// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Locust say to his date? You're a gear above the rest.

Locust
Gears of War race
Queen Myrrah (centre) leading Locust forces in promotional artwork for Gears of War 3.
First appearance	Gears of War (2006)
Created by	Epic Games
In-universe