50 Fun Facts About Gears of War

Which studio created the original Gears of War trilogy?

Epic sold the franchise outright to Microsoft in January 2014.

On which fictional planet is Gears of War set?

Sera's energy crisis was solved by Imulsion, a liquid mined from the underground caverns called the Hollow.

Who is the protagonist of the original Gears of War trilogy?

Marcus is the playable lead in all three games and returns as an older supporting character in Gears of War 4 and Gears 5.

What are the subterranean enemies of the original trilogy called?

Their mutated, Imulsion-infected counterparts are the Lambent; the Swarm only appear in Gears of War 4.

On which console did the first Gears of War launch in November 2006?

A Windows port followed in June 2007 with five extra chapters that were later folded into Ultimate Edition.

Who was lead designer on the first three Gears of War games?

Bleszinski drew on Resident Evil 4, Kill Switch and Bionic Commando for the gameplay.

What is the name of Gears of War's chainsaw-bayonet assault rifle?

The Gnasher shotgun is the other signature gun and the most divisive weapon in multiplayer.

What is the name of the timing mini-game that speeds up reloading?

Nail the sweet spot and you get a damage boost; miss it and the gun jams.

What does COG stand for in the Gears of War universe?

The COG fought the Union of Independent Republics for 79 years in the Pendulum Wars before the Locust arrived.

What is the day the Locust first emerged on the surface called?

The Locust wiped out a quarter of Sera's population in the first 26 hours.

How long was Marcus sentenced to prison for his unauthorised rescue mission?

He served four years in the Slab before being reinstated when the COG ran out of soldiers.

What is the liquid energy source mined from Sera's underground called?

Vaporised Imulsion later causes the lung disease Rustlung and turns Locust into the Lambent.

What is the name of the orbital laser satellite system in Gears of War?

Adam Fenix completed it, and the COG turned it on their own cities to slow the Locust.

Who is the queen of the Locust?

Gears 5 reveals she was genetically immune to Imulsion and is Kait Diaz's grandmother.

What is the name of the COG's last safe city, which is deliberately sunk in Gears of War 2?

Sinking it flooded the Hollow and drowned the Locust civilisation.

What is the Locust capital beneath Mount Kadar called?

The New Hope research facility's scientists fled to Mount Kadar to continue their experiments.

What is the name of the secret island facility where Adam Fenix is held in Gears of War 3?

Adam's Imulsion countermeasure, released there, vaporises the Lambent and crystallises the Locust.

Which co-op mode, pitting players against waves of Locust, debuted in Gears of War 2?

It became a series staple; Gears of War 3 added Beast, which flips it so you play as the Locust.

Gears of War 2 was released worldwide on which date?

Exactly two years after the original's North American launch; it sold two million copies that weekend.

On which TV show was Gears of War 3 first unveiled in April 2010?

The April 2010 reveal came with a teaser trailer titled "Ashes to Ashes".

Gears of War: Judgment is a prequel centred on which Delta Squad member?

Baird leads Kilo Squad, with Cole, Sofia Hendrick and ex-UIR soldier Garron Paduk, on trial before Ezra Loomis.

Which Polish studio co-developed Gears of War: Judgment with Epic?

Epic brought them in after the two worked together on Bulletstorm; they are also co-developing E-Day.

Which studio has developed the Gears games since Microsoft bought the franchise?

The Vancouver studio was called Black Tusk until June 2015, when it renamed itself after the COG.

In which Canadian city is the studio behind Gears 5 based?

The studio began life in 2010 as Zipline Studios, maker of the Facebook game Relic Rescue.

In which year did Microsoft buy the Gears of War rights outright?

By then the series had sold over 22 million units and earned more than a billion dollars.

Gears of War 4 is set how many years after Gears of War 3?

It follows Marcus's son JD, plus Del Walker and Kait Diaz, against the Swarm.

What is the name of Marcus's son, introduced in Gears of War 4?

His full name is James Dominic Fenix; his mother Anya Stroud died from complications in pregnancy.

Which character is the main protagonist of Gears 5?

Laura Bailey voices Kait, who learns she is next in line to be Locust queen.

Which Locust leader turns out to be Kait's grandmother in Gears 5?

Myrrah possesses Reyna's reanimated body and becomes the Swarm's new queen.

What is the name of the robot that accompanies Kait in Gears 5?

Upgrading Jack unlocks scanning, cloaking, stuns and an energy shield.

Which new three-player co-op mode did Gears 5 introduce?

Players become Hivebusters who get captured on purpose to plant Venom Bombs inside Swarm hives.

Which film crossover put Sarah Connor and a T-800 into Gears 5?

Linda Hamilton did the facial capture and voice; Dave Bautista also appeared as a Marcus skin.

How many players did Gears 5 draw in its first weekend?

It was Microsoft's biggest first-party launch since Halo 4 and the biggest Game Pass launch at the time.

Gears Tactics, the turn-based spin-off, was developed mainly by which studio?

It stars Gabriel Diaz, Kait's father, hunting the regenerating Locust scientist Ukkon.

Gears Pop!, the discontinued mobile spin-off, was based on which toy line?

It launched in August 2019 and was shut down in April 2021.

Gears of War: Reloaded marked the series' debut on which console in 2025?

It is an enhanced port of Ultimate Edition, made with Sumo Digital and Disbelief.

Gears of War: E-Day is set how many years before the first game?

It follows young Marcus and Dom in the city of Kalona on the day the Locust emerged.

In which city does Gears of War: E-Day's campaign take place?

Marcus and Dom form Bravo Squad there with Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes.

Which song soundtracked the famous 2006 Gears of War TV commercial?

Gary Jules' cover went to number one on iTunes five years after it was recorded, and Bleszinski called it his personal anthem.

Who directed the "Mad World" Gears of War commercial after David Fincher dropped out?

Kosinski went on to direct Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick.

Who provides the voice of Marcus?

DiMaggio is also Bender in Futurama and Jake in Adventure Time.

What was the early working title of the project that became Gears of War?

Conceived around 2000–2001, it was far closer to the multiplayer Unreal series than the finished game.

Who composed the music for Gears of War 4 and Gears 5?

Riepl scored the first game and Jablonsky the second and third; Djawadi is best known for Game of Thrones.

Which charity received the $150,000 raised by the Gears of War 3 "Fate of Carmine" vote?

Fans bought avatar T-shirts to decide whether Clayton Carmine lived or died; Epic built both endings.

Which Gears character did Guinness readers vote the 46th-top video game character in 2011?

A former pro athlete sued over Cole Train's likeness; courts sided with Epic on First Amendment grounds.

Which author wrote the first five Gears of War tie-in novels, starting with Aspho Fields?

Traviss also wrote the Gears of War 3 script; Jason M. Hough took over the novels from Ascendance.

Who was announced in May 2025 as director of the Gears of War film for Netflix?

New Line first bought film rights in 2007 with Wiseman attached; the project moved to Universal and then Netflix.

Which other franchise did Naughty Dog's Uncharted delay its first game to more closely resemble?

Gears itself borrowed its over-the-shoulder view from Resident Evil 4 and its cover system from Kill Switch.

Which mutated enemies complete the three-way war in Gears of War 2 and 3?

The Locust were fleeing the Lambent underground, which is why they invaded the surface.

Which Gears villain became a playable fighter in Killer Instinct in 2016?

RAAM was announced at Microsoft's E3 2016 press conference and released the same day.