Highly anticipated: Microsoft is generating buzz for its upcoming third-person shooter, Gears of War: E-Day, ahead of the planned October release by launching a limited public beta this week. The company also announced content for the multiplayer beta, as well as the minimum and recommended system requirements for PC.

The beta program includes an early access phase from August 6 to 10 for customers who pre-ordered the game on Xbox or Steam, as well as all Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscribers. This will be followed by an open beta from August 13 to 17 for all players across both platforms, regardless of their pre-order status.

Beta content will be the same for both sets of players, and will include the Horde Siege PvE mode and 4v4 Versus for competitive play. PvP was not originally a part of the early access program, but Microsoft changed its mind after protests from fans.

Microsoft has also announced the minimum and recommended system requirements to play the open beta on PC, noting that these could change and may not reflect the final specifications for the game.

Minimum System Requirements (1080p / 60 fps, Medium preset with DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS):

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-6850K / Core i5-10400
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 / RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 9060 / Radeon RX 6600
  • Memory: 12 GB

Recommended system requirements (1440p / 60 fps, High preset with DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS):

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-11600K
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 / RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT / Radeon RX 6700 XT
  • Memory: 16 GB

An SSD with 80GB of free space is a common requirement in both cases, while the operating system must be Windows 10 or Windows 11, version 22H2 or later.

Scheduled for release on October 6, Gears of War: E-Day is the sixth mainline installment in the Gears of War series and will be available on Windows PC and Xbox Series X|S. Set as a prequel to the original Gears of War (2006), it follows protagonists Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago as they fight to save humanity from the Locust Horde invasion on planet Sera during Emergence Day.