Gears of War Turns 20: Free RAAM in E-Day Today, Season 2 'Legacy' Starts December 1

Twenty years ago today, on November 7, 2006, the original Gears of War hit Xbox 360 and made chest-high cover, the Lancer's chainsaw and active reloads part of every shooter fan's vocabulary. The Coalition is marking the date inside Gears of War: E-Day, the series' month-old prequel: every player gets General RAAM for free, a two-week anniversary event is running now, and the second season, called Legacy, has been dated for December 1.

Here's everything that has been officially confirmed, and what is still only fan wishful thinking.

The short version

• Free today: General RAAM joins your multiplayer roster. Just log in to Gears of War: E-Day to claim him.
• Anniversary event (live now, two weeks): Versus brings back Guardian, and Horde Siege adds a limited-time mode called For the Queen.
• Season 1 wraps up at the end of November.
• Season 2: Legacy starts December 1, with returning maps, modes and multiplayer skins from across the series.
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S and PC (Xbox app and Steam), and included with Game Pass.

RAAM is free for everyone

The headline gift is the Locust general himself. In an Xbox Wire post published on November 6, The Coalition's studio brand director Nicole Fawcette confirmed that RAAM is being handed out as a multiplayer character to every E-Day player on the anniversary date. There's no code or store purchase involved. Logging in is enough, and he's added to your account right away.

The official trailer gives him the full title Conqueror Uzil RAAM. For veterans, that's the name behind the Locust commander who ended so many Gears 1 campaigns on Hardcore, now playable in E-Day's multiplayer.

One thing to note: the official post ties the claim to the anniversary itself and doesn't say whether he can still be claimed later in the event. If you want him, logging in this weekend is the safe bet.

The two-week anniversary event

The event kicked off this week and runs for two weeks. The Coalition hasn't given an exact end date. It brings two limited-time modes:

Guardian is the bigger nostalgia hit. Leader-based modes have been part of Gears multiplayer for years, and they reward teams that actually protect their leader instead of scattering across the map. For the Queen is a tougher take on Horde Siege. Without the cache to fall back on, picking classes and loadouts before the match matters much more than usual, so Medics and Breachers will be in demand.

Season 2: Legacy arrives December 1

Pure Xbox notes that E-Day's first season ends at the end of November, and Season 2 takes over on December 1. According to The Coalition, Legacy continues the anniversary theme by honoring 20 years of Gears "greatest hits" across maps, modes and multiplayer skins.

So far, only one item has actually been named: the Solemn Memories skin for Dominic Santiago. It dresses Dom in the suit he wears in the photo with his wife Maria from Gears of War 2, one of the series' most emotional threads.

No returning maps or modes have been officially listed yet. Fans are already hoping for classics like Gridlock, Blood Drive and Canals, and Pure Xbox raised those names too, but that's speculation. Nothing The Coalition has published confirms them. No price or battle-pass details for the season have been announced either. Expect the full breakdown closer to launch.

Where E-Day stands now

Gears of War: E-Day launched on October 6, 2026 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it's included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The standard edition is listed at $69.99 on the Xbox Store, and the Premium Edition at $99.99. Premium adds the Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, five seasonal customization packs and 1,000 Iron. As usual on Xbox, online play – including Horde Siege, Versus and online campaign co-op – requires a Game Pass subscription with online multiplayer.

The game itself is an origin story set fourteen years before the original Gears. It stars a young Marcus Fenix and Dom on the day the Locust first emerged. It runs on Unreal Engine 5, supports four-player online co-op across its modes, and keeps two-player split-screen on console.

Why it matters

For a live-service shooter, the first season change is a test. It's the point where players decide whether a game is worth sticking with. By tying Season 2 to the series' history instead of only new content, The Coalition is aiming straight at the long-time fans who grew up on Gears 1 through 3, and giving lapsed players a reason to come back in December.

A free RAAM costs players nothing, and a two-week event gives everyone something to do while the wait for Legacy runs down. The real verdict comes on December 1, when we'll see which classic maps and modes actually make the cut.