Gears of War E-Day trailer includes iconic easter egg for veteran fans

Rounding out the Xbox 2024 Showcase was Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago's return in Gears of War E-Day. As Marcus wrestles with a hulking drone in hand-to-hand combat and eventually gets pulled up by his brother-in-arms, Dom, an iconic easter egg was lingering in the background that long-term fans of the series may have picked up on.

Following a brutal grappling match with a locust drone, the floor below Marcus collapses and he finds himself clinging to a pipe to prevent himself from plummeting to a grisly death. In his moment of need, Dom Santiago appears out of nowhere to pull Marcus to back to solid ground and safety. Throughout all of the action, but particularly noticeable towards the end of the trailer as the two soldiers embrace, a few iconic chords from the series' past can be heard playing.

Those notes were from Gary Jules' Mad World, a song that backed the trailer for the original game all the way back in 2006. It's not just in these closing moments of the E-Day trailer that Mad World could be heard. You'll hear different elements of the song fading in and out over the grunts of struggle and Locust growls in the fight. It's a lot clearer towards the end as the two COG soldiers share a moment of quiet as they look over the wartorn city below them.

The trailer has got a lot of fans hyped, showing the series going back to basics with a beloved set of characters and exploring a different stage of the Locust War from what we've previously seen. Even the original Gears of War trilogy's lead designer, Cliff Bleszinski tweeted out to show his appreciation for the reveal trailer.

What do you make of the Gears of War E-Day trailer? Let us know down in the comments below. No release date was shared for the next entry in the iconic third-person shooter series, but you can rest assured it'll be coming to Xbox consoles and PC.