Gears of War: E-Day reportedly cost Xbox about $500 million to make, a figure that Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier has confirmed, calling it "a real number". The figure, first reported earlier, places the game among the most expensive ever made and weighs on a title that, according to recent estimates, has sold just over 400,000 copies across console and PC.
The Coalition's action game launched on Xbox Series X|S and PC only, after Microsoft chose the console-exclusive route under Asha Sharma's arrival as Xbox CEO. It also launched day one on Xbox Game Pass, which complicates the picture: copies sold are only part of the possible revenue.
Image: wallpapercave.com — https://wallpapercave.com/gears-of-war-e-day-wallpapers
The $500 million figure was first reported as including marketing costs, according to Kotaku. The budget is double that of some rivals: Bungie's Marathon reportedly had a budget above $250 million, while Concord's initial development deal was around $200 million. In 2023, documents submitted in the Xbox Federal Trade Commission case revealed that The Last of Us Part II and Horizon Forbidden West each cost more than $200 million to develop.
The sales numbers come from an estimate by Alinea Analytics: on October 13, a week after launch, analyst Rhys Elliott put sales at 311,000 copies across Steam and Xbox and revenue at about $42.1 million. Elliott also noted a boost to Game Pass subscriptions that appears linked to the release, while lamenting the lack of a PS5 version, which could have added revenue.
The central question is whether the game can ever be profitable. With a budget in the $500 million range, the impact on Game Pass would need to offset disappointing sales, and Microsoft has not given figures. While discussing Xbox's financial struggles, Sharma cited Minecraft, World of Warcraft and the critical acclaim of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, without mentioning E-Day.
Image: YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj1dCfQcDWY
Meanwhile, the saga's future is tied to the studio's situation. The Coalition's head, Mike Crump, responded to reports of possible layoffs by promising the next Gears game would not take as long to make. He said success for E-Day goes beyond sales: "Our goal is to be the best-looking game on Xbox and show the industry what's possible with our hardware."
Schreier, discussing AAA development costs in general, tied the case to waves of layoffs and studio closures in North America. Against this backdrop, Xbox has already cut nearly 2,000 jobs this financial year, and many studios are leaving the business or closing.
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