Best Way to Play Every Gears of War Game in 2026

A cornerstone of the third-person shooter genre, Gears of War has been gory and grimy comfort food for everyone who loves ultra-violence since its introduction in 2006. The series has greatly expanded in the 20 years since, and with all the re-releases, remasters, collections, and updates, it can be hard to parse the best way to play each game. Thankfully, we’ve booted them all up, and did the hard work for you. Here’s the best way to play each mainline Gears of War game on current-gen hardware. This includes Gears of War 1 (Original, Ultimate Edition, and Reloaded), Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5.

Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Platform Availability
1:37 - Performance Breakdown
4:27 - Cloud Streaming
4:43 - Steam Deck Status
4:57 - Best Way to Play Gears of War
5:23 - Best Way to Play Gears of War 2, 3, and Judgment
5:36 - Best Way to Play Gears of War 4
5:59 - Best Way to Play Gears 5
6:14 - Outro

Our guides:
Gears of War: Reloaded - DOMINATE Multiplayer With These Tips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHgoZFoJElI

Gears of War - All 33 Cog Tag Locations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDD7BmApKFA

Our Full Gears 5 Guide
https://www.ign.com/wikis/gears-of-war-5

#IGN #Gaming