Analyst Piscatella says Gears of War: E-Day exclusivity isn't lifting Xbox

An analyst says Microsoft’s decision to keep Gears of War: E-Day on Xbox consoles has not paid off in hardware sales. Circana games analyst Mat Piscatella made the case in an interview with The Game Business, and what follows is his analysis, not settled fact.¹

Piscatella says the exclusivity “hasn’t made any difference in terms of the hardware trend,” and adds that it keeps getting worse.¹ He points to two data sets: Nielsen IQ figures showing UK Xbox sales down 22% in October, and Circana’s US numbers, which he says show no uplift.¹ He also says none of the new programs Xbox has put in place show a positive impact in the sales and engagement data he reviews.¹

He frames the Xbox decision against PlayStation. In his telling, PS5 sales in September 2026 beat September 2025, helped by Marvel’s Wolverine, and the console bundle and new DualSense controller sold well too.¹ His verdict on Sony’s approach: as an old-school exclusive-plus-hardware play, it’s about as good as you could hope from an IP below the level of Spider-Man.¹

The background: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma publicly made a point of E-Day being exclusive to Xbox consoles, despite word that a PS5 version was far along in development.¹

Piscatella also argues that pulling Call of Duty from Game Pass as a day-one release cost Xbox engagement with no benefit in return.¹ On the platform’s mood, he says it’s “really hard to find any signs of positivity or hope” right now, and that the moves he sees win Twitter likes from the most passionate fans without producing results.¹

For anyone who already owns an Xbox Series X|S, the practical takeaway is narrow: E-Day is on your box, and nothing here changes that.

Our read: This is one analyst’s read of limited, recent data, and hardware sales are a blunt way to judge a single game’s exclusivity. Still, it is a pointed claim from someone who tracks the numbers for a living, and it lands as Xbox is also dealing with the Game Pass change he flags. Standings check: Xbox made two moves players can see, console exclusivity for E-Day and Call of Duty off day-one Game Pass, and PlayStation stood pat on the usual exclusive-and-bundle playbook. The final whistle on all of this is a long way off.

Footnotes

1. GamesRadar, “Making Gears of War: E-Day an Xbox console exclusive hasn’t helped Microsoft, analyst finds”. Retrieved October 29, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