Gears of War: E-Day PC Specs and Modern Warfare 4 Game Pass, TPM 2.0 Requirements

All dates below are scheduled release dates as of September 29, 2026. Publishers can still move them.

Gears of War: E-Day: the dates and times​

FullCleared calls E-Day the month's opener. The Coalition is developing it with People Can Fly, and it's set 14 years before the original Gears of War, following younger Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago through the first days of the Locust invasion.

Microsoft's own posts supply the key dates. In a September 17 Xbox Wire post, The Coalition studio head Mike Crump said the game had gone gold and gave this schedule:

• Pre-install: September 29 at 8 a.m. Pacific (15:00 UTC) on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Steam. That's later today, so start the download early if your connection is slow.
• Premium Edition early access: October 1 at 8 a.m. Pacific, up to five days before launch.
• Worldwide launch: October 6 at 8 a.m. Pacific. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members get it that day.

What "console exclusive" means here: FullCleared says Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed E-Day as a console exclusive. That means it isn't coming to other consoles at launch. It is still coming to PC, and Xbox's game page lists both the Microsoft Store and Steam. Xbox Play Anywhere is supported, so one purchase covers Series X|S and PC, with shared progress and achievements.

Prices and editions (from Xbox's store page):

Game Pass tiers: Xbox's September Game Pass announcement lists E-Day for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass only. Premium and Essential subscribers don't get it at launch. Xbox also says online campaign co-op, Horde Siege and Versus need a Game Pass plan that includes online multiplayer, and that two-player split-screen works on console only.

In multiplayer, FullCleared says 4v4 Versus returns alongside Horde Siege, a new 12-player PvE mode where three squads defend Kalona on larger maps. Xbox's product text backs up the structure: four-player squads with Assault, Marksman, Medic and Breacher classes, working with other squads on shared objectives and world bosses.

Summary: Pre-install opens today. Early access needs the Premium Edition or the upgrade, and Game Pass access at launch is limited to Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

E-Day on PC: older graphics cards won't run it​

FullCleared says the final PC specs require a graphics card with hardware ray tracing and 115GB of SSD space. Several outlets confirm this. According to PC Gamer, the developers state on the requirements table that "A hardware ray tracing capable graphics card is required. Graphics cards without dedicated hardware ray tracing support are not support." (The typo is in The Coalition's table.)

What the published requirements mean for your PC:

• Minimum GPU: PC Gamer lists an RTX 2060 or RX 6600 at a minimum, or an RTX 3060 Ti/6700 XT as recommended. Digital Citizen says the minimum tier targets 1080p and 60 FPS with the Medium preset when an available upscaling option is used.
• Cards that are shut out: Citing GameSpot, 1vX.gg reports that the requirement leaves widely used cards such as Nvidia's GTX 1060 and AMD's RX 5000 series unable to run the game.
• 4K Ultra: An RTX 5070 Ti or RX 7900 XT will be required in order to run the game at 4K with the Ultra preset enabled.
• Storage: VideoCardz notes that storage has also dropped from the previously listed 130GB to 115GB, although an SSD remains mandatory.
• Intel Arc: VideoCardz found that the earlier requirements listed the Arc A580 at minimum and Arc B580 as recommended, while the new table only names NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. The site adds that XeSS 3.0 is still supported, so this doesn't confirm that Arc cards are unsupported. It is still a question Arc owners should get answered before buying.
• Features: The game will launch with NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XeSS 3.0, alongside HDR, ultrawide support and a built-in benchmark.

How to check whether your GPU qualifies: In Windows 11, open Task Manager, go to the Performance tab, select your GPU and note the model name. On the Nvidia side, GeForce RTX cards have ray tracing hardware and GTX cards don't. On AMD, the RX 6000 series and newer have it. That's general hardware knowledge, not an official Coalition compatibility list, so check the final spec table if you're close to the line.

Games that won't run without ray tracing hardware are becoming more common. GameSpot, as cited by 1vX.gg, pointed to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as an earlier game with the same baseline requirement. If your gaming PC still has a GTX 10-series card, this is a good time to plan an upgrade.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4: no Game Pass, and PC security checks​

FullCleared's second Microsoft-related headline is Modern Warfare 4, launching October 23. It notes this is the first Call of Duty since Xbox changed its Game Pass structure in April, so unlike Black Ops 7, it won't be on Game Pass at launch.

Xbox's store page confirms it: Modern Warfare 4 is not eligible for Game Pass, and you have to buy the Standard or Vault Edition. Details from Xbox's listing and its May 28 Xbox Wire reveal:

• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, Battle.net, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. It's a Play Anywhere title, and it isn't coming to Xbox One.
• Prices: Standard Edition $69.99, Vault Edition $99.99, and a $30 Vault upgrade for Standard owners.
• Campaign early access: Digital pre-orders unlock the campaign on October 16, a week before launch.
• Online multiplayer on Xbox: Requires Game Pass Essential, sold separately. So you can buy the game outright and still need a subscription to play it online.
• Setting: Xbox's listing confirms a Korean Peninsula campaign and a DMZ extraction mode. FullCleared describes DMZ as reworked after sitting dormant following Modern Warfare II.
• PC security requirements: The listing says TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required on PC and that other security measures may be enforced. It also says a mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required.

How to check TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot before you pre-order: These are standard Windows tools, not steps from Activision.

1. Press Win+R, type tpm.msc and press Enter. Under "TPM Manufacturer Information," look for a Specification Version of 2.0.
2. Press Win+R, type msinfo32 and press Enter. In System Summary, find "Secure Boot State" and check that it says On.
3. If Secure Boot is off, you have to turn it on in your motherboard's UEFI firmware settings. Many systems also need BIOS Mode set to UEFI instead of Legacy/CSM. That can require converting the system disk from MBR to GPT, so back up first.
4. If your TPM isn't detected, look for firmware TPM in UEFI. AMD usually calls it fTPM, and Intel calls it PTT.

Anyone running Windows 11 on supported hardware should already meet these requirements. Watch out if you have a Windows 10 machine, a dual-boot setup, or a rig that had Secure Boot turned off for Linux or an old GPU.

Summary: MW4 is a paid game, and online play on Xbox needs Game Pass Essential. On PC, it won't start unless TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are working.

Minecraft on Switch 2 and Kingdom Hearts on the Microsoft Store​

Mojang's native Minecraft for Switch 2 is due October 27. It's Microsoft-owned software on Nintendo hardware. FullCleared reports that it replaces the backward-compatible Switch version with Vibrant Visuals turned on by default, brings the same visual upgrade to the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, and comes with a digital upgrade path for existing owners. Mojang hasn't yet given full upgrade details, so wait for the official terms before buying the new version.

FullCleared also reports that Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] arrives October 8 with a new PC release through the Microsoft Store. Nintendo's store listing confirms the October 8 date and the bundle contents: HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III with the Re Mind DLC. Neither Square Enix nor Microsoft has independently confirmed the Microsoft Store detail yet, so treat that part as FullCleared's reporting for now.

The rest of October's calendar​

Here's the rest of the roundup in brief, with platforms as FullCleared lists them:

A few notes for Windows players:

• Enshrouded 1.0 leaves Early Access on PC on October 15, but the Xbox version has slipped to spring 2027.
• Dark Arisen costs $29.99 as DLC on PC and Xbox.
• Final Fantasy Resonance has a free demo covering the first chapter, and your save carries over to the full game.
• Phantom Blade Zero launches on different days by region. The PlayStation Blog gives October 29, or October 28 in the US and select regions.

Wrapping up​

Two of October's biggest Xbox-family releases are sold in very different ways. E-Day is on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one. Modern Warfare 4 is a full-price purchase, and online play on Xbox still needs a Game Pass Essential subscription. Both have strict PC requirements: E-Day needs a ray-tracing GPU and 115GB of SSD space, and MW4 needs TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Check your GPU, storage and security settings now, before the October 1 and October 16 early-access dates.