The Coalition and Microsoft announced a new prequel in the franchise at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month.

We may not have got the Gears 6 announcement we were all hoping for, but Microsoft and The Coalition still turned more than a few heads with the announcement of Gears of War: E-Day at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month. The third-person shooter has been described as the next mainline game in the franchise, and the excitement following its announcement has also led in increased player numbers for previous instalments.

As per a report published by TrueAchievments, which uses a sample size of over 2.4 million Xbox accounts, following Gears of War: E-Day’s announcement, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition saw an increase of 323 percent in player numbers on Xbox consoles. Though it was unable to break into the top 40 most played Xbox games for that week, Gears 5 did, climbing up to No. 34 following a 66 increase in player numbers.

Gears of War: E-Day is set to be a prequel to the series. Set 14 years before the events of the first game, it will be a fully linear game. The Coalition says the game will tell the origin story of the Chainsaw Lancer (among other things), while it is also set to return to the horror-esque tone of the original Gears of War.

Gears of War: E-Day is in development for Xbox Series X/S and PC. A release date is currently unknow, but reports have claimed it could internally be targeting a 2025 launch.