The Coalition’s rollout of Gears of War: E-Day’s Versus and Horde Siege modes looked very impressive, especially ahead of the upcoming beta. However, there’s always concern about cosmetics, progression and monetization, especially in this age of live-service games.
So instead, the development team is side-stepping that entirely. No battle passes whatsoever. Almost every item is earnable by playing the game. In its own words, “No battle pass, no Tour of Duty, no gimmicks, no bt. Whether it’s a Legendary Character Skin, an Epic Weapon Skin Set or a Rare Pose, almost all of it can be earned through gameplay.”
Some of your acquisitions come from completing challenges, earning medals and Achievements. Others will be from Coins earned through Versus or Horde Siege matches. Higher scores and better performance mean more Coins, but those have a weekly cap. The Coalition notes that this should be enough to purchase a Legendary Character Skin, but on the flip side, you can also earn Coins from medals and for every 10 levels with no restrictions.
There is a slight caveat for items earned from challenges and Achievements. You can only earn the former while they’re active, but don’t worry – they can’t be acquired by “opening your wallet.” Conversely, “You also can’t bypass an active challenge with Coins. We respect the time and skill it takes for players to earn those items.” Of course, limited-time seasonal and event rewards will be available in the Barracks, which can be purchased with Coins or Iron (the game’s premium currency).
Clearly this is all meant to constitute some kind of grind, right? The team isn’t shying away from addressing that either. “Earning Coins is not intended to be painstaking or provide the player with a sense of pride and accomplishment” (emphasis theirs).
“Earning Coins shouldn’t be an arduous grind. Chasing your favorite skin and unlocking new items should be fun. As such, we’ve carefully tuned the rate you earn Coins with this principle in mind, and we’ll pay close attention to player feedback to adjust as necessary in post-launch.”
As for the exceptions, i.e. premium content which costs Iron, these will be available as part of the Premium Edition. That includes the five Seasonal Customization Packs. Charity Bundles, like the 2026 Never Fight Alone bundle, and collaboration items, including the upcoming Lightning Weapon Skin Set with Metallica, also fall under this umbrella.
All in all, it seems like a pretty fair system and one that ensures a hefty amount of content to be earned from simply playing the game. Gears of War: E-Day arrives on October 6th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, but the beta goes live from August 6-10 for pre-orders and August 13-17 for everyone else. Check out our thoughts on Horde Siege here.
