E3: Gears confirmed for PC

By Robert Purchese Published 11 July, 2007

"Surprise." Laughter.

Microsoft has finally stamped confirmation on Gears of War for PC.

The announcement was coupled with an on-stage demonstration at this morning's E3 conference, lead by game designer Cliff Bleszinksi.

Gears of War for PC will feature five new campaign chapters, a new multiplayer mode, and a new game editor. It will also take advantage of new DirectX 10 technology.

In the demonstration we saw "CliffyB" take on the Brumak monster you saw in the 360 version but never got to fight, using co-operative play over Windows Live. Together with his COG ally Dom he shot the guns off of each of the hulking beast's arms, leaving only the head-cannon remaining. But unfortunately the demo ended there, as Bleszinksi didn't want to give too much away.

Peter Moore also had another secret to spill regarding Gears developer Epic. From now on Games for Windows - Live will be integrated into Unreal Engine 3. Given the widespread licensing of the technology this could prove to be a significant step.

Gears of War is due out on PC this Christmas. Look out for screenshots and movies from E3 later this week.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Mickle #1 5 years ago

    Where's the Unreal Engine FTW! tatoo?
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 07:24

  • SeesThroughAll #2 5 years ago

    If it's not locked to Vista, I'll consider.
    Oh well, thanks for giving me less one compelling reason for a 360.

  • Talha #3 5 years ago

    Well I think the game looks and plays superbly on the 360 - once you see it running on the 360, I really doubt you'd wish for a PC version. Unless of course you don't own a 360.

  • Canyarion #4 5 years ago

    How surprising, Microsoft rereleases anóther 360 game for the PC.....

  • chiz #5 5 years ago

    Games for windows live :(

    That's £xxx for the game and £40 a year if you want to play it online.

    PC gamers won't put up with that crap, we've got stuff like steam, gamespy arcade etc, all free.

  • Talha #6 5 years ago

    @chiz: Well, considering that we (PC gamers) are willing to put up with a LOT of crap (broken code, horrific framerates, underutilized, hyperexpensive hardware, OS upgrades), let's not blame MS for expecting us to shell out another yearly sum for playing online games.

  • Stilicho #7 5 years ago

    Considering I still can't get any of the wonderful "Games for Windows" to actually run under Vista I hope it is going to be both. If they continue to push Vista only stuff the PC games market is dead in the water.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #8 5 years ago

    I've played it on XP :)

    Unless they provide toned down graphics options (or much more optimisation than the build I played had), though, you'll need a big bastard PC to run it on.

  • Skeletor #9 5 years ago

    CliffyB clearly says at the end of demonstration that it's going to be XP AND Vista!
    http://ww w.gametrailers.com/player/21473...
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 09:04

  • gallow #10 5 years ago

    Oh another average game (by the time it gets released) to try and sell Vista. I hope the implement a proper FPS view point for the pc.

    I though Epic had said no to Windows Live?

  • Chaote-Imagicka #11 5 years ago

    Let me guess - PC version with 10 chapters is going to be 30 quid. Meanwhile all us poor dumb ****s who bought the five chapter version at £50 can look forward to those other five chapters coming out as GoW2 for another £50. Either that or each chapter is going to be DLC at 800M$ points or in coin - £34. In other words Micro$oft decided Sony wasn't arsef*cking gamers painfully enough and decided to raise it up another notch. Just to show they care!

  • Machetazo #12 5 years ago

    That's my main query about this: Does it mean we can expect some sort of expansion for Gears soon, for console owners?

    Also, I was really surprised when he said XP...Is that any reflection on Vista's popularity. That's such a decision is the only way they can guarantee enough people will buy it?

  • drumbaby #13 5 years ago

    Cool...saves me buying hardware that I really could do without.

