Gears of War: E-Day is the highest rated game in the series in a long time. But excellence is no indicator of market success these days, especially for a platform with as many competing business models as Xbox. According to data firm Alinea Analytics, Microsoft’s latest console-exclusive shooter only sold 320,000 copies in its first week, but had 1.7 million players on Game Pass. So, is this good or bad for The Coalition, one of several Xbox gaming teams currently worried about future cuts?
“Gears of War: E-Day “Steam represents 168,000, while Xbox (console and PC) sells 62,000. But there is more to this story, since Xbox represents the bulk of revenue (nearly three quarters).
He argues that Game Pass cannibalizes much of the premium revenue that fans could have spent on the game, without apparently leading to mass adoption from the rest of the subscriber base, or a large increase in new signups.
Gears of War: E-Day has sold 230,000 copies (@alineaanalytics estimates).
Steam represents 168,000, while Xbox (console and PC) sells 62,000. But there is more to this story, since Xbox represents the bulk of revenue (nearly three quarters).
On Xbox, Game Pass cannibalizes… pic.twitter.com/EH6GHFngYP
— Rhys Elliott (@superhys) October 9, 2026
According to Alinea’s estimates, none of which have been corroborated by Microsoft, 1.7 million players accessed Electronic day via a Game Pass subscription instead of purchasing it, 722,000 of whom paid $30 to upgrade to the Premium Edition to access the game early. Meanwhile, the game is estimated to have sold 230,000 copies so far, including 168,000 on Steam. That’s about $37 million in revenue so far, with $26 million coming from Xbox players.
“In a world without Game Pass on day one, a lot of these people would have bought Electronic day at $70,” » Elliott wrote. “They paid $30 for five days early access to something that doesn’t belong to them. Indeed, Xbox charges its most valuable customers the least, based on a hangover from a proven strategy from a previous administration.
He notes that if the business model doesn’t work for a game of the level of quality that Gears of War: E-Day is there, then clearly there must be a problem with the business model. A cheap, ad-supported Game Pass tier wouldn’t solve the problem of die-hard fans paying the least to access a new exclusive, but raising the price of day one access could.
The logical conclusion, based on Elliot’s estimates and analysis, is that Microsoft will have to remove early versions of the service from the service, just as it announced earlier this year with Call of Duty.
Gn tech
