Gears of War is Now the Premier Xbox Franchise

A title long held by the Xbox flagship that is Halo, the Gears of War series has been rapidly growing every since its Xbox 360 inception and is now the premier Xbox franchise. This is mostly due to the Halo series’ alright last entry that did refine the core gameplay, but seemed to lack with a weak story and limited launch content. While that series continues to try and find itself again the Gears of War franchise is now thriving under Microsoft's first party roof. This was clearly shown with the well done Ultimate Edition remaster last year, a reinforced focus on Gears ESports and now marketing. Gears of War 4 received what I would say is par or higher marketing for the title compared to Halo 5: Guardians just last year. While some would argue marketing isn't huge, it sends an important message about a product of which The Coalition delivered perfectly. I found the game to be a stellar continuation (9.2/10 review here) and I was not alone with the title reaching a high 80's Metacritic.

Scores and acclaim aside this was also the first big synchronized launch for the Xbox Play Anywhere title and it received great reviews on PC as well. This was an important aspect for the future of Xbox's Play Anywhere and despite some rocky initial title it proves that there's potential there. The game also feels incredibly complete compared to other games packing a lengthy campaign to setup a new perhaps trilogy, an exciting yet competitive multiplayer and a more in-depth cooperative Horde experience. I've also noticed there's been a vast group of players on my list playing this title almost every day and it's nice to see that level of dedication whereas Halo last year didn't hit that mark. I actually haven't seen many titles gather a large portion of players in recent years on Xbox and it's crazy to see so many people enjoying this game.


I'm not trying to be too negative towards the comparison of Halo which is a franchise I've always loved, it's just easy to notice this huge shift towards Gears of War now being a large aspect of Xbox. It seems to be off to a great start with a push towards competitive play and a general consensus that this is a solid start for the future of the franchise.

Read our opinion on Nintendo Switch, Excited Yet Hesitant
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