renowned Gears of War series, as a co-development partner with The Coalition,” the company wrote. “We are honored to return to the world of Gears of War, a franchise deeply embedded in our studio’s history. As lead developer of the iconic Gears of War: Judgment and co-development partner on Gears of War 1-3, we have always been passionate about the series and its legacy.”

While this move by People Can Fly isn’t necessarily a shocking one, it does seem to suggest that the studio won’t be helming its own standalone projects for the foreseeable future. Even though Outriders found some critical success, the game doesn’t seem to have turned a profit for People Can Fly. As a result, the studio was hit with layoffs in 2024 which led those in charge to announce that it would scale back on its games in development. In all likelihood, support work like the studio is now doing on Gears of War: E-Day might be more of what is expected from People Can Fly in the months and years to come.

Related: Gears of War 6 Still Being Planned Despite E-Day Announcement

As for Gears of War: E-Day itself, Xbox and The Coalition haven’t said anything new about the game in months, but as mentioned, it is said that the project could be targeting a launch this year. Regardless of when E-Day releases, though, it’s known that the next Gears game is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC.