Gameplay

Prepare your PC, choose a mode, learn combat and explore maps, progression and rewards.

Three ways into the fight

The four members of Bravo Squad — Choose a mode, then open its practical guide[1][2]

COG squads fighting a large chained creature in Horde Siege — Choose a mode, then open its practical guide[1][2]

What are you trying to do?

Find the guide for your next session[2][3][4]
Goal	Open this guide
Start playing	Release & editions · PC requirements · Performance settings
Join friends	Crossplay & saves · Accessibility & settings
Follow the story	Acts & chapters · Difficulty & length · Collectibles
Explore the city	Hard Cases · Supply Caches · Side missions · Cluckpuncher Easter Egg · Right in the Ticker
Choose physical accessories	Controllers, dock & keyboard
Learn the new controls	Controller & keyboard · Combat basics
Unlock a look	Skins & unlocks · Skin catalog · Foundation challenges · Steam store listings · Progression & rewards · Medals & Ribbons
Plan this week's matches	Weekly challenges · Horde Siege · Versus modes
Find your battleground	Versus maps · Horde Siege maps
Finish a build	Campaign loadouts · Horde classes & mods · Tactical Gear · Equipment · Armor Mods · Squad Perks · Achievements
Fix a launch issue	Launch troubleshooting

Sources for this overview

Explore the gameplay directory

49 entriesOfficially sourced. Ready to explore.

The four soldiers of Bravo Squad in official E-Day campaign imagery

gameplay

Campaign & Co-op

Play E-Day solo, with up to four players online, or with two players in local split-screen on Xbox Series X|S. Campaign co-op lets you choose Marcus, Dom, Mags or Lucas from the start.

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gameplay

Horde Siege

Horde Siege sends three four-player squads onto a shared 12-player battlefield. Choose a class, complete your squad’s mission, and get at least one teammate onto the Raven to bank the Weapon Parts you collected.

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gameplay

Versus

Versus is E-Day’s 4v4 competitive multiplayer. Everyone starts with equal equipment, power weapons are contested on the map, and PvE mods stay out of the match. Four core modes launch across six maps.

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gameplay

Combat Basics

Start E-Day with controls, training and a first Campaign route, then learn Active Reload, movement, aiming and cover. Find co-op, cache and side-mission guides.

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gameplay

Progression & Rewards

E-Day has no battle pass. Earn cosmetics through challenges, achievements and Medals, or spend gameplay-earned Coins in the Barracks. Player Level reaches 100 and supports four Re-Ups, while Horde classes have their own levels.

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gameplay

Multiplayer Maps

E-Day launches with six Versus maps and three Horde Siege battlegrounds. Versus takes you from Kalona’s docks to rooftop crossings; Horde uses larger districts, including the Golden Quarter.

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gameplay

Release & Editions

Gears of War: E-Day released worldwide October 6, 2026 at 15:00 UTC. Premium early access began October 1. Compare editions, Game Pass access, store licenses and local launch times.

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gameplay

PC Requirements

E-Day's final launch specifications require an SSD and a GPU with dedicated hardware ray tracing. The September 28 revision lists 115GB of storage, with Medium 1080p, High 1440p and Ultra 4K hardware tiers using upscaling.

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gameplay

Crossplay & Saves

E-Day supports Xbox–Steam crossplay and linked progression. Campaign save slots currently do not transfer between stores; restart an unlocked chapter when switching.

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gameplay

Accessibility & Settings

Change E-Day's audio and text language in Settings → System, then restart. Find subtitle, narration, input and visibility options, with the Campaign and Horde Siege limits marked.

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gameplay

Launch Troubleshooting

Check game access and service status, then match your E-Day problem to official launch issues: blocked campaign objectives, leftover PC processes, shader delivery and benchmark counters. Historical early-access restrictions are recorded separately.

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gameplay

Beta Troubleshooting

This archive covers the August 2026 multiplayer beta, which ended August 17. Its error codes, driver floors and workarounds belong to that test client. Use Launch Troubleshooting for the October game.

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gameplay

Skins & Cosmetic Unlocks

Find your next character or weapon skin by its unlock route: play rewards, Re-Ups, the Barracks, preorder entitlements and Premium packs. This guide separates officially confirmed rewards from early-access unlock reports.

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gameplay

Achievements & Completion

Plan campaign completion, class-specific Horde tasks and long-term multiplayer milestones. The official announcement describes 54 achievements; the launch update changes Xbox’s final completion award and schedules the Dead Serious skin for Season 2.

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gameplay

Campaign Acts & Chapters

Find your current campaign chapter, the next transition and the matching collectible guide. Published early-access coverage lists a prologue, 26 chapters across five acts and an epilogue; later routes contain story spoilers.

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gameplay

Campaign Collectibles

Plan campaign cleanup with separate collectible, Hard Case, side-mission and Supply Cache guides. Find act routes, replay advice and the item-unlock checks for Quartermaster.

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gameplay

Act 1 Collectible Locations

Find all 13 Act 1 collectibles with short landmarks for Emergence, Survival of the Fittest, A Gear in Need and Back in the Fold. The opening act’s chapter counts are 3, 4, 2 and 4.

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gameplay

Act 2 Collectible Locations

Check all 38 Act 2 collectibles by chapter. Hold the Line contains 27 items across the city district; Flyboys has none. Use landmarks and the two annotated gameplay maps to find missing entries without replaying the entire act.

