Release OrderRecommended
0 / 12 playedThe order the games came out, and the recommended play order. Remasters sit where they released.
Original trilogy
- 1 Gears of War
- 2 Gears of War 2
- 3 Gears of War 3
Interlude
- 4 Gears of War 3: RAAM's Shadow Story DLC for Gears of War 3, now bundled with it.
- 5 Gears of War: Judgment Prequel starring Baird and Cole.
- 6 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Remaster of the 2006 original with extra campaign chapters.
The Coalition era
- 7 Gears of War 4
- 8 Gears 5
- 9 Gears Tactics Turn-based tactics spinoff.
- 10 Gears 5: Hivebusters Story DLC for Gears 5, set after its campaign.
Remaster and prequel
- 11 Gears of War: Reloaded Second remaster of the original, the first on PlayStation 5.
- 12 Gears of War: E-Day Prequel. Releases October 6, 2026, with Early Access from October 1.
Story Order (Chronological)
0 / 10 playedThe same games rearranged by in-story chronology, from Emergence Day to the Swarm war. Remasters are folded into the original entry.
Locust War origins
- 1 Gears of War: E-Day Set on Emergence Day, fourteen years before the first game.
- 2 Gears of War: Judgment Kilo Squad's story in the early months of the Locust War.
- 3 Gears Tactics Set one year after Emergence Day.
- 4 Gears of War 3: RAAM's Shadow Story DLC set nine years after Emergence Day.
Original trilogy
- 5 Gears of War Set fourteen years after Emergence Day. Ultimate Edition and Reloaded retell this story.
- 6 Gears of War 2
- 7 Gears of War 3
Swarm saga
- 8 Gears of War 4 Set twenty-five years after Gears of War 3.
- 9 Gears 5
- 10 Gears 5: Hivebusters Story DLC set after the Battle of New Ephyra.
About Gears of War
Gears of War is Xbox's cover-based shooter saga about humanity's wars against the Locust and the Swarm, told across an original trilogy, the JD and Kait saga, and several prequels.
The recommended play order below is release order, while a second list rearranges the same games into story order for a chronological replay.
Good to know
Gears of War: E-Day launches October 6, 2026, with Premium Edition Early Access from October 1, and the story list already places it first. Gears Pop, a delisted mobile spinoff, is left out since it can no longer be played.
