Gears of War: E-Day begins with Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago newly returned from the Pendulum Wars, carrying the loss of Dom’s older brother, Carlos. Their grief helps explain why, before the Locust invasion binds them together, their relationship is described as distant.
When does E-Day take place?
The Coalition’s official game page describes Gears of War: E-Day as an origin-story campaign set fourteen years before the original Gears of War. The story begins as Marcus and Dom return from the Pendulum Wars and the Locust Horde emerges.
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Xbox Wire reports that the men attend an armistice memorial in Kalona when the Locust attack interrupts the moment. The invasion is the defining event of E-Day, but the story also starts with a personal loss that predates it.
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Carlos Santiago’s death
Carlos Santiago was Dom’s older brother and Marcus’s friend. He died in combat shortly before the Pendulum Wars ended, according to Xbox Wire’s June 7, 2026 report. Marcus and Dom have returned from the war without him, so their grief is part of the circumstances they bring into the Locust attack—not a loss caused by the new enemy.
#1 Best Overall
- AN ORIGIN STORY BEGINS — Fight alongside Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago in the gripping origin story of Emergence Day, as the Locust Horde erupts from below.
- A DARKER, GRITTIER THREAT — Face reimagined enemies and a terrifying underground invasion that restores the fear, dread, and intensity at the heart of the Gears of War series.
- MULTIPLAYER EVOLVED — Battle in Horde Siege for large‑scale PvE action or prove your skill in refined Versus PvP with greater precision and competitive depth.
- CLASSIC COMBAT, MODERNIZED — Experience signature cover‑based gameplay enhanced with updated movement, traversal, and controls that feel like Gears while playing like something new.
- CO‑OP YOUR WAY — Play online with up to four players across Campaign, Horde Siege, and Versus, or team up locally with 2‑player split‑screen co‑op on console.
A friendship under strain
Narrative director Nicole Fawcette describes Marcus and Dom’s relationship at the beginning of E-Day as “distant.” That detail matters because players know them from later in the timeline as close partners. E-Day can show the earlier, unsettled stage of that bond rather than treating their familiar closeness as something they already share.
How does E-Day fit the established Gears story?
Fawcette describes the unwritten part of Marcus and Dom’s history as “negative space”: a gap the new story can explore without changing the events already established in the series. Xbox Wire says The Coalition drew on the Gears novels, particularly Aspho Fields, for Carlos’s backstory and Dom’s family life, and that novelist Karen Traviss consulted on E-Day.
Rank #2
- PREMIUM EDITION — Includes Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, five Seasonal Customization Packs starting with the Emergence Pack, plus 1,000 Iron to unlock additional in‑game content.
- AN ORIGIN STORY BEGINS — Fight alongside Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago in the gripping origin story of Emergence Day, as the Locust Horde erupts from below.
- A DARKER, GRITTIER THREAT — Face reimagined enemies and a terrifying underground invasion that restores the fear, dread, and intensity at the heart of the Gears of War series.
- MULTIPLAYER EVOLVED — Battle in Horde Siege for large‑scale PvE action or prove your skill in refined Versus PvP with greater precision and competitive depth.
- CLASSIC COMBAT, MODERNIZED — Experience signature cover‑based gameplay enhanced with updated movement, traversal, and controls that feel like Gears while playing like something new.
That context supports reading the game as an expansion of the characters’ history. The available official material establishes the loss, the distance between the men, and the prequel setting; it does not spell out every step of how their relationship changes during the campaign.
What does the official game page say about playing E-Day?
The official game page says the campaign can be played alone, in split-screen co-op, or online with up to four players. It lists Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Handheld, and Steam, and describes Game Pass access. These are the formats and platforms identified on the page; the character story does not depend on a particular edition.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Listen up, soldier. The world is in ruin. The Locust Horde has risen. It’s Human vs Horde, and here’s your mission: Pick a side, build a powerful deck, and win the war. The fate of the world is in your hands!
- Experience the gritty gunplay of the video game in this official two-player card game. Take command of the COG forces or the Locust horde and seize control of the battlefield, one chapter at a time.
- Strategise your way through each chapter, bolstering your forces with classic characters like Marcus Fenix, General Raam, August “Cole Train” Cole, Dominic Santiago, and Damon Baird.
- Every battle counts. Whatever happens in each chapter will change what comes next, so you’d better be ready to dominate. The deck you build and decisions you make will change the way you play each campaign, making this a game you can reload time and time again.
- Whether you're a hardened vet or a grass-green rookie, get ready to take cover and lay down suppressive fire. Your enemies are trying to take the line, soldier. You’d better shove back hard.
Rank #4
- Disc only. Original case and manual not included. Will come packaged in a generic case.
- This renewed game has been cleaned, tested, and shows minimal wear.
Rank #3
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