Gears of War now available on Xbox Live

By Ellie Gibson Published 4 January, 2010

Download directly via Games on Demand.

Microsoft has released classic Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War as a Games on Demand title.

In other words, you can now download the game directly via Xbox Live. In the UK it's priced at £19.99.

Released in 2006, Gears of War became an instant hit with fans of shooting aliens and hiding behind things. It scored 8/10 on Eurogamer, making it equal to but not better than Halo. Read our review for the full lowdown.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (15) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • Darkjinxter #1 2 years ago

    19.99 indeed

  • altitude2k #2 2 years ago

    Here come the troops...

    Look, if you think £20 is overpriced, then just buy the physical media on the cheap. If, however, you're having a bit of a lazy day and find yourself at a loose end, haven't tried GoW and fancy giving it a go but can't be bothered to wait or pick it up, then play that little bit extra for the benefit.
    Edited by 1 at 04/01/10 @ 09:00

  • altitude2k #3 2 years ago

    @designerheadache:

    The limit is for XBLA games, not Games on Demand.

  • actionfitz #4 2 years ago

    wonder how long MS / the publishers will persist in charging extra for copies of their games that have lower overheads than their physical media counterparts. The 'added value' through convenience argument wont carry forever.
    neither will the 'pacifying of high-street retailers' notion.

    At some point the penny will drop with the general public and this bizarre situation of digital costing more than physical copy's will end.

    - just wonder how many more white hairs i'll have by then :S

  • space_ace #5 2 years ago

    deals of war

  • bad09 #6 2 years ago

    19.99? For Gears 1? Hahahahahaha! MS just don't get this DD thing do they....

  • schnide #7 2 years ago

    £19.99? Gears of Waaaaaaah?!

  • Peew971 #8 2 years ago

    Wow this GOD bashing is still going on after all this time. I thought everyone by now had agreed that:
    a) MS has to charge about the same as major retailers to avoid pissing them off (GAME, Gamestop, etc.)
    b) Average Joe who doesn't check online retailers will be happy to pay these price since they're likely to be the same in the aforementioned major retailers street shops.
    c) We all know how/where to get these cheaper so we're just moaning for nothing.
    d) MS is probably just establishing a service in preparation for the next console whenever that is.

  • pinochet_cz #9 2 years ago

    Even gears 2 will be overpriced for that. But the whole concept isn't probably for me, I am usually buying new games.
    //
    a) MS has to charge about the same as major retailers to avoid pissing them off (GAME, Gamestop, etc.)
    why? they are major reason why we don't buy old games overpriced on GoD :-)

    b) Average Joe who doesn't check online retailers will be happy to pay these price since they're likely to be the same in the aforementioned major retailers street shops.
    no way
    Edited by 1 at 04/01/10 @ 10:22

  • Kapo! #10 2 years ago

    We can only hope that one day Microsoft and Sony will both heavily discount the price of downloadable games like Steam has been doing over these past few weeks. As it stands, there's absolutely no incentive for me to buy a downloadable version of their games when I can buy a physical copy for half the price.

  • chrisola #11 2 years ago

    the point about MS having to charge about the same as major high street retails doesn't apply for GOW, it's an old game which you can get for cheap. Same with Saints Row 2, i nearly got it on GOD but on my lunch at work i noticed it was £9.99 for a new copy from Gamestation.

    They also had Gears of War 2 with the map packs for £19.99.

    GOD may be convenient for impulse buys and people who can't get to shops, but still.

    It needs a 'Classic' or 'Platinum' range which has the older games for £9.99 - you know, like the shops do!

  • Murton #12 2 years ago

    20 quid for Gears of Bore? Hasn't the retail version been much cheaper than this for some time now?

    I'm not against digital downloads but the publishers really need to meet the consumer in the middle and pass on the discounts afforded by those decreased overheads. As it stands now I avoid digital downloads with the exception of special offers and sales. For example I treated myself to a Christmas deal on Trine, half price on PSN over the holiday period and enjoying it immensely, I wouldn't have paid 15.99 for it but at 7.99 it was great value. Perhaps when the GOD service is better established MS will look at some price cuts or at least occasional special offers that makes it a competitive service compared to retail.

  • dirk_aircool #13 2 years ago

    what a ' Bargain '. plus how much is 6gb of 360 Hdd storage worth ?

  • mkreku #14 2 years ago

    Xbox 360 exclusive? Weird, I distinctly remember playing this on my PC.

  • Hexagon #15 2 years ago

    May digital distribution prosper ever more. :-)