Asha Sharma’s New Big Xbox Call – Yank Gears of War: E-Day Off PS5 and Rebuild the Console Exclusivity Wall

Jun 7, 2026 at 05:30am EDT
Marcus Fenix from the game Gears of War: E-Day with a focused expression, wearing a hat and illuminated armor.
RUMOR ASSESSMENT

80%

Probable

Just a few hours ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, insider Jeff Grubb revealed during a Giant Bomb stream that The Coalition's Gears of War: E-Day was supposed to launch on PlayStation 5 but won't anymore.

I'll say it here. Gears of War: E-Day was going to be on PS5; it's not anymore. That just happened. Like, it's a decision that just got made. And it's like, they're going backwards on this stuff where they were like, this battle doesn't make any sense.

Related Story Xbox CEO Outlines Exclusivity Conundrum: “As the 2nd Publisher, We Have to Reach Large Audiences, But Platforms Need Exclusives”

Indeed, Microsoft had chosen to go fully multiplatform with many of its games. Gears of War: Reloaded, for instance, brought the series to PlayStation consoles for the first time. It seemed like the obvious opening to E-Day, the next chapter in the series (although technically a prequel), also being released on PS5. Officially, the game was announced only for PC and Xbox Series S and X, but a PS5 version seemed almost inevitable.

Everything changed in the last few months, though, with Asha Sharma taking over from Phil Spencer as Chief Executive Officer of Xbox. She is trying to re-establish the core Xbox console business, for example, which has led her to rethink the previous multiplatform mandate. In a recent Bloomberg Tech interview, she outlined that, as the second-largest gaming publisher, Xbox must reach large audiences, but as a platform, exclusive content is important, too.

Gears of War: E-Day walking back the (unannounced) PS5 version could be a sign of other such changes. For example, Fable is currently scheduled to launch next February with a day-one PS5 version; whether that still holds with this strategy shift remains to be seen.

Anyway, we'll know a lot more about Gears of War: E-Day later today, as the game is getting a dedicated show after the general Xbox showcase. Stay tuned.

About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.

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