  • Dizzy #14 5 years ago

    This did look quite impressive. Looks like "OMG best graphics" will once again go to GoW on PC this time ;)

  • TheVoice #15 5 years ago

    "Well I think the game looks and plays superbly on the 360 - once you see it running on the 360, I really doubt you'd wish for a PC version. Unless of course you don't own a 360."

    Indeed it does run well on the 360, so providing it's well-optimised on the PC, it'll be even better.

    "Also, I was really surprised when he said XP...Is that any reflection on Vista's popularity. That's such a decision is the only way they can guarantee enough people will buy it?"

    That's not a fair way of looking at it though - Vista hasn't been out that long and most people are still on XP, not necessarily because Vista is bad (it isn't), but because it takes a hell of a long time for the millions/billions of people using one OS to move to another. Restricting games to just Vista is foolish, and will detrimentally impact sales.

  • hiddenranbir #16 5 years ago

    Each day I'm looking at my 360 with hate and how much it's turning into a waste of money and space.

    I should have just done it smart and wait for the PC versions, which are cheaper(see Shadowrun fiasco) and seem to get the more content out of it.

    Five new chapters, EDITOR. Longetivity for the franchise just got established. And it isn't dependant on fifty sequels.

  • SniperWolf #17 5 years ago

    cry me a river, if games like Mass effect and Halo 3 make you think your 360 is a waste of space then you need to get the fuck out of gaming.

  • IAmBatman #18 5 years ago

    > all us poor dumb ****s who bought the five chapter version at £50

    You paid £50 for it? You are dumb, even on the day of release you could get it for £40.

    > That's £xxx for the game and £40 a year if you want to play it online.

    You're talking out of your arse.

  • rudedudejude #19 5 years ago

    How will the controls work? I imagine a mouse and keyboard would kinda take some of the 'flow' away from the fluidness of the pad and make aiming much easier?

  • mossychops001 #20 5 years ago

    Xbox360 is just a PC in a new box anway (off the shelf PC parts).
    Edited by 2 at 11/07/07 @ 10:39

  • Talha #21 5 years ago

    "Indeed it does run well on the 360, so providing it's well-optimised on the PC, it'll be even better. "

    And, pray tell, which recent PC games have been well optimized?

  • Quine #22 5 years ago

    "he shot the guns off of each of the hulking beast's arms"

    "off of"?!

    This is BRITAIN! Not AMERICA!

  • chiz #23 5 years ago

    cry me a river, if games like Mass effect and Halo 3 make you think your 360 is a waste of space then you need to get the fuck out of gaming.


    Halo 3 is just a sub-standard, overhyped shooter, tho.

  • Talha #24 5 years ago

    @Quine: Where were you when Mick Jagger sang, 'Get off of my cloud"? ;-)

  • SomaticSense #25 5 years ago

    Five new chapters?!?!?

    Considering that the 360 one had i think 5 in total anyway, that's effectively doubling the campaign length. Are any other 360 owners feeling pretty jipped at this point?

    Unless MS release an expansion FOR FREE, then I'm going to be pretty pissed off.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 11:06

  • login_name #26 5 years ago

    @TheVoice

    Vista is bad, for gamers. It's slower and more buggy than XP. It might be good, probably even better, for general use but for gamers....nope, sorry. Drivers and Direct X implementation just aren't optimised yet.

  • Dizzy #27 5 years ago

    "Each day I'm looking at my 360 with hate and how much it's turning into a waste of money and space. "

    I think you should collects stamps or grow guppies and buy a PC in 2050 that can run emulated versions of all these games from 2007 for free.

  • UncleLou #28 5 years ago

    Nice. Good things come to those who wait.

    /pats PC

  • IAmBatman #29 5 years ago

    > effectively doubling the campaign length

    Only if the chapters are the same length as in the original. What if the 5 new chapters are all the same size as the final chapter in Gears? That was tiny compared to the others. The chapter breaks just marked large changes in location, not an amount of gameplay.

    > Are any other 360 owners feeling pretty jipped at this point?

