Xbox says Gears of War: E-Day was not pulled from PlayStation “last-minute” after the company accidentally published an image showing Gears of War: E-Day with PS5 as one of its launch platforms.
The official Xbox Podcast is responsible for the leak, which saw it mistakenly upload a version of a Gears deep dive that included the PlayStation mention. One version of a slide featured in the video included the same art shown during its grand reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, only with PS5 included on the list of platforms.
The competing logo shares the screen with the October 6, 2026 release date, suggesting it was far enough in development to launch alongside other, confirmed platforms. Microsoft speedily scrubbed both its YouTube channel and official Xbox page of any mention of the leaked art – but not before many on the internet, including ResetEra user Jessie.Bristol, were able to capture and share the image online.
There’s been a lot of back and forth about whether the gritty Gears of War prequel would come to PlayStation or stick to Xbox and PC in recent days. After Walmart accidentally published a Gears of War: E-Day PS5 placeholder page on June 6, many believed it would be another multiplatform game. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma squashed those beliefs during yesterday’s showcase when she confirmed it will be an Xbox console exclusive.
Gears of War: E-Day will only be coming to PC via Steam and Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, and Xbox Series X|S. Microsoft has insisted that it has no intention of ever bringing the game to PS5.
Still, there have been rumors online, suggesting that Microsoft made the decision to pull the game from PlayStation only very recently. IGN reached out to Microsoft for comment and was pointed to a statement published by Xbox vice president of games marketing Aaron Greenberg.
Replying to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Greenberg does not seem to address the image itself. Instead, he said, “I can confirm this is not true,” referencing rumors that Microsoft had pulled Gears of War: E-Day from PS5 “last-minute.”
“We just limited the knowledge of this news to a very small internal group,” he continued. “Intention was to share this news first with our players and everyone watching showcase.”
“A lot has changed since Asha came into role 107 days ago,” Greenberg added in an additional post. “We are moving fast and it’s frankly pretty energizing inside the hallways here. I was made aware of these exclusives roughly a month in advance.”
Microsoft has played its cards close to its chest as it redefines its exclusivity strategy, so we do not know for sure when or if Gears of War: E-Day was ever coming to PS5. However, the art published by the official Xbox Podcast at least suggests the conversation was there at some point.
Even if Gears of War: E-Day had been announced for PS5, it wouldn’t be the first time Microsoft brought chainsaw guns to PlayStation fans. Gears of War: Reloaded, a ground-up remaster of the original game for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5, arrived in August 2025.
Gears of War: E-Day, which was first announced back in 2024, could be shaping up as a case of nostalgia done right based on its gameplay reveal yesterday. A multiplayer beta is coming on August 6.
For more, you can read about how last year’s Game Pass price increase resulted in millions of subscribers canceling their subscriptions. You can also check out everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026.
Xbox Podcast screenshot captured by ResetEra user Jessie.Bristol.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
