The upcoming PC version of Gears of War: E-Day will not launch without a graphics card that supports ray tracing, according to the system specifications released ahead of its October release. This requirement marks the first time the franchise has mandated dedicated ray tracing hardware for its mainline entries.

The specification sheet confirms that older GPUs such as the GTX 1060 and AMD RX 5000 series are incompatible, effectively setting the RTX 2060 as the baseline card for players. Developer The Coalition stated it has refined performance across hardware configurations since July testing cycles.

Minimum system requirements list an RTX 5050, RX 6600 or equivalent with 6GB VRAM for 1080p at 60 frames per second, while 1440p targets demand 8GB VRAM GPUs like the RTX 5060 or RX 6700 XT. For native 4K resolution at 60fps, the recommended hardware jumps to 12GB VRAM cards including the RTX 5070 Ti or RX 7900 XT.

Storage specifications require a solid-state drive with 115GB of free space, and the game will support upscaling technologies including DLSS 4.5, FSR 4 and XeSS 3.0T. A benchmark tool is also included to assist players with performance tuning.

Gears of War: E-Day depicts the initial Locust emergence on the planet Sera and will launch simultaneously on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Xbox Game Pass on October 6. The title features a new Horde mode iteration and includes a Smash Mouth-themed achievement for players who complete specific in-game challenges.