Gears of War: E-Day's high budget

Gears of War: E-Day, developed by The Coalition, had a production budget of 500 million dollars, according to reports from Kotaku and Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier. The game was released exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Sales figures fall short of expectations

The game sold more than 400,000 copies on consoles and PC, as reported by The Verge. This figure is considered disappointing for a AAA game of the scale and prestige of Gears of War, particularly given the high budget.

Budget details and marketing costs

The 500 million dollar figure for E-Day was initially reported by Kotaku, which specified that it was an amount excluding marketing costs. At the time, IGN had contacted Microsoft for clarification, but the company has still not responded.

Revenue and Game Pass impact

E-Day was also available day one on Xbox Game Pass, and according to Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics, the game generated 42.1 million dollars in revenue, with 311,000 copies sold on Steam and Xbox, a week after its official release on October 13.

Comparison with other high-budget games

The high production budget of E-Day makes it one of the most expensive video games ever created, with a budget double that of some of its competitors. For comparison, the extraction-shooter Marathon, recently released by Bungie, would have had a budget of more than 250 million dollars.

Xbox's financial challenges

Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox, mentioned the records set by Minecraft and World of Warcraft Forever, as well as the critical success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, in discussions about ongoing financial difficulties for Xbox. However, she made no mention of Gears of War: E-Day.

Restructuring and layoffs

The restructuring of Microsoft's gaming operations, led by Sharma, has already resulted in the elimination of nearly 2,000 positions this year, and more layoffs are still expected. Several studios have also left their oversight or are in the process of closing.

Internal concerns at The Coalition

Earlier this month, Eurogamer reported serious internal concerns at The Coalition regarding potential layoffs after the release of E-Day. A source on site said the atmosphere was cautious, with people preferring to wait three months after the game's release to celebrate, which is very unusual.

The Coalition's focus on platform showcase

Mike Crump, director of The Coalition studio, told the BBC that the success of E-Day was not limited to sales: "We measure criteria such as: do our games highlight the platform? Do they exploit the hardware's capabilities? Are they able to show all the potential of the Xbox? [...] Our goal is simply to provide the best game on Xbox and to show the industry what is possible with our hardware."