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Gears of War: E-Day Steam player count reaches 31K, topping sales charts on release date

Marcus from Gears of War: E-Day shown
ⓘ Xbox
Marcus from Gears of War: E-Day shown
Interest in Gears of War: E-Day built as its release date unfolded. Peak concurrent Steam player counts reached over 31,000, easily beating earlier entries in the series. Sales of the Xbox console exclusive also impress both on Valve’s marketplace and physical storefronts.
Console Desktop Gaming Microsoft

As an Xbox console exclusive, the new Coalition Studios project hopes for strong support from PC users. On its October 6th release date, the peak concurrent Gears of War: E-Day Steam player count eclipsed 31K. That marks another franchise record after a successful open beta. The Series X|S version also ranks highly on sales charts for major retailers like Amazon.

While it didn't break into the top 10 on Valve’s marketplace, E-Day is ahead of its predecessors. The peak of 31,517 beats the 22,084 set by the free multiplayer beta. It’s about 3X more than any previous Gears game, with Gears 5 topping out at 10,196 in September 2019. The 2025 Reloaded remaster and 2020 Tactics attracted 7,351 and 4,819 simultaneous participants, respectively.

Gears of War: E-Day Steam player count compared with previous games
ⓘ screenshot, SteamDB
Gears of War: E-Day Steam player count compared with previous games

Seeing mostly positive reviews, PC followers of the series are generally pleased with the latest entry. The core combat mechanics have been praised, with shooting bolstered by satisfying new heavy weapons. Meanwhile, the solo campaign is long enough to keep the Gears of War: E-Day Steam player count high.

On the other hand, echoing pre-launch opinions on Metacritic, the campaign can seem repetitive at times. Regardless, multiplayer modes could dictate whether the game enjoys long-term popularity. Currently, the fresh 3-team, 12-combatant Horde Siege option is drawing more interest.

How well is E-Day really selling?

Several factors make it difficult to gauge the overall success of the Xbox exclusive. Debuting as a day-one Game Pass addition, it lost some standalone sales. Also, by opting against a PS5 port, Microsoft sacrificed revenue from the PlayStation market. Nevertheless, the company may have regained goodwill among its console owners.

So far, the exclusivity gamble appears to have paid off. A day after the Gears of War: E-Day release date, it’s either the No. 1 or No. 2 best-seller on Amazon and Best Buy for the Xbox platform. On Amazon, the third-person cover shooter leads Madden 27, EA Sports FC 27, as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and GTA 6 pre-orders.

The 31K+ E-Day Steam player count was also enough to reach the 2nd position on Valve’s sales chart.

Notebookcheck recorded its impressions of Gear of War: E-Day in a video:

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> Expert reviews and news on laptops, smartphones and tech innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2026 10 > Gears of War: E-Day Steam player count reaches 31K, topping sales charts on release date
Adam Corsetti, 2026-10- 7 (Update: 2026-10- 7)