    No. I've been playing Gears for 7 months now. By the time the PC version comes out the 360 version will be a year old.

  • UncleLou #30 5 years ago

    Unless MS release an expansion FOR FREE, then I'm going to be pretty pissed off.

    Why should they release the content for free? Do you really feel ripped off in hindsight, is GoW suddenly less good or was less worth the money because an enhanced verison comes out on another platform ages later?

    I think I'll start complaining how 360 owners get the HL2 Orange box for the price of one game when I had to pay for the game and Episode 1 seperately.

  • urban #31 5 years ago

    wtf..so you'll have to pay to play it online? THATS CLEVER!!! PC GAMING IS GETTING TAKEN OVER!!

  • Darren #32 5 years ago

    Gears of War was very pretty, a showcase game for what the Xbox 360 is capable of graphically, but I thought it was nothing special in terms of gameplay and wouldn't call it a classic in the sense that the original Halo was on the Xbox. I expect that by the time it comes out on the PC it'll look far less impressive alongside games like Crysis.#

    Still it sounds like PC owners are getting the definitive version and one that sounds twice as long with an extra FIVE chapters. Sounds like the game the 360 version might have been had it shipped on HD-DVD or Blu-ray. I'm assuming that the PC version will come on more than one DVD or install to well over 9 GB if it's compressed onto a single disc?

  • alpha-0ne #33 5 years ago

    "That's £xxx for the game and £40 a year if you want to play it online. "

    ##No its not##

    pc to pc online play is free just pc to 360 play required gold membership

  • SomaticSense #34 5 years ago

    "Only if the chapters are the same length as in the original. What if the 5 new chapters are all the same size as the final chapter in Gears?"

    That would still increase the ridiculously short SP campaign exponentially.

    "Why should they release the content for free?"

    Heh. I know they won't ever do that. It's just that unless they do then I'd still feel ripped off.

    5 Chapter 360 Gears = £50

    10 Chapter PC Gears = £35

    How the hell is that not a rip-off? Whether it's a year old or not.
    Edited by 2 at 11/07/07 @ 13:03

  • Garulon #35 5 years ago

    "Considering that the 360 one had i think 5 in total anyway, that's effectively doubling the campaign length. Are any other 360 owners feeling pretty jipped at this point? "

    You're thinking of _ACTS_ - each act was broken up into chapters. The PC is basically getting a shortish acts, but if MS don't offer this on XBL marketplace there's something wrong with them.

  • chiz #36 5 years ago

    "pc to pc online play is free just pc to 360 play required gold membership"

    I stand corrected. This might be a good, then :)

  • TheVoice #37 5 years ago

    "And, pray tell, which recent PC games have been well optimized?"

    Sadly true. Although the GRAW2 demo runs very well on my system, which is good to see. Surprising actually, given that it's a Ubisoft title and Vegas was a slow and shoddy mess on the PC.

    "@TheVoice

    Vista is bad, for gamers. It's slower and more buggy than XP. It might be good, probably even better, for general use but for gamers....nope, sorry. Drivers and Direct X implementation just aren't optimised yet."

    I disagree. I do agree that drivers aren't quite where they should be just yet, but in general it's doing very well. I've had Vista for about 10 days now and have played a few games with zero problems - Hitman Blood Money runs very well, as did the GRAW2 demo mentioned above., and the Tomb Raider Anniversary demo. Vista isn't in a perfect place for gaming just yet, but it's definitely not bad, by any means.

  • skillian #38 5 years ago

    Epic know what they're doing when it comes to the PC.

    I have every faith in them that they won't screw up the port or any optimisation.

  • UncleLou #39 5 years ago

    5 Chapter 360 Gears = £50

    10 Chapter PC Gears = £35

    How the hell is that not a rip-off? Whether it's a year old or not.

