Gears of War 5 leak reveals the box art and maybe even its release date

The Gears of War 5 box art may have surfaced a little earlier than Microsoft may have intended, thanks to the Taiwanese ratings board. Though it's possible the listing itself isn't legit, it is a believable design, and it's being hosted by the official Taiwanese Industrial Development Bureau. The listing was originally spotted by Spanish fan site Generacion Xbox, who cite a different unspecified source to say that Gears of War 5 could arrive as early as September 10 this year.

The box art as shown on the listing features Kait most prominently, holding up the Locust-icon pendant that she revealed at the end of the last game. Marcus Fenix is on her right and Myrrah, the queen of the locusts, is on her left. Marcus killed Myrrah at the end of Gears 3, so she may just appear in flashbacks, or else Myrrah isn't as dead as we think. Anyway, Gears 5 developer The Coalition has confirmed that the game will star Kait as the playable protagonist and explore "her family ties to the Locusts", so putting her in the middle between the leader of the Locusts and the de facto champion of humanity teases the conflict in her future.

Del and JD Fenix – the other two members of the ragtag squad from Gears of War 4 – are on the lower right, and a pair of combatants who will probably not be your friends are on the lower left. Finally, we can see some kind of alpine-ish scene in the blood stain below all the characters, but it's too small to be sure of what it's showing. Maybe the slopes of Mount Kadar, original home to the Locusts?

Gears of War 5 is a shoo-in for the lineup of E3 2019 games since its official release window is still set for 2019. Chances are we'll see this box art and a lot more at Microsoft's presentation – make sure you read our E3 2019 schedule so you don't miss it.

You don't have to wait for more good times on Xbox - check out our guide to the best Xbox One exclusives. Or watch our video review of the latest big Xbox game right here.