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gameplay

Act 3 Collectible Locations

Find Act 3’s 36 collectibles across six chapters, including the Erick Davis sewer pickup, the final Last Foothold side mission and the letter around the Fort Vigil act transition. Encounter and location spoilers follow.

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gameplay

Act 4 Collectible Locations

Find all 41 Act 4 collectibles in six chapter checklists. Stop at the train platform before it leaves, complete Tough as Nails’ optional factory routes, and search Critical Failure’s final rooms before the boss encounter.

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gameplay

Act 5 Collectible Locations

Finish the final act’s 12 collectibles with chapter counts of 1, 3, 0, 5 and 3. The last chapter’s item names reveal ending information and are collapsed until you choose to open them.

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gameplay

Horde Classes & Mods

Choose a Horde role by the job you enjoy, then connect its class level, Tactical Gear and mods. Assault holds cover, Breacher pushes close, Marksman supports precision and Medic brings teammates back into the fight.

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gameplay

Campaign Difficulty & Length

Choose a campaign difficulty, plan your playtime and keep co-op saves organized. Published launch playthroughs range from 13 hours 28 minutes on solo Normal to roughly 25 hours with extensive exploration; they measure different players and routes.

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gameplay

Controller & Keyboard Settings

Pick a control scheme, find the actions that changed and test a few targeted settings. This guide connects the official remapping options to a short practice checklist for movement, reloads, aiming and squad pings.

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Official Ride the Lightning promotional panel showing six purple Metallica weapon finishes

gameplay

Character & Weapon Skin Catalog

Browse COG rewards, inspect unlock cards and compare recorded and reported character prices alongside weapon finish costs. The full live inventory and current offers remain unverified.

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gameplay

Campaign Hard Cases

Locate 125 listed Hard Cases across Acts 2–5 with chapter checklists, arrival directions, filmed openings and linked maps. Match the location before marking your progress.

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gameplay

Campaign Supply Caches

Track 36 campaign Supply Cache locations with filmed arrivals and saved checklists. Check Quartermaster inventory separately.

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gameplay

Campaign Side Missions

Complete 17 named secondary objectives using their starting points, actions and finish checks. Reward notes identify recorded and published examples.

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gameplay

Act 1 Campaign Walkthrough

Follow Act 1’s four chapters with local route notes, the recruitment-center and supermarket pickup pauses, and the Brumak encounter. Chapter details are collapsed to protect story discoveries.

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gameplay

Act 2 Campaign Walkthrough

Find the bridge-control diversion, follow Hold the Line’s changing objectives, and separate its optional rescues from the route forward. Includes local chapter notes and a Bilefrog opportunity rather than an external-link index.

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gameplay

Act 3 Campaign Walkthrough

Work through Fairlight, the tunnel escape and Corpser encounter, then the convoy and rooftop evacuation. Desperate Measures now includes a filmed Fort Vigil pursuit and Brumak fight with direct time jumps.

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gameplay

Act 4 Campaign Walkthrough

Find the transit and power obstacles in Act 4, then the communications, evacuation broadcast and filmed refinery finale. Includes the coolant-pipe diversion and late encounter sequence; pressure failure thresholds remain untested.

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gameplay

Act 5 Campaign Walkthrough

Follow the return route through Ghost Town, then use the filmed dry-dock backup and floodgate route. A timestamped final-operation flow covers the two Impaler encounters; chapter and ending details stay collapsed.

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gameplay

PC Performance & Settings

Make one change, replay the same scene, keep the result that feels better. Use published hardware tests as a starting point, then build a settings profile for your own PC.

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Supply Cache menu displaying Adrenaline Injector and equipped mods.

gameplay

Campaign Loadouts & Mods

Find the campaign mod-unlock routes, distinguish empty and locked slots, and inspect your setup at a Supply Cache. Compare weapon, armor and tactical gear choices before testing one change.

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Actual Adrenaline Injector menu with three installed gear mods

gameplay

Tactical Gear & Mods

Make your ability part of the squad's next move. Compare the four Horde class tools, follow the reported mod-slot milestones and read selected gear modifications before choosing a setup.

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gameplay

Steam Item Store & Iron Packs

Compare a dated Steam price snapshot, add the Iron bonuses, and inspect the Emergence pack’s contents before opening your own storefront.

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gameplay

Armor Mods

Compare campaign cards and reported Horde effects. Choose a trigger for your next encounter.

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Two official E-Day Xbox Wireless Controllers against a red battlefield background

gameplay

Controllers & Accessories

Inspect the official hardware, compare connections and separate the controller dock from the mouse's included dock.

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Prospect Bay's steel-framed trainyard and objective HUD

gameplay

Horde Siege Maps

Identify all three launch battlegrounds—Golden Quarter, Prospect Bay and Plaza Ruins—with recorded result screens and an actual Trainyard Control objective view.

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gameplay

Squad Perks

Compare four reported Squad Perks and their known Energy costs, then plan what to check at your next Supply Cache.

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Lancer Mk 1 Bronze Medal target and Coins

gameplay

Medals & Ribbons

Track two reported Medal families, nine recorded combat targets and six General Ribbon examples. Use the actual cards to compare conditions and Coins rewards.

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Equipment selected in a recorded Supply Cache menu

gameplay

Equipment & Consumables

Compare reported class unlocks and recorded equipment cards.

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gameplay

Poses & Profile Cosmetics

Choose a pose, title and profile artwork, then track the named options reported in early access. Compare where each item is equipped and check its own unlock card.

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