Gears of War

Gears of War (also referred to as Gears) is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter video games, which has been supplemented by spin-off video game titles, a DC comic book series, eight novels, a board game adaptation and various merchandise.

The original trilogy focuses on the conflict between humanity and the subterranean reptilian humanoid known as the Locust Horde on the world of Sera. The first installment, Gears of War, was released on November 7, 2006, for the Xbox 360. The game follows protagonist Marcus Fenix, a soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments tasked to lead a last-ditch effort to destroy the Locust Horde and save humanity. Two subsequent titles, Gears of War 2 (2008) and Gears of War 3 (2011), featured a three-way conflict between humanity, the Locust Horde and their mutated counterparts, the Lambent. Gears of War: Judgment, a spin-off prequel to the series' first title, was released in 2013; it focuses on Damon Baird, one of Fenix's squad-mates. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition was released for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows between August 2015 to March 2016. The fourth installment in the main series, Gears of War 4, is set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and follows Marcus Fenix's son, JD and his friends as they battle security forces deployed by a totalitarian COG government as well as the Swarm, a reconstituted version of the Locust Horde that once again threatens humanity. Gears 5 (2019) is the direct sequel to Gears of War 4 and revolves around Kait Diaz, a friend of JD, who embarks on an adventure to learn the truth about her past and the connections between her history and the Locust Horde.

Gears of War was developed by Epic Games. Cliff Bleszinski, who has previously worked on Epic's Unreal Tournament games, served as the series' lead game designer for the first three installments. He was inspired by gameplay elements from Resident Evil 4. Kill Switch, and Bionic Commando. The series was guided by Rod Fergusson, the executive producer and director of development of Epic Games until 2012. The first four installments of the Gears of War series used a modified version of the Unreal Engine 3 engine. In January 2014, Microsoft acquired rights to the franchise from Epic Games. Canadian studio The Coalition developed Gears of War 4, which was released on October 11, 2016, for the Xbox One and Windows 10. A sequel, Gears 5, was released in September 2019. All six installments in Gears of War featured several multiplayer modes that allowed players to compete against each other or team-up to battle AI opponents on Xbox Live.

Gears of War became one of the best-selling franchises for the Xbox 360. The series puts emphasis on cover-based combat, in which players can use objects to avoid gunfire or safely engage enemies. The Gears of War games have been amongst the most popular and most played titles on Xbox Live.

The Gears of War series takes place on Sera, a fictional Earth-like planet. Human civilization develops and endures a millennia-long conflict that leaves humanity on the brink of extinction. Sera's leaders broker an era of peace that ushers scientific advancements and a cultural renaissance. Humanity's population booms and demands more energy than fossil fuel, nuclear power, and renewable energy can provide. Sera's scientists then discover Imulsion, a naturally occurring liquid substance found in the underground caverns called "the Hollow", can be refined into a potent energy source. Imulsion solves the planet's energy crisis, but ultimately creates great economic disparity between nations with direct access to Imulsion and those nations without, leading them into financial turmoil.

Sera's citizens balkanize into two warring factions: the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) and Union of Independent Republics (UIR). The ensuing 79-year strife, known as the Pendulum Wars, consumes millions of lives with both sides, locked in a virtual stalemate. The UIR develops the "Hammer of Dawn" (HoD), a system of satellites capable of delivering precise and destructive orbital-to-surface laser strikes. A contingent of COG commandos, led by Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, and Victor Hoffman launch a daring raid on a UIR stronghold in Aspho Fields to steal the schematics for the HoD. The UIR surrenders after witnessing the HoD (completed by Marcus Fenix's father, Professor Adam Fenix) devastate one of their naval vessels.

Six weeks after the COG and UIR agreed to an armistice, a race of subterranean creatures, known as the Locust Horde, emerge from Sera's depths and begin assaulting human cities. Wiping out 25% of the world population in the first 26 hours, this initial attack is referred to as "Emergence Day". The Locust overwhelm the already battle-worn COG forces during this surprise attack, causing them to retreat to the Jacinto Plateau, an area granite bedrock the Locust cannot dig through, and reluctantly bombard their own cities with the HoD to halt the Horde's advance. The ensuing scorched earth tactic destroys much of Sera's cities and human population. The COG continues to operate out of the COG capital in Ephyra, and other cities on the plateau, such as Jacinto. The surviving humans outside the plateau and COG jurisdiction, known as Stranded, are left to wander through Sera's charred ruins.

The Locust reemerge and begin a campaign of occupying human cities on the Jacinto Plateau to act as stepping stones. The Locust are eventually able to emerge and overrun Ephyra 10 years after Emergence Day. During the chaos, Marcus Fenix leads an unauthorized rescue mission to save his father from the Locust assault. During the evacuation, a helicopter is shot down by the Locust and crashes into the Fenix Estate, presumably killing Adam. The COG's leadership court martials Marcus and sentences him to 40 years in prison. After losing Ephyra, the remainder of the COG retreats to Jacinto City.