Gears 5 Hauntingly Gets Inside the Dark Mind of Its First Female Protagonist

Gears 5, the latest iteration of the Gears of War franchise, premiered its trailer video, “Kait, Broken,” at E3 on June 9 during an Xbox press briefing. Created by 215 McCann, it features the game’s first-ever female protagonist, Kait Diaz.

Set to a slow-moving, spooky take on Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend,” the video features Diaz battling the divided loyalties within her in a way that’s near-nightmarish, with various identities seeming to tear through her skin. It’s a cool way to show how psychic fragmentation takes a toll that may as well be physical, rending through flesh—and relationships—as painfully as it does the mind.

Gears of War takes place on the planet Sera, where human inhabitants have been battling the Locust, monsters from below the planet’s surface. By the fourth franchise release, the Locust are finally defeated, only to make way for a mysterious new enemy: The Swarm, a mysterious evolution of the Locust Horde.

That’s your long-and-short of lore. Kait Diaz first appeared in Gears 4 and is a classic Conflicted Hero, torn between squad duty and a strange pull toward The Swarm, humanity’s newest sworn enemy. As a hint to the source of her conflict, she owns an heirloom amulet inscribed with the Locust Horde’s symbol. 

In addition to the Kait trailer, Microsoft also released a teaser for a new in-game mode called Escape, where three players infiltrate a hive, plant a bomb and attempt to, well … escape. People can also build their own hives and challenge friends. 

Gears 5 comes out on Sept. 10. It will be available on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. For people who like to live the game they’re playing, a Kait Diaz cosplay kit already exists.

CREDITS

Title: “Kait, Broken”
Product: Gears 5
Brand: Microsoft

Client: Microsoft
Sr. Director, Xbox Global Marketing Communications: Taylor Smith
Sr. Brand Manager, Gears of War: Nicole Fawcette
Brand Manager, Gears of War: Hailey Geller

Agency: 215 McCann
Chief Creative Officer: Scott Duchon
Creative Director: Brad Meyers
Art Director: Zach Lepine
ACD, Copywriter: Mat Bunnell
Director of Integrated Production: Mandi Holdorf
Producer: Nina Ulbrich
Group Strategy Director: Brian Wakabayashi
Senior Strategist: Beth Windheuser
Business Director: Peter Goldstein
Account Supervisor: Ben Blaska
Assistant Account Executive: Dylan Williams
Director of Business Affairs: Mary Beth Barney

Design Studio: Elastic 
Creative Director: Andy Hall
CG Supervisor: Andy Wilkoff
Animator / Compositors: Yongsub Song, Trix Taylor, Takayuki Sato
Designers: Nadia Tzuo, Max Ulichney
3D Artists:  Bryan Cox, Josh Dyer, Tim Kadowaki, Chris Leone, Jose Limon, Eric Molina, Mikey Rogers, Joe Paniagua, Joao Rosa, Ian Ruhfass, Colton Smrz, Aemilia Mariani Widodo, Ariana Ziae-Mohseni
Render Wrangler: Shane Hoffman
Editor: Rachel Fowler, Jessica Ledoux 
Visualization Supervisor: Mitch Gonzalez
Visualization Artists: Tom Mulhall, Michel J. Williams, Alexander Yip 
Senior Previs Production Manager: Lori Talley
Previs Executive Producer: Christopher Edwards
Production Coordinator: Megan Rodriguez
Senior Producer: Paul Makowski 
Executive Producer: Luke Colson 
Head of Production: Kate Berry 
Managing Director: Jennifer Sofio Hall

Mocap Shoot: Elastic
Line Producer: Talbert Morton
Production Supervisor: Melissa Perez
Production Assistant: Olivia Michalczuk
First AD: Nat Flor
Script Supervisor: Jessica Jordan

Music:
Billie Eilish: “bury a friend”

Sound Mix: Lime
Mixer: Rohan Young
Assistant Mixer: Jeremy Nichols
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
Producer: Kayla Phungglan