Despite Being Very Familiar, I Can't Wait To Play More Gears Reloaded Later This Year

When the first weekend of Xbox's recent Gears of War: Reloaded beta wrapped up just a few weeks ago, I shared my opinions on the upcoming release; talking about how the game was a great time despite it being "overly familiar" for Xbox players who'd already chainsaw'd their way through Gears: Ultimate Edition back in 2015. Weekend two added in some extra content though, and by the time all was said and done with the beta, I was so happy to be playing Gears multiplayer again - whatever form that took. Reloaded is indeed very familiar, but I still can't wait to play more.

Looking back at Xbox's last mainline Gears of War release — that being Gears 5 — I had a good time with that game, especially for the first few years while it was being supported in terms of fresh content. However, The Coalition rather abruptly stopped updating the game in late 2021, and truth be told, I've just not found the motivation to go back to it much since. I've always been a bigger fan of the Epic Games era of Gears, and it's nice to get stuck into something from that period again here with Reloaded.

It's also nice to see a big old community of Gears players hopping online once again, especially into a Gears game that's core is as good as this one. Since the project was announced, I've harped on about how bringing PS5 players in will help Reloaded (and indeed the first Gears game in general) live on, and it's great to see that play out in front of us. The second weekend of the Gears beta felt alive and kicking with the team ironing out any initial server issues, and I'm looking forward to see Reloaded thrive in the coming months and years.

Of course, we also have Gears of War: E-Day to follow - which is incredibly exciting given that by the time of its all-but confirmed 2026 release, we'll have been waiting seven years for a new mainline Gears title. Sure, a bunch of the Reloaded community will move over with E-Day then, but the cross-platform nature of the Gears 1 remake should keep it active for a good while yet - we may even have two Gears games popping off in the coming years. After half a decade of Gears 5 winding down support, I'm ready to be excited about the franchise once more.

So yeah, I just wanted to talk a little bit about how exciting it feels to have Gears back in the spotlight again, especially as this franchise was the reason I got into Xbox in the first place. I've been honest about Reloaded and how I'd have liked Microsoft to do a bit more to make it feel new for Xbox players, but it's still fantastic to see Gears being talked about - and enjoyed by a legion of new players here in 2025. Bring on late August - I can't wait to get stuck back into this solid-as-a-rock Gears remake with a community that'll be bigger than ever across Xbox, PS5 and PC.

Who's excited about this one? Get chatting to us about the August release of Gears Reloaded down below.