Gears of War, also known simply as
Gears, is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by
Epic Games, developed and managed by
The Coalition, and owned and published by
Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its
third-person shooter video games, which has been supplemented by spin-off video game titles, a DC comic book series, seven novels, a board game adaptation and various merchandise.
The original trilogy focuses on the conflict between humanity and the subterranean reptilian hominids known as the Locust Horde on the world of Sera. The first installment, titled
Gears of War, was released on November 7, 2006 for the
Xbox 360. The game follows protagonist
Marcus Fenix, a soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments tasked to lead a last-ditch effort to destroy the Locust Horde and save humanity. Two subsequent titles,
Gears of War 2 (2008) and
Gears of War 3 (2011), featured a three-way conflict between humanity, the Locust Horde and their mutated counterparts, the Lambent.
Gears of War: Judgment, a spin-off prequel to the series' first title, was released in 2013; it focuses on
Damon Baird, one of Fenix's squad-mates.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition was released for the
Xbox One and
Microsoft Windows between August 2015 to March 2016. The fourth installment in the main series,
Gears of War 4, is set 25 years after
Gears of War 3 and follows Marcus Fenix's son,
JD and his friends as they battle security forces deployed by a totalitarian COG government as well as the Swarm, a reconstituted version of the Locust Horde that once again threatens humanity.
Gears 5 (2019) is the direct sequel to
Gears of War 4 and revolves around
Kait Diaz, a friend of JD, who embarks on a quest to learn the truth about her past and the connections between her heritage and the Locust Horde.
Known Builds (top)
Build Date |
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Sep 23, 2006 04.34.59 |
Sep 25, 2006 |
Sep 27, 2006 |
Sep 29, 2006 05.46.14 |
Sep 29, 2006 05.46.14 |
Oct 02, 2006 |
XBOX 360 September 03, 2006 |
XBOX 360 October 14, 2006 |
XBOX 360 January 22, 2007 |
XBOX 360 Footage (top)