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Gears of War: E-Day Player Count and Steam Reviews

Gears of War: E-Day player count: a Steam peak of 20,374 in early access, about double Gears 5’s record, Mostly Positive user reviews and what Steam misses.

Published 2026-10-0611 cited sources
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Short answer

Steam peaked at 20,374 players in early access; there is no official total

The only public player figures are for Steam. On the first day of early access, SteamDB recorded a peak of 20,374 people playing Gears of War: E-Day at once, as Insider Gaming and Pure Xbox reported on October 2, 2026. That is about double the 10,196 peak of Gears 5, the previous high for the series on Steam.

Xbox and The Coalition have not published player totals. Steam’s number leaves out Xbox consoles, the Xbox PC app, Xbox Cloud Gaming and everyone on Game Pass. Until the worldwide launch on October 6, it also covered only people who had paid for early access. Read it as a floor, not a headcount.

Early access Steam peak
20,374
Gears 5 Steam peak
10,196
Steam user reviews
Mostly Positive

Steam peaks compared

Peak concurrent players on Steam, as reported by the press. The early access and Gears 5 figures are from SteamDB.
Game or periodPeak on SteamReported by
E-Day open beta weekend, August 202622,084LEVEL UP
E-Day early access, October 1–2, 202620,374Insider Gaming, Pure Xbox
E-Day first beta weekend, August 2026More than 14,000LEVEL UP
Gears 510,196Insider Gaming, Pure Xbox
Gears Tactics7,351LEVEL UP
Gears of War: Reloaded4,819LEVEL UP

The open beta weekend was free to everyone. Early access required the Premium Edition, the Collector’s Edition or the Premium Upgrade. No figure for the worldwide launch had been reported when we checked.

What the Steam number leaves out

E-Day is sold on more than one PC storefront and is included in a subscription. Steam reports only its own slice.

  • Xbox Series X|S players are not counted.
  • PC players who use the Xbox PC app are not counted. That includes PC Game Pass members.
  • Players streaming through Xbox Cloud Gaming are not counted.
  • Before October 6, only owners of the Premium Edition, the Collector’s Edition or the Premium Upgrade could play at all.

Steam user reviews

When we read Steam’s review data on October 6, 2026 at 10:08 UTC, the game was rated Mostly Positive. Of 3,779 reviews in all languages, 2,949 were positive, which is 78%. English-language reviews were slightly lower: 2,142 positive out of 2,822, or 76%.

Two things to keep in mind. Every one of those reviews was written during early access, before Standard Edition buyers could play, so the total will move quickly after launch. For comparison, OpenCritic showed a Top Critic Average of 88 on October 4, with 92% of critics recommending the game.

How to check the current numbers

  1. For the review rating, open the game’s Steam store page and scroll to the reviews section. It shows the current label and the number of reviews behind it.
  2. For concurrent players, look the game up on SteamDB, the tracker cited in the early access reports above. The Steam app ID is 3010850, the number in the store page’s address.
  3. Compare like with like. A peak is the highest moment on record, so it will always be above the number playing right now.
  4. Remember what is missing. SteamDB cannot see Xbox consoles, the Xbox PC app or Xbox Cloud Gaming.

What changes on October 6

Worldwide launch is at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 6, 2026. From then, Standard Edition buyers can play, and so can Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members. Insider Gaming expected the Steam figure to rise with the full release, while pointing out that Game Pass players would stay invisible to it.

We last checked this page a few hours before that unlock, so the early access peak is the latest figure reported.

Does the count affect matchmaking?

Less than the Steam number implies. Xbox and PC players are matched together, so the pool for Horde Siege and Versus is everyone on every platform, not the Steam population alone.

The modes need different numbers to fill. A Horde Siege map holds twelve players in three squads, and Versus is 4v4. The launch notes also list improvements to backfill bots, which take empty slots.

Quick questions

How many people are playing Gears of War: E-Day?

No official number exists. On Steam alone, the highest reported figure is 20,374 concurrent players during early access.

Did E-Day beat Gears 5 on Steam?

Yes. Its early access peak of 20,374 is about double Gears 5’s all-time Steam peak of 10,196.

Are Game Pass players included in the Steam count?

No. Steam counts only people playing the Steam version. PC Game Pass runs through the Xbox PC app.

What is E-Day’s rating on Steam?

Mostly Positive, with 78% of 3,779 user reviews positive when checked on October 6, 2026.

Next step

Gears of War: E-Day Review RoundupNumbers aside, see what reviewers praised and faulted.

Sources

Where these answers come from