Gears of War: E-Day lost a number of features that became the series' hallmark, but the developers promised to bring back at least some of them

Gears of War: E-Day at launch did not receive a number of familiar series features, including the ability to use enemies as meat shields, chainsaw duels, some types of weapons, private lobbies, and leaderboards. The Coalition explained that the reason was not a lack of interest in these features, but an almost complete restructuring of the project's core gameplay.

The developers said that they started working on E-Day literally from scratch, creating the entire game's "sandbox" anew. This approach was intended to provide a more cohesive gaming experience across all main modes — campaign, PvE, and PvP.

The new foundation allowed the studio to experiment with the cover system, combat mechanics, and enemies. However, there was an obvious trade-off: it was impossible to transfer absolutely all features from previous Gears of War installments to the new game by release. As a result, some familiar features were left out, including private lobbies and leaderboards.

The Coalition does not claim that these features have disappeared from the series forever. The studio does not yet promise to bring back every single one of them, as its priority now is the most stable and high-quality launch of Gears of War: E-Day. Nevertheless, the developers are monitoring "how and what" can be brought back or improved in the future, taking into account the most requested features and mechanics by fans.