The Coalition says the Gears of War: E-Day campaign runs over 14 hours, and creative director Matt Searcy told IGN it is “longer than any campaign” the studio has built. Independent completion times are not in yet, because outlets report the review embargo lifts on October 1, the same day early access opens.
Below we cover how the campaign is structured, what stretches or shortens your playtime, what a 100 percent run actually asks of you, and how the early access window fits around it. This guide covers the launch version of Gears of War: E-Day on Xbox Series X|S and PC, verified against The Coalition’s and Xbox’s official posts; the campaign is the same on every platform, with split-screen as the only console-only feature.
The Official Campaign Length
Searcy gave the figure in an interview with IGN after the June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase: E-Day’s campaign is “over 14 hours,” with more collectibles than any campaign The Coalition has made, including the series’ classic COG Tags. Since The Coalition built Gears 4 and Gears 5, that makes E-Day its longest Gears story to date.
Two caveats before you plan around that number:
- It is a developer estimate, not a measured average. The Coalition did not say which difficulty or play style the figure assumes.
- The levels are bigger than past Gears games. Searcy described the campaign as still linear, but with some levels featuring “larger areas to explore.” The Xbox Wire E-Day Direct feature adds that missions move from tight streets into open districts where you can reach entire neighborhoods. Players who search every corner will run long.
How the Campaign Is Structured
The campaign is split into five Acts. That comes straight from the official achievements list on Xbox Wire, which includes story achievements that unlock during each of Acts 1 through 5.
Each Act is broken into chapters. CGMagazine’s hands-on preview covered the first two chapters of Act 2, titled “Bravo Squad” and “Hold the Line,” so expect several chapters per Act.
The story itself is tightly scoped. Per Xbox Wire, the whole game takes place in one city, Kalona, over three days: a first night of confusion and fear, a second day of regrouping with the military, and a third day of desperation. You never leave Bravo Squad’s point of view, and all four members (Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes) are playable from the start.
What Changes Your Playtime
Difficulty. Per The Coalition’s official accessibility guide, campaign difficulty is customizable, and changing individual gameplay settings moves you to the matching difficulty tier. Insane is the hardest difficulty named in the achievement list, and a harder setting generally means more retries.
Co-op. The campaign supports up to four players online or two in split-screen on console, and in co-op each player picks their own difficulty independently. Only the host can pause. Our co-op guide covers setup.
Side content. Beyond COG Tags, the achievement list tracks campaign Secondary Objectives, hidden Hard Cases, collectibles and Supply Cache items. Chasing all of them turns a straight run into a much longer one.
Save slots. The campaign offers up to five save slots, so a solo run and a co-op run with friends can progress separately without overwriting each other.
What a 100 Percent Run Takes
The campaign achievements break down like this:
- Remember Kalona: complete all Acts on any difficulty
- Today We Are Canceling the Apocalypse: complete all Acts on Insane
- You’re My Brother: complete all Acts in co-op, any difficulty
- Side Piece: complete all Secondary Objectives
- Relax. I’m the Map.: discover all Hard Cases
- Memories From E-Day: find all collectibles
- Quartermaster: unlock all Supply Cache items
- For Whom The Bell Tolls: complete the campaign on Insane, finish all side missions and find all hidden items
On paper, a single co-op run on Insane matches the wording of both the Insane and co-op achievements, which could save a full playthrough.
The real time sink is Dead Serious, E-Day’s version of the series’ famous Seriously achievement. It asks for 100 percent of the campaign on Insane, 25,000 kills in Versus, max Player Level and all four Horde Siege classes at max level. Each class has 30 levels at launch and Player Level runs to 100 (with up to four Re-Ups after that), so the multiplayer half of Dead Serious dwarfs the campaign itself. Our multiplayer and Horde Siege guide explains how those levels work.
Early Access and When Reviews Land
Premium Edition owners can start on October 1 at 8am Pacific, five days before the worldwide launch on October 6 at 8am Pacific. At the stated length, five days is enough for most players to reach the credits before launch day if they play a few hours a day. Our editions guide explains what the Premium Edition costs, and our release time guide converts the unlock to your time zone.
Pre-install opens September 29, as our gone gold story covers, and adults near Los Angeles can play even earlier at Xbox’s free public event on September 30. Once reviews publish, reviewer completion times will show how close The Coalition’s figure is to a real first playthrough. Every guide for the game lives on our Gears of War: E-Day hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours is the Gears of War: E-Day campaign? The Coalition says over 14 hours. Creative director Matt Searcy called it longer than any campaign the studio has built.
How many acts are in Gears of War: E-Day? Five. The official achievement list includes story achievements that unlock during Acts 1 through 5.
Is Gears of War: E-Day longer than Gears 5? Per The Coalition, yes. Searcy said E-Day’s campaign is longer than any the studio has built, and The Coalition made Gears 5.
Can you play the whole campaign in co-op? Yes. Up to four players can play online, or two in split-screen on Xbox Series X|S, and all four Bravo Squad members are playable from the start.
Does the campaign have collectibles? Yes. Searcy says it has more than any previous Coalition campaign, including COG Tags, and the achievement list also tracks Hard Cases, Secondary Objectives and Supply Cache items.