Soft Launch Numbers for Gears of War: E-Day as Criticism Mounts
An abundance of social messaging, hand-holding gameplay, and anti-Christian bias are among the biggest complaints.
Like Halo: Campaign Evolved before it, Gears of War: E-Day was supposed to be a return to form for a franchise that many consider to be languishing. Instead, the reaction to the latest Gears game is anything but enthusiastic. The primary problems being repeated across social media are that the game leans too hard into its progressive messaging, that, like PlayStation's Wolverine, it's possible to succeed without trying at certain points in the campaign, and there is open bias against Christian gamers in the online multiplayer mode.
Oddly, while The Coalition has been vocal about supporting LGBTQ causes and prominently features a lesbian character in E-Day in the form of Mags Carter, the developer has allegedly been going in and removing the LGBTQ tags from the game's Steam product page. Online users are reporting that the tags were there prior to launch, but since then have been taken away. Now, sometimes developers will change tags, especially user-generated ones that are intended to troll, but in this case the LGBTQ label isn't inappropriate given the emphasis on Carter and her sexuality. Thus, it's odd The Coalition is treating the LGBTQ tag as a troll tag considering there was clearly a concerted effort to include this theme in the game.
The reason for the change might tie into the aforementioned disdain that some players have for the social messaging in E-Day. As is common with many Western-developed video games in recent times, E-Day features a number of prominent female characters in positions of power and authority throughout the campaign. Many players are convinced that the goal of the marketing for E-Day was to sucker in fans of the original Gears of War games by utilizing Marcus and Dom prominently, only to make them subservient to and diminished by the new female characters. Removing the LGBTQ tag could be seen as a way of hiding the themes from users in order to boost sales.
While the above is a matter of opinion, what isn't is the discovery that Christian-based titles are not allowed as part of the game's text customization. Satan is King is apparently okay to type in, but Christ is King is not. This flies in the face of The Coalition's alleged focus on inclusivity if only some belief systems are allowed to have their voices heard. Contrast that with the over 20 different pride and LGBTQ flags that are featured as part of the player customization options, and a bias seems to grow apparent on the part of those who made the game.
All of this controversy might be having an adverse effect on sales, as the Steam version of the game has only shifted around 120,000 units. The highest concurrent player count so far for E-Day on Steam is 31,517. These are not very good numbers for a game that is purported to have cost in the neighborhood of $400 million to make. No word on XBOX sales yet, however, although it will be a mixed bag given E-Day is available via GamePass. Overall, while critic response to the game has been positive, it's not looking like this is translating to sales. We'll continue to update as we learn more about the launch of Gears of War: E-Day in the days and weeks to come.
Source: SteamDB + Yellowflash & Tyron Magnus YouTube Channel
