You know physical media is truly on the way out when even the Gears of War remaster doesn’t get a boxed release on Xbox Series X|S. Xbox Spain has confirmed: no physical edition for Xbox players—only PlayStation 5 gets a boxed copy.

The gaming industry is always full of surprises. Just a few years ago, the thought of Gears of War launching on PlayStation seemed impossible—now it’s reality. On August 26, fans can return to the universe with Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the original, coming to all platforms except Nintendo Switch. For a while, the fate of the physical edition was uncertain, but Xbox Spain’s latest announcement has cleared things up for good.

It’s no secret that physical sales on Xbox have almost vanished, especially in Spain. This is a sharp contrast with PlayStation, which still makes big money from boxed releases. Xbox Spain has officially confirmed to Vandal that Gears of War: Reloaded will have a full boxed edition only on PlayStation 5, not on Series X|S. However, the company added that the game will be available “via the Digital Code program at participating retailers.”

In practice, this means that for PC and Xbox Series X|S, Gears of War: Reloaded will only be available in empty boxes with download codes inside. Plaion also confirmed this on social media, and stores like GAME are already taking pre-orders. While this news isn’t shocking, it’s still a disappointment for many fans who first played the original on Xbox 360. Apparently, this will be the new normal for cross-platform Xbox games: a physical edition for PlayStation 5, and digital only for Xbox.

Xbox Is Giving Away the Gears of War Remaster

Yesterday, Xbox users had every reason to check their notifications: Microsoft has started sending out free codes for the Gears of War remaster to everyone who bought Gears of War: Ultimate Edition before May 2025. Players have already been able to redeem the code for early access. Pre-order customers and owners of the remaster will soon get access to the multiplayer beta of Gears of War Remastered.

Source: 3djuegos