    The general price difference between console and PC games can't be taken into account here. You're effectively paying for your initially subsidised hardware with each console game you buy. ;p

    Even if we imply that the price is the same, there's still more content admittedly - but stuff like this has happened for ages. Like I said, take the HL2 example. I paid the normal price for the full game. For the price of the full game, 360 owners get HL2, Ep1, Ep2, TF2 and Portal.

    PS2 owners got an enhanced version of RE4, for example

    Xbox owners got enhanced version of PS2 games.

    It's just the way it's always been.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 14:53

  • Liam66 #40 5 years ago

    hey wat the fuk how come us 360 owners arent gettin new modes an shizz?
    epic sort it out!!!

  • YourMessageHere #41 5 years ago

    As I understood it, GoW says levels = chapters, collections of chapters = acts. One new act, 5 chapters long = 5 new SP levels in not-GoW speak. Not 5 new acts.

    I might play this if someone manages to work out how to strip out the Games for Windows/Live bullshit. I refuse to dance to MS's tune.

  • FooAtari #42 5 years ago

    @ SniperWolf
    "cry me a river, if games like Mass effect and Halo 3 make you think your 360 is a waste of space then you need to get the fuck out of gaming. "

    He was right, I feel exactly the same. I look at my PC and then my 360. I wonder what I can get on the 360 that I can't get bigger or better on the PC. Answer, not much. I should rename my 360, Microsoft Media Center Extender, as that's what it mostly get's used for. When it ineveitably dies on me I think it will be getting replaced with a Media Center PC, if it isnt sold before then.

    Halo 3? 1st game was good, 2nd was average at the very best. The reviews it was getting on the PC should have been the reviews it got on the Xbox. Generic storyline, generic characters, dull gameplay.

    Get the fuck out of gaming? Because he isn't creaming his pants over the Cheif? Maybe you should get the fuck out of this forum for being a twat?
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 15:17

  • Garulon #43 5 years ago

    "He was right, I feel exactly the same. I look at my PC and then my 360. I wonder what I can get on the 360 that I can't get bigger or better on the PC. Answer, not much."

    OH, you're one of THOSE PC owners. Is it time for a new graphics card? It normally is!

  • Calgon #44 5 years ago

    I agree nothing worse than snooty PC enthusiasts, if anything you should feel bad about spending more money and effort than the 360 took(dont give me any bollocks about that I've built PCs too and I know my hardware... more importantly seen the results on screen) for games you can play on the 360(which it has proved handles them exceptionally well bar a select few lazy ports). To top it off some devs are even liking the 360 dev tools so much they are using that as the lead platform = 360 version gets lots of care taken with it.

    Also from MS' point of view a year later the sales are dimished, why not release it on PC and make some more cash on their windows platform?( this might encourage them to risk investing a little more in their games too where possible, a year is a long time to be exclusive... I certainly wouldnt feel hard done by), theres plenty of 360 exclusive games that you cant get on the PC = "console games" if you bought a 360 for PC style FPS' and the like when you already have PC(and probably tell everyone how much better KB&M is whenever possible anyway) then thats your own fault. For the rest we get the pick of the very best PC gaming has to offer -- thanks to MS the 360 versions have been turning out great too, infact the old worries about the console version being a sloppy port from the generations before are gone in my book-- and also the 360 only games to go along with them(all of which wont be found on other consoles, to me and many others, thats makes the price of the 360 seem like a pretty good deal).
    Edited by 2 at 11/07/07 @ 17:00

  • skillian #45 5 years ago

    ^ Who are you defending your 360 against? "PC snobs" are hardly out in force here.

    You like your system, great. No need to get so defensive - you sound like you're trying to convince yourself, to be honest.

  • hiddenranbir #46 5 years ago

    Haha Hilarious. Upset at me that PC provides me with a better deal



    Silly Sniperwolf. I'm willing to put some money that down the line Mass Effect ends up doing a Jade Empire. Hell, even willing to put money on H3 coming to the PC platform too.

