PC players should probably start looking for more storage space and potentially a new GPU if they would like to play Gears of War: E-Day when it launches later this year, because the system requirements are out and they are beefy. Gears of War: E-Day was front and center at this year's Xbox Games Showcase, closing out the show with an impressive and gorgeous-looking gameplay demo.
The Coalition and Xbox are firing on all cylinders when it comes to Gears of War: E-Day. The return of Marcus and Dom closed out the Xbox Games Showcase for 2026, and there was massive news for Xbox and the future of the franchise, as it was announced that Gears of War: E-Day would be an Xbox console exclusive launching on October 6, 2026. PC gamers can breathe a sigh of relief, though, as Gears is still coming to PC alongside the console release, but it does seem like those on PC might have to shell out some money to get their hands on the game.
Gears of War: E-Day Commits a Cardinal Sin That Can Never Be Forgiven
The newest footage of Gears of War: E-Day's gameplay looks great, but there is one major change that is impossible to ignore.
Gears of War: E-Day on PC Requires a Beefy Minimum GPU and Ample Storage
Gears of War: E-Day PC System Requirements
- Minimum: 64-bit OS Windows 10 (build 22H2), AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6850K or i5-10400, 12 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, RTX 2060, AMD graphics card Radeon RX 6600, RX 9060 or Intel A580, DirectX 12, broadband internet connection, sound card with support for Windows, and 130 GB of free space on the SSD drive.
- Recommended: 64-bit OS Windows 11 (build 25H2 or later), AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-11600K processor, 16 GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, RTX 3060 Ti, AMD graphics card Radeon RX 6700 XT, RX 9060 XT or Intel B580, DirectX 12, broadband internet connection, sound card with support Windows and 130 GB of free space on the SSD drive.
Over on Steam, Gears of War: E-Day has listed its official PC system requirements, and it looks like the minimum horsepower needed to run the next installment in the Gears series is quite high, requiring an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 as the minimum-listed GPU. On the CPU side, PC players will also need an AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or an Intel i7‑6850K processor, which aren't as steep a requirement as the GPUs are. When it comes to the recommended requirements, things are a little more manageable, requiring either an RTX 3060 Ti or an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, paired with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or an Intel i5-11600K. However, the big consideration with these listed system requirements is the whopping 130 GB of storage space needed to install the game, which itself is already reaching Call of Duty levels of storage size, and during a storage shortage at that.
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At present, the Coalition has not clarified which resolutions and frame rates fans can expect under either the Minimum or Recommended system requirements, but these do seem to hint that the franchise is starting to move forward with newer tech. The RTX 20 series is famously the one that introduced ray tracing to the wider GPU market, and it could be a sign that Gears of War: E-Day includes some level of mandatory ray tracing if it lists an RTX 2060 as the minimum. What's more, the jump from a minimum RTX 2060 to a recommended RTX 3060 Ti isn't that large, which could indicate that something in the RTX 20 series' newer architecture is now explicitly required to run the game. Overall, the next installment of the Gears The franchise does have some reasonable recommended specs, as long as fans can get through a hefty minimum floor.
Storage is the likely place where fans may take issue with Gears of War: E-Day. At 130 GB, Gears of War: E-Day is clearly not going to be a small game, and that storage space requirement is going to hurt come October. The wider PC market is currently experiencing a serious memory and storage shortage, meaning fans will have less space to store their favorite games on their PCs, while games like Gears continue to balloon in size, leaving fans with even less for their money spent on storage. For context, a 1 TB SSD could only hold about seven games the size of Gears of War: E-Daynot accounting for the space occupied by the operating system.
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Gears of War: E-Day is Xbox's big release for the upcoming fall game season, and it shows. Following its appearance at the Xbox Games Showcase, the Coalition revealed a neat collector's edition of the game priced at $300, and it has recently been reported that Gears of War: E-Day cost about half a billion dollars to make. With all the budget, graphics, and marketing behind Xbox's big push into console exclusives, once again, fans will have to wait and see what's in store with Gears of War: E-Day.
