Former Xbox Manager Explains Why $500M Cost For Gears: E-Day Doesn’t Tell The Whole Story
By Update [Mon 2nd Nov 2026, 1pm]: Windows Central‘s Jez Corden has shared some additional insights this morning, clarifying that based on a “range of reliable sources”, The Coalition has been involved in various other Xbox initiatives over the past 6-7 years.
All these elements seemingly contribute to the $500M budget that has been associated, although it remains unclear to what degree.
“…The Coalition dedicated over a year and a half to a prototype initiative for Xbox that Windows Central understands was ultimately scrapped. The Coalition also participated in Avowed, Hellblade 2, Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay 3, Grounded and Grounded 2, and even aided in the forthcoming StarCraft reboot.”
“The Coalition also invested considerable time collaborating with Epic Games on the “Matrix Awakens” Unreal Engine showcase, along with the Alpha Point demonstration, both intended to exhibit the capabilities of UE5 on next-gen systems and PCs.”
Nonetheless, Corden cautions that $500 million is a “substantial sum to allocate without a clear framework in place to illustrate why some of these expenditures were justifiable to Microsoft auditors”, and that there have even been “some internal conflicts regarding how exactly attribution should be allocated”.
Original Story: Over the past few weeks, there been considerable discussion regarding a speculated $500 million expenditure for The Coalition to develop Gears of War: E-Day, along with discussions about how much of that budget was directed towards the game itself.
During the weekend, former Xbox executive Derek Reese shared his perspective on the matter, indicating that The Coalition is significantly engaged in supporting Microsoft’s segment of the Unreal Engine, where a large portion of the expenses is allocated.
Here’s what the former Senior Product Manager of Xbox Game Services expressed:
This corresponds with what Jez Corden from Windows Central mentioned a few weeks prior, who initially claimed that since The Coalition is “the technological adhesive for all of Xbox”,
