Gears of War Xbox One Release: 5 Things to Expect at E3

With E3 2015 kicking off in just a few short days, we’re taking a look at a few things we expect from the most popular games rumored to be making an appearance in Los Angeles. Today, we zoom in on the Gears of War Xbox One release that’s been on the minds of many consumers since the Xbox One’s arrival in 2013.

Believe it or not, its been 10 years since the release of the first Gears of War title for Xbox and over two years since the release of Gears of War Judgement. In that time, we’ve heard a ton of rumors about a Gears of War Xbox One release though we haven’t seen anything confirmed.

In the buildup to E3 2015 in LA, Gears of War Xbox One rumors have caught fire thanks to a series of big time leaks that have outed a number of key details. While nothing is confirmed, we have a pretty good read on a game that should be the first Gears of War Xbox One release.

Ahead of the Microsoft’s big press conference on Monday morning, we want to take a few of the things that we expect, and don’t expect, from Gears of War for Xbox One at E3 2015. We know a lot of you are excited and we want to help set your expectations accordingly ahead of the event.

Tons of Details During Microsoft’s E3 Event

Microsoft, The Coalition, and Splash Damage haven’t come right out and confirmed Gears of War titles for the Microsoft event on Monday but we expect that to be the place where Gears of War Xbox One release details, if there are details, to be announced to the general public.

The Coalition, formerly known as Black Tusk Studios, is a subsidy owned by Microsoft. The first Gears of War release for Xbox One is big enough for the main stage so we expect studio executives to run down all of the key details during Monday’s press conference.

Don’t expect Gears of War for Xbox One to be the only game announced on stage during Microsoft’s 90 minute event. Other games like Halo 5 and Forza 6 will make appearances during the conference. We do, however, expect Microsoft to spend a good deal of time talking about the franchise so be sure to tune in at 9:30 PST on Monday morning for details.

Gears of War Remaster for Xbox One, At Least

We’re expecting at least one Gears of War Xbox One title at E3 2015. Splash Damage studios has reportedly been working on a remaster of the original Gears of War and thanks to leaked footage, rogue testers and an avalanche of rumors, it’s pretty clear that this game is going to be announced on stage Monday morning.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft and The Coalition announced the next Gears of War Xbox One release. A new installment that could be called Gears of War 4.

The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson will be in attendance at E3 and E3 2015 is the perfect stage to announce an all new Gears of War game for the Xbox One.

A new game would also help drive sales of the Remaster as fans of the series and newcomers pick up the game for a bit of nostalgia and to learn about the game’s origins. We’re expecting at least one title but we wouldn’t be surprised if we heard about two.

Gears of War Xbox One Release Date

Expect to come away from Microsoft’s E3 2015 press conference with a Gears of War Xbox One release date of some kind.

If Microsoft announces the Gears of War Remaster for Xbox One at the event like we think it will, we’ll almost certainly see it announce a concrete release date. The game is clearly in testing ahead of a release date that we expect will land sometime in 2015 ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Given the rumors and the progress that we’ve seen with this title, we would be shocked if Microsoft didn’t provide a concrete release date for the Remaster. At the very least, we’ll get a specific window.

We would not, however, expect a concrete release date for any other Gears of War Xbox One releasees announced on stage. If The Coalition does announce a new Gears of War, we’d expect that game to be further off in the distance. We’d expect the company to confirm something like “2016” or “2017” but don’t expect anything in 2015 or anything concrete yet.

Gears of War Xbox One Pre-Orders

We expect Gears of War Xbox One pre-orders for the Remastered version to start the day that it gets announced. And because we suspect that it will be announced on Monday during Microsoft’s press event, we expect retailers like Amazon and GameStop to start taking early orders on Monday after the announcement.

We expect these pre-orders to confirm the price (we’d be surprised if the developers charged $60 for a remaster) and we expect to see a few deals emerge, probably at Best Buy. Best Buy’s Gamers Club Unlocked program knocks 20% off every game and we could see the retailer tack on a pre-order bonus ahead of its release.

Nothing for Xbox 360

This won’t be music to the ears of those who own an Xbox 360 but don’t expect Microsoft or The Coalition to confirm anything for the Xbox 360.

Gears of War Judgement was the last game in the Gears of War franchise to be developed in partnership with Epic Games.

The remaster is clearly that, a remaster for Microsoft’s current generation console, and we’d be surprised if an in-house Microsoft developer would release a title for a last-gen console. Not with Microsoft titles like Halo 5 and Forza 6 being released exclusively for Xbox One.

This fall is going to be huge for the Xbox One and it’s clear that Microsoft is trying to entice Xbox 360 owners to finally make the switch with the amount of exclusives it will be releasing in 2015 and beyond.

Gears of War Remastered Release Likely

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Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything yet but the writing is on the wall. For several months we've seen Gears of War Remastered release rumors emerge including a listing on a Brazilian game rating website that teased the name "Gears of War: Ultimate Edition". That may not be the name of the game. We've seen numerous leaks and numerous reports outline this game in 2015 and given that Microsoft's already confirmed a Gears of War release for Xbox One, fans of the series should be confident in an Xbox One Gears of War launch this year.  We still haven't heard anything about a Gears of War Xbox One release date for the Remastered version of the game though it could only be a matter of days before we find out more.

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