    I bought the 360 way too early and there are not enough enough decent exclusives to justify it for me.

    Looks like it is still going to be a PC-PS2 set up for my home.

  • BobsYourUncle #47 5 years ago

    PC pwns...again.

  • login_name #48 5 years ago

    "I disagree. I do agree that drivers aren't quite where they should be just yet, but in general it's doing very well. I've had Vista for about 10 days now and have played a few games with zero problems - Hitman Blood Money runs very well, as did the GRAW2 demo mentioned above., and the Tomb Raider Anniversary demo. Vista isn't in a perfect place for gaming just yet, but it's definitely not bad, by any means."

    Vista has been constantly out performed by XP since release. No game runs better on Vista, or even equal, to my knowledge. Since most people have XP, upgrading to Vista, especially for a gamer, is a bad idea. Therefore, Vista is currently bad for gamers. Doing well in general isn't good enough. It needs to be consistently performing equal or better to justify the upgrade. Give it 6 - 12 months, then it might be worth the plunge. They might actually have some good DX10 games out by then.

  • hiddenranbir #49 5 years ago



    I disagree with this point. It's more of an issue of getting the most out of all your platforms and less about the wait. It doesn't matter if I have to wait if the game does eventually come to the PC. It saves the idea that the second platform is needed in the first place if at the end of it all, it wasn't entirely necessary to access the library of games.

    This is one thing Sony managed to do with the PS2. A lot of their games were PS2 only which was the clear reason to buy a PS2. You want so and so games, the ONLY place to access them is on PS2. 360 needs a hell of a lot more titles like this.

  • Calgon #50 5 years ago

    You like your system, great. No need to get so defensive - you sound like you're trying to convince yourself, to be honest.

    You prefer the PC, great. No need to post such baseless assumptions, I dont own a 360, its just a simple fact that PC fanboys have been like that for ages with regards to all consoles. You sound like you are in denial to be honest!
    Edited by 1 at 12/07/07 @ 12:45

  • Calgon #51 5 years ago

    hiddenranbir I disagree with your point... and most other gamers do too if you look at the sales. This is simply because a year is a long time to wait for a blockbuster title and by the time it arrives you've seen too much of it already in some cases, so despite your efforts to say otherwise it IS significant even if you do own both platforms.

    Your arguement also includes games you have no idea whether they will make it to PC or not anyway, that cant be good can it, if you did want them and didnt have a 360? If thats your arguement just wait out this generation of consoles, because alot of the biggest 3rd party games(not just 360 ones either) make their way to PC anyway and this trend is only increasing with Vista.

    Which PS2 only games were these btw out of interest? There arernt really that many worthwhile ones for me once I pic out the ones that did eventually go to other platforms.
    Edited by 3 at 12/07/07 @ 16:07

  • CurtChapman #52 5 years ago

    Lets be honest here, when have you ever heard a games developer ever say "Gee, I really do not wanna make any more money by porting it onto another console".

    Because of that theres no way they wont port chapters they've finished for the Pc version onto the xbox360.

    These things happen, Things will always be graphically better, more adapatable, editable etc. on a PC system, but we own an xbox360 consoles, we bought this because we have quality games with hardware that will remain constant for at least 5 years.

    If you want extra functionability and crisper graphics then buy a PC and upgrade your hardware every 6 months to stay ahead of the game.

    I'm sure us xbox360 wont be complaining if the deal with rockstar for exclusive XB360 episodic GTA4 content goes through will we?

  • ChromeMud #53 5 years ago

    Good for PC gamers if that's your bag.
    Been there done that,PC gaming is dieing,just look at the developers jumping on the console bandwagon...say bye bye to all the old exclusives like COD,Civilisation
    and a number of RTS's.
    Blubber blubber....keyboard & mouse,the final reason to remain on an antiquated platform thats clutching it's bloody throat praying Vista will save it whilst bleeding helplessly and all the while the wolves rip apart it's vital organs...night night...