Gears of War: E-Day now has a final PC launch-spec table, but reading the GPU names alone does not tell you the whole story.
The Coalition's September 17 launch sheet gives three targets: 1080p/60 at Medium, 1440p/60+ at High, and 4K/60+ at Ultra. Each target is paired with DLSS, FSR, TSR or XeSS, and the sheet says a hardware ray-tracing-capable graphics card is required.
The Coalition's final launch sheet specifies 115 GB. An October 6 recheck of Steam’s current system requirements still lists 115 GB for both Minimum and Recommended. Earlier September 21 checks had surfaced 130 GB on some locale or cached views, so 130 GB remains useful source-lineage history rather than the current observed Steam baseline.
So the useful questions are not just "What GPU is recommended?" They are:
- what performance target does each tier describe
- whether those FPS figures are native or use upscaling
- what the hardware ray-tracing requirement rules out
- why Intel Arc cards disappeared from the named examples
- what changed from the earlier requirements
- what is still unknown until the final build can be measured
Gears of War: E-Day PC requirements at a glance
| Item | Current launch status |
|---|---|
| Pre-install | September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC |
| Premium Edition early access | October 1, 2026 at 15:00 UTC |
| Worldwide launch | October 6, 2026 at 15:00 UTC |
| Minimum target | Medium, 1080p, 60 FPS |
| Recommended target | High, 1440p, 60+ FPS |
| Ultra target | Ultra, 4K, 60+ FPS |
| GPU support floor | Hardware ray-tracing-capable GPU required |
| Upscaling | DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS listed for every target |
| Final Coalition storage requirement | 115 GB, SSD required |
| Steam storefront storage state | 115 GB on Steam system requirements checked October 6; 130 GB retained as September 21 source-lineage history |
| Earlier June storage requirement | 130 GB, SSD required |
| Exact upscaling quality mode | Not published |
| Native-resolution FPS | Not published |
Primary sources:
The final PC launch tiers
The Coalition calls its September 17 table the final PC specifications for launch.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preset | Medium | High | Ultra |
| Performance target | 1080p, 60 FPS | 1440p, 60+ FPS | 4K, 60+ FPS |
| Super resolution | DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS | DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS | DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS |
| NVIDIA GPU examples | RTX 5050 / RTX 2060 | RTX 5060 / RTX 3060 Ti | RTX 5070 Ti |
| AMD GPU examples | RX 6600 / RX 9060 | RX 6700 XT / RX 9060 XT | RX 7900 XT |
| CPU examples | Ryzen 5 2600X / Core i7-6850K / Core i5-10400 | Ryzen 5 5600 / Core i5-11600K | Ryzen 7 7800X3D / Core i7-14700K |
| VRAM | 6 GB | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| RAM | 12 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 115 GB SSD | 115 GB SSD | 115 GB SSD |
Steam's current system requirements also specify Windows 10 64-bit for the minimum tier, Windows 11 64-bit for recommended, DirectX 12, broadband internet and an SSD. On the Steam page checked October 6, both Minimum and Recommended still show 115 GB of available space.
The important part is that the new launch table finally attaches the hardware to an actual resolution, preset and frame-rate target. The older June requirements did not.
Every published performance target includes upscaling
The final table places DLSS, FSR, TSR and XeSS directly with all three performance targets.
That means the published 1080p/60, 1440p/60+ and 4K/60+ figures should not be read as native-resolution performance promises.
What The Coalition has not published is just as important:
- no DLSS Quality, Balanced or Performance mode per tier
- no FSR mode per tier
- no TSR or XeSS quality mode
- no internal render resolution
- no native-resolution benchmark result
So an RTX 5070 Ti being listed for 4K/60+ does not establish that the card runs the Ultra preset at native 4K above 60 FPS.
The target is useful. The internal rendering cost behind that target is still unknown.
This is one reason to be cautious with pre-launch GPU comparisons based only on a requirements chart.
A hardware ray-tracing-capable GPU is part of the support floor
The final specification sheet says a hardware ray-tracing-capable graphics card is required and that cards without dedicated hardware ray-tracing support are not supported.
That is a compatibility requirement, not merely an Ultra-settings recommendation.
For example, a GTX 10-series card can still be powerful enough for many rasterized games, but it does not have the dedicated ray-tracing hardware required by E-Day's published support floor. The same issue applies to other older GPUs without the required hardware capability.
What this does not tell us is whether every ray-traced effect must always remain enabled at every setting.
The final sheet lists hardware ray-traced reflections, shadows and global illumination among the PC features, but it does not document the exact in-game controls or the lowest possible ray-tracing state.
So the careful answer is:
The game requires a GPU with dedicated hardware ray-tracing support. The final requirements do not yet tell us how much of the ray-traced feature set can be reduced or disabled inside the shipped game.
Do not use configuration-file workarounds from the beta as proof that an unsupported GPU will work at launch.
What changed from the June requirements
The June Steam requirements were useful, but they were much less specific.
They listed only Minimum and Recommended hardware, with 130 GB of SSD space and no resolution, preset or FPS target attached.
The final launch table changes that in several ways.
| Area | Earlier June requirements | Final launch table |
|---|---|---|
| Performance targets | Not attached to the tiers | 1080p/60, 1440p/60+, 4K/60+ |
| Presets | Not specified | Medium, High, Ultra |
| Upscaling | No complete tier mapping | DLSS / FSR / TSR / XeSS shown for each tier |
| VRAM | Not presented as the three launch tiers | 6 GB, 8 GB, 12 GB |
| Ultra tier | Not present | Added |
| Storage | 130 GB SSD | 115 GB SSD |
| Intel examples | Arc A580 minimum, B580 recommended | No Intel GPU named in the final hardware examples |
| Ray-tracing support floor | Present in current store wording | Explicitly stated in the final launch sheet |
The older June GPU examples otherwise overlap heavily with the final Minimum and Recommended lists.
That makes the missing Intel examples one of the more interesting changes.
Intel Arc is no longer named, but that is not the same as "unsupported"
The earlier Steam requirement snapshot named the Intel Arc A580 in Minimum and Arc B580 in Recommended.
Neither card is named in The Coalition's final launch table.
It would be easy to turn that omission into "Intel Arc support was dropped," but the source does not establish that.
The same final PC feature sheet still lists Intel XeSS 3.0.
At this point, the defensible status is:
Intel Arc A580/B580 are no longer named as launch-tier hardware examples. The Coalition has not, in the sources reviewed here, issued a blanket statement that Intel GPUs are unsupported.
If you use an Intel Arc GPU, wait for a direct support statement, final driver guidance or reputable launch testing rather than treating the missing model names as a confirmed pass or fail.
The SSD requirement changed from 130 GB to 115 GB
The June Steam requirement snapshot asked for 130 GB of available SSD space.
The Coalition's September 17 final launch sheet reduced that figure to 115 GB.
A September 21 publication recheck found both 115 GB and 130 GB visible across Steam locale or cached storefront surfaces. That mixed state is retained here as source-lineage history.
On October 6, Steam’s current system requirements still showed 115 GB for both Minimum and Recommended. For launch-readiness purposes, 115 GB remains the current observed Steam baseline and The Coalition's final launch-sheet requirement.
It does not tell us the exact preload download size or final installed footprint. Steam also warns that future updates can require additional storage.
If you are preparing a drive, leave practical headroom beyond the stated 115 GB rather than planning around exactly the minimum free-space figure.
What Steam's hardware survey can tell us, and what it cannot
Instant Game Zone's current Steam Hardware Survey 2026 analysis uses Valve's Windows-only survey data through September.
That dataset gives useful installed-base context:
- 1920×1080 was 49.10% of the September Windows primary-resolution table.
- 2560×1440 was 27.76%.
- 3840×2160 was 4.81%.
- 8 GB VRAM was 35.78% of the September Windows VRAM table.
- 12 GB VRAM was 17.04%.
The final E-Day tiers therefore line up with three familiar resolution classes. September’s survey moved unusually sharply across several hardware and display categories, though, so those latest shares should be treated as composition-sensitive context rather than a clean measure of hardware purchases or direct upgrades.
But this data cannot tell us how many Steam users can run E-Day.
The Steam Hardware Survey is not a game benchmark, and visible hardware-share rows cannot be converted into a reliable compatibility percentage. Valve’s public survey also does not expose the cross-tabs needed to explain September’s movements by respondent group. It cannot tell us how a specific GPU will perform with E-Day's ray tracing and upscaling stack.
Use the survey as installed-base context, not as a substitute for performance testing.
What if you have an RTX 3060 rather than the recommended RTX 3060 Ti?
The final Recommended tier names the RTX 3060 Ti for High settings at 1440p/60+ with super resolution.
It does not name the standard RTX 3060.
That does not prove the RTX 3060 cannot run the game, and it does not give us enough evidence to invent an expected FPS number.
If you already own an RTX 3060, the sensible position is to wait for measured performance on that exact GPU before upgrading specifically for E-Day.
Our separate RTX 3060 Upgrade Guide for 2026 covers the broader keep-or-upgrade decision using independent performance evidence. It does not predict E-Day performance.
Install a launch-ready GPU driver before troubleshooting
NVIDIA's GeForce Game Ready Driver 617.14 includes support for Gears of War: E-Day. NVIDIA's launch material also highlights ray tracing, DLSS 4.5 and RTX Mega Geometry for the game.
AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.9.2 Optional, updated September 29, adds new-game support for Gears of War: E-Day.
If you are troubleshooting launch-day performance or missing graphics features, install the current driver for your exact GPU before drawing conclusions from older packages. This update does not assign an Intel launch-driver version because we did not verify a current first-party Intel E-Day driver note during this check.
Driver sources: NVIDIA 617.14 and AMD Adrenalin 26.9.2.
Pre-install and launch dates
The hardware question has a real deadline.
The Coalition's current schedule is:
| Milestone | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Pre-install | September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC |
| Premium Edition early access | October 1, 2026 at 15:00 UTC |
| Worldwide launch | October 6, 2026 at 15:00 UTC |
Pre-install is planned for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam.
Premium Edition buyers can start during the October 1 early-access window. PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate availability begins with worldwide launch on October 6.
If you are preparing a PC for early access, the useful checkpoint is September 29 rather than October 6.
What remains unknown from the official requirements
The final launch-spec table closes several gaps, but it does not answer everything.
As of this check, the following are still unknown from the official requirements:
- the exact DLSS/FSR/TSR/XeSS quality mode used for each target
- each tier's internal rendering resolution
- native-resolution performance
- performance for GPUs that are not named in the table
- whether Intel Arc A580/B580 remain supported despite disappearing from the examples
- how low the shipped game's ray-traced effects can be configured
- the exact installed/download size after preload and day-one updates
- real frame-time behavior and 1% lows on the listed hardware
Those questions should be answered with official documentation and reputable measured testing, not unsupported estimates.
Instant Game Zone did not benchmark Gears of War: E-Day for this article.
For another example of how we separate provisional hardware tables from launch readiness, see our Modern Warfare 4 PC requirements and readiness guide.
Source notes and update history
October 6, 2026, before worldwide launch: Rechecked The Coalition’s first-party launch schedule and Steam’s current storefront. Worldwide launch remains scheduled for 15:00 UTC, Premium Early Access is already live, and Steam still lists 115 GB for both Minimum and Recommended. Updated the Steam Hardware Survey context through September and retained a composition-sensitive caution around the latest survey movement.
September 30, 2026: Freshness update before Premium early access. Rechecked Steam storage requirements, confirmed 115 GB on the Steam surfaces reviewed, and added current NVIDIA and AMD launch-driver guidance.
September 21, 2026: Draft prepared and then publication-freshness-reconciled after rechecking The Coalition's September 17 final-spec announcement, Steam locale/cached storefront surfaces, June requirement snapshots and the current result landscape.
Current source state:
- final launch performance tiers: published by The Coalition
- hardware ray-tracing-capable GPU: required
- upscaling technologies: listed for every launch performance target
- exact upscaling modes/internal resolutions: not published
- final Coalition storage requirement: 115 GB SSD
- Steam storefront storage surfaces: 115 GB on the current Steam system requirements checked October 6; 130 GB retained as September 21 source-lineage history
- NVIDIA launch driver: GeForce Game Ready 617.14
- AMD launch driver: Adrenalin Edition 26.9.2 Optional
- earlier June storage requirement: 130 GB SSD
- Intel Arc A580/B580: present in the earlier requirement snapshot, absent from the final hardware examples
- pre-install: September 29 at 15:00 UTC
- Premium early access: October 1 at 15:00 UTC
- worldwide launch: October 6 at 15:00 UTC
Required next checks:
- after worldwide launch on October 6
- when The Coalition, Steam, NVIDIA, AMD or Intel publishes material launch or post-launch guidance
- when reputable measured PC testing resolves any of the still-unknown performance questions above
Primary sources:
Earlier-state/source-lineage references: