The horde mode has been one of the most reliable pillars of Gears of War multiplayer for years. With Gears of War: E-Day, The Coalition is taking that foundation and rebuilding it into something larger and more unpredictable. The new mode, called Horde Siege, supports 12 players split across three squads of four on oversized maps set in the city of Kalona. Each squad pursues its own mission while sharing the same battlefield, creating a persistent, shifting fight that feels different from traditional wave survival. Here is everything you need to know about it.
A Bigger Stage for Squad Warfare
Horde Siege maps are significantly larger than previous Horde layouts. Built across multiple city blocks in Kalona, they give squads room to maneuver, rotate between objectives, and make meaningful decisions about where to fight. The beta will feature the Golden Quarter map, set in the aftermath of fighting in the city’s historic district. At launch, three maps will be available, with additional districts planned after release.
Because three squads operate on the same map at once, the battlefield constantly changes. One squad’s completed defense or failed last stand can leave behind equipment, fortifications, or openings that another squad can use. Matches feel less like isolated survival sessions and more like a rolling conflict happening across an entire district.
Four Classes With Clear Roles
Before deploying, every player selects a class. Four will be available at launch, with more planned in seasonal updates:
- Assault focuses on mid-range flexibility and can deploy a Sonic Disruptor to stun groups of enemies. It also gains a damage bonus while in cover.
- Breacher is built for aggressive frontline play. Its Adrenaline Injector restores health and reduces incoming damage, making high-risk pushes and revives more viable. The class also resists status effects and melee damage better than others.
- Marksman emphasizes precision and long sightlines. A Pulse Drone tags enemies for the squad, and the class deals increased critical damage.
- Medic specializes in keeping the team alive. Its Stim Vaporizer heals and can revive nearby Gears, including players from other squads. Faster health regeneration rounds out the kit.
Classes are purely mechanical. Any character skin can be used with any class, so cosmetic preference does not lock players into a specific playstyle. Squad composition is completely open. Four Breachers is allowed if a group wants to play that way.
Each class levels independently up to 30. Higher levels unlock new weapons, equipment, Armor Mods, Tactical Gear improvements, and Weapon Mods, along with base increases to health and damage at key milestones.
Mission Types and Difficulty
Horde Siege organizes matches into three playlists that vary in length and structure:
- Blitz delivers short sessions lasting roughly 15–20 minutes with one or two objectives.
- Siege offers standard 20–40 minute missions that move squads across more of the map.
- Horde focuses on classic defense, asking a squad to hold a single position through 10 increasingly difficult waves. These runs can last 50–60 minutes.
Difficulty scales with class level. The game suggests a level based on your progression, but the final choice belongs to the squad. Higher difficulties deliver better rewards and introduce more demanding modifiers.
R.I.G. Objectives and Secondary Goals
Most missions revolve around R.I.G. units (Resonation Imaging Geographers). These devices, originally used for locating Imulsion, have been repurposed to map Locust tunnel networks under Kalona. Objective types include:
- Securing an area held by Locust forces
- Calibrating a R.I.G. by defending nearby zones
- Repairing a damaged R.I.G. by recovering scattered components
- Defending an active R.I.G. while it completes its scan
- Classic Horde-style defense of a single R.I.G. across multiple waves
While completing the main objective, squads can take on Secondary Objectives for extra rewards. These shorter tasks include defusing explosives, eliminating high-value targets, collecting intel, or delivering resources to another squad’s R.I.G. Success grants Weapon Parts, free equipment, and temporary Squad Perks that can be upgraded during the match.
Energy, Supply Caches, and Loadout Decisions
Combat and objective play generate a shared pool of Energy for the squad. Energy is spent individually at Supply Caches to purchase weapons, equipment, grenades, or upgrades. Players can also spend Energy to build and upgrade turrets, which can later be detached and carried as heavy weapons.
This creates ongoing decisions about whether to fortify a position, re-roll a loadout for the next objective, or save resources for extraction. Secondary objectives and map events become valuable because they accelerate Energy gain and open more options.
Modifiers, Events, and Extraction
Matches stay unpredictable through several layered systems. Mission Modifiers can change fundamental rules, such as requiring perfect active reloads or restricting health regeneration to cover. Poisons increase enemy strength after certain boss waves and apply only to the squad that triggered them. Invasion Events pull all three squads into a shared crisis when major Locust threats like a Corpser or Brumak appear, often disabling extractions or Supply Caches while the threat is active.
COG Resupplies periodically appear on the map as free Supply Drops, Perk Caches, or Weapon Part Stockpiles. These attract Locust attention, so claiming them carries risk.
Every mission ends with extraction. After the main objectives are complete, the squad must clear a landing zone and hold it until a Raven arrives. Only one player needs to escape for the mission to count as a success and for the squad to keep any Weapon Parts earned during the run. Full squad wipes consume Squad Lives. Running out of lives fails the mission.
Progression and Weapon Customization
Successful extractions and mission performance feed Class XP. Weapon Mods represent one of the more notable additions for a mainline Gears game. Once unlocked through class progression, mods are purchased with Weapon Parts earned in matches. Some adjustments are modest. Others significantly change how a weapon handles. Importantly, weapon customization is shared across classes, so work done on a Lancer for Assault carries over if that weapon is equipped on another class.
Armor Mods and Tactical Gear Mods further deepen loadout choices, letting players tune survivability, utility, and class abilities.
Launch And Post-Launch Plans
Horde Siege launches with four classes, three maps, and a solid set of mission types and modifiers. The Coalition has confirmed that new classes, maps, missions, and seasonal content will arrive after release as part of broader post-launch support for Gears of War: E-Day.
The mode is designed to sit alongside traditional Horde rather than replace it. Players who want the focused, single-squad wave experience will still have that option. Those looking for something larger, more variable, and more squad-oriented now have a purpose-built alternative.
Horde Siege takes the core fantasy of fighting overwhelming Locust forces and spreads it across a living battlefield shared by multiple teams. The combination of class progression, objective variety, shared map space, and extraction tension gives the mode a distinct identity while still feeling unmistakably like Gears. With the multiplayer beta arriving in early August and the full game launching on October 6, 2026, players will soon be able to test how well the new systems hold up across repeated runs.
Here is the short 10 minute developer deep dive video for the fans who cannot get enough:
What are your thoughts on the new modes? Are you excited to fight to the bitter end with your friends like old times? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!