Gears of War: Reloaded's Release Platforms Put the Ball in…

The near-future prospects of the Gears of War franchise recently got even better with the announcement of Gears of War: Reloaded, a comprehensive and faithful remaster of the franchise's debut 2006 title. It is clear that The Coalition and Xbox Game Studios are looking to introduce a new generation of players to the project that started it all for Gears of War, while giving all fans something to stay engaged with the franchise during the wait for Gears of War: E-Day.

While the initial announcement of Gears of War: Reloaded was enough to create a lot of excitement within the franchise's community, one detail of the reveal is the most remarkable by far. It was recently confirmed that Gears of War: Reloaded will eventually be available on PlayStation consoles, which is a watershed moment for the IP, and this opens up a lot of questions for any future Gears of War projects. While it may be time for the original Gears of War to finally make its way over to PlayStation, it will be very interesting to see how Microsoft handles the potential for Gears of War: E-Day to also make its way over to Xbox's largest competitor.

Gears of War May Want to Take a Detour on the Road to Gears 6 After E-Day

The Coalition could make a successor to a five-year-old Gears of War spin-off before working on Gears 6 following Gears of War: E-Day's release.

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By Eric Warner

Gears of War: Reloaded Opens the Door For E-Day on the PlayStation

Gears of War: Reloaded is a new way to experience the first game in the franchise, with its graphically impressive promotional material and features such as full multiplayer with crossplay building on the solid foundation of the original game. Reloaded is confirmed to be releasing on Xbox, including Xbox PC and Cloud Gaming, with Steam and PlayStation also set to feature the title when it launches on August 26.

This marks the first time in Gears of War's 20-year history that one of its entries will be available on PlayStation consoles. Gears of War has instead always stood as a bastion of Xbox's exclusive game library. While having Gears of War: Reloaded extend its availability to PlayStation can be seen as a great way to flesh out the game's crossplay multiplayer and to truly celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original game, the loss of Xbox exclusivity status for Gears of War continues a staggering trend for the Microsoft console.

Gears of War: Reloaded is set to launch as a day-one title for Xbox Game Pass, while also featuring cross-platform progression and co-op campaign capabilities.

Many Xbox Game Studio titles are timed exclusives these days; titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle have made the jump over to PlayStation four months after launch. The Forza franchise moved to PlayStation availability in April, and consistent rumors even claim that Halo entries like The Master Chief Collection will also come to the Sony platform in the near future.

Gears of War: E-Day on PlayStation Consoles Would Follow a Clear Pattern From Microsoft

While this can be a worrying time for Xbox fans, these surprising platform shake-ups seem indicative of Microsoft's move away from attempting hardware dominance, with exclusives falling to the wayside to breathe more life into acquired studios and the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The proud announcement of Gears of War: Reloaded on PlayStation consoles comes across as a real statement of intent from Microsoft in terms of the franchise's future. It now seems very likely that E-Day will follow suit.

Gears of War: E-Day will tell a prequel story to the events of the first game. Though no statements currently suggest that the game will release on PlayStation, Reloaded has already set an obvious precedent, and the narrative links between Reloaded and E-Day make it seem extremely likely that both Gears of War games will find a home on PlayStation alongside their usual Xbox availability.

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