Gears 5 dethrones Fortnite as the most played game of Xbox Live

Fortnite has enjoyed several months at the top of the Xbox Live most played games list, but Gears 5 has dethroned the Battle Royale giant.

While there has been no shortage of strong games in the past year, Gears 5 is the only major release to top the otherwise unstoppable Fortnite. 

Gears 5 had an early access release of Sept. 5 for fans who bought the Ultimate Edition and a wide release just one day ago on Sept. 10. The rapid ascension of the game into the number one slot of the Xbox Live Most Played list signals a strong release for the fifth main entry in the Gears series. Though there are no hard numbers to compare, Gears 5 still sits above Fortnite, which says a good deal about the health of the game at launch.

Toppling Fortnite is a massive feat as no other major release has been able to do so since last summer, according to gaming industry sales enthusiast Benji-Sales. While the achievement is massive, albeit surprising, there may be a good reason for Gears 5 take over. The game is heavily featured as a part of the Xbox Game Pass.

The Xbox Game Pass comes in three versions, PC for $4.99, Console for $9.99, and Ultimate, which allows for both Console, PC, and includes Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 a month. All editions of the Xbox Game Pass include access to Gears 5, which is most likely heavily contributing to its extremely successful launch. There’s also the added bonus of Microsoft running a $2 Game Pass Ultimate promotion that gave players access to Gears 5 Ultimate Edition, allowing them to play a few days earlier. 

What’s more, Gears 5 is actually listed within the top 15 most played games on Xbox Live twice. The game appears on the list at number one with the Ultimate Edition and again at number 12 with the Standard Edition. Combining both version’s player counts would provide a substantial buff to the total amount of players. 

There’s no telling how long Gears 5’s top-spot reign will last, but it’s an impressive feat nonetheless. Gears 5 has released to a decent amount of critical and audience praise and is available on Xbox, Steam, and the Windows Store for players who do not have access to Xbox Game Pass.