Gears of War: E-Day Sells Only 62K on Xbox, But 1.7M Play via Game Pass

Did you hear about Gears of War: E-Day's launch sales? They're a bit surprising. According to analyst firm Alinea, the game sold only 62,000 copies on Xbox consoles in its launch week. That's a tiny number for such a big franchise. But wait, there's more to the story.

On Steam, the game did much better, with an estimated 168,000 buyers. That brings total sales across Xbox and Steam to around 230,000. But here's the kicker: roughly 1.7 million people played E-Day through Xbox Game Pass. That's a massive difference. So while premium sales on Xbox were low, the player base is actually huge.

Alinea's Rhys Elliott points out that Game Pass is "cannibalising much of the premium revenue." But he also notes that over 722,000 Game Pass subscribers paid for the premium upgrade. That means nearly 950,000 people actually paid something for the game. Total estimated sales revenue? Around $37 million. Not too shabby, but it paints a complex picture.

Elliott argues that "the $70 premium SKU is – functionally – dead on Xbox." That's a bold statement, but it reflects a growing trend. Many developers have criticized Game Pass for hurting full-price sales. Microsoft even removed new Call of Duty games from day-one Game Pass offerings this year, though they didn't admit it was about money.

But as Circana analyst Mat Piscatella points out, "it isn't straight cannibalism if a person paying for Game Pass plays an offered game through the service." Not everyone who plays via a subscription would buy the game outright. So we can't just assume those 1.7 million players would have purchased E-Day if Game Pass didn't exist.

There's also the value of Game Pass subscriptions themselves. How many people signed up for Game Pass just to play E-Day? We don't know, but it's a factor. Meanwhile, E-Day was once planned for PS5, but Microsoft shelved that port to focus on Xbox. That decision limited its audience, and now the studio reportedly fears post-launch layoffs.

These numbers are unconfirmed estimates, and Microsoft hasn't commented. But they raise interesting questions about the future of Xbox exclusives and subscription services. What do you think? Is Game Pass helping or hurting games like Gears of War? Will you be picking up E-Day, or are you playing it on Game Pass?