As part of the latest round of layoffs at Xbox, the story director for the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, Juan Vaca, has also been let go. Vaca confirmed this through a post on LinkedIn, and the elimination of his role comes just days before the game he has been working on for so long is finally about to come out.
“I am part of this round of Microsoft Layoffs and am open to new opportunities in games/film/TV. If your team needs a director/storyteller, please reach out.”
Vaca joins Halo: Campaign Evolved’s cinematics director, Josh Daniels, along with 266 other workers from across the various teams at Xbox Game Studios who have been affected by layoffs. In the post where the company’s CCO Matt Booty announced the job cuts, however, Gears of War: E-Day developer The Coalition wasn’t mentioned as being among the teams that are being consolidated with another studio into a larger team.
In the meantime, Gears of War: E-Day is on track for its October 6th release on PC and Xbox Series X/S. The Coalition recently celebrated the fact that it has gone gold, with studio head Mike Crump thanking “the many people who helped bring us to this moment, especially the fans.”
The cover-based third-person shooter will be available for pre-loading on September 29th, and will also be available on day one of its release through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Those who picked up the Premium Edition of the title will get advanced access to the title starting on October 1st.
“Your passion for Gears has inspired us every step of the way and reminds us why this franchise continues to mean so much to so many. Thank you to everyone who has played, watched, and shared feedback throughout the journey so far.”
As part of its celebration for Gears of War: E-Day going gold, The Coalition has also unveiled the full Achievements list for the game, which manages to avoid spoiling any real details about the campaign aside from the fact that it will have five acts. Players will also be able to earn achievements for completing optional objectives throughout the game, as well as partaking in other game modes like Horde Siege.
Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the entire franchise, taking place well before the events of any other game in the series. The title will once more put players in the shoes of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, who are trying to do their best to survive the harrowing events of Emergence Day.
Creative director Matt Searcy had previously spoken about how The Coalition wants to be “known for what Gears already is”, and how Gears of War: E-Day was developed around similar core pillars as the original Xbox 360 trilogy. Brand director Nicole Fawcette said that one of these pillars has been an emphasis on visual fidelity, and that The Coalition wants to follow suit by pushing console and PC hardware to its limits.
The closed beta for Gears of War: E-Day’s multiplayer from last month has also proven to be quite successful, and has likely helped push more pre-order sales.
