Gears of War: E-Day Built From Scratch, Minus Chainsaw Duels
The prequel's multiplayer is missing meat shields and chainsaw duels because the studio started over.
Gears of War: E-Day was made with every part of it built anew, and the consequences are already visible in its multiplayer beta. Players noticed that two series staples are absent from the test: the chainsaw duel and the ability to grab a downed enemy and use them as a meat shield. In an interview, creative director Matt Searcy explained that the team started with nothing at all, so every mechanic and every animation had to be made again from the beginning. The result feels like Gears while behaving quite differently, and it has been a long stretch since the series shipped a brand-new entry.
The roadie run is gone too, replaced by a freer movement system instead of the old sprint where the camera pushed in on the character. For a franchise whose identity is tied to those specific animations, that is a genuine break rather than a tune-up. Searcy said the studio still loves chainsaw duels and meat shields and left the door open for them to return. The tension is familiar: a series quiet for years needs to modernise, but the changes that make it feel new are also what make it feel less like itself.
Tags
- xbox
- pc
Sources
Where this story ran: one outlet on 30 September 2026. The summary above is written by GamersGuild; the links go to the original reports.