3 minBusiness
Gears of War: E-Day sold over 400 000 copies on console and PC
Sources tell The Verge that Gears of War: E-Day has sold more than 400,000 copies across console and PC, a figure that analysts link to its day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.
Gears of War: E-Day has reportedly sold more than 400,000 copies across consoles and PC, according to sources who spoke to The Verge. The figure is modest for a franchise of the series' stature, and industry observers point to Xbox Game Pass as the main reason for the gap between the game's critical reception and its retail sales.
The latest entry in the Gears franchise was released earlier this month to strong reviews. IGN scored the game 9 out of 10, writing that its « stellar story campaign is complemented by an excellent multiplayer suite. » The Verge's correspondent Tom Warren cited a source who put total sales at about 400,000 units, a number that stands in contrast to the acclaim the game received from critics and fans.
The game launched as a day-one release on Game Pass and was available for early access five days before its official launch through a $30 Premium Edition upgrade. Those routes mean that total units sold are most likely lower than the number of players who accessed the title through the subscription service. Many players had also assumed E-Day would be a multiplatform release until Xbox revealed it as a console exclusive four months before launch.
Data from the research firm Alinea Analytics appears to support that explanation. In an October 9 post, the firm's head of market analysis, Rhys Elliott, estimated that about 1.7 million players accessed E-Day through their Game Pass subscription rather than buying a copy. Elliott calculated that, of those players, roughly 722,000 paid for the Premium upgrade, and that the game prompted an additional 250,000 Premium upgrades between October 1 and its full release on October 6.
Elliott wrote at the time that « E-Day sold 62,000 copies on Xbox against 722,000 Premium upgrades, so for every one copy sold on Xbox, nearly 12 Game Pass upgrades were sold. » He estimated that Xbox accounted for nearly three-quarters of the game's total revenue. He also said that, despite the low headline sales numbers, nearly 950,000 people likely paid for the game in some form, just not by purchasing a standard copy.
These figures arrive as Microsoft's gaming division faces broader changes. Fortune reported that Xbox Game Pass may be receiving a major overhaul that would let subscribers choose which features to pay for, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming and multiplayer, within a tiered structure, according to people familiar with the strategy. The company is also in the middle of a large restructuring. CEO Asha Sharma said this summer that 3,200 employees were expected to lose their jobs. The restructuring has also led to the divestment of several game studios, including Arkane Lyon, which has until December 13, 2026 to find a buyer and save its highly anticipated Blade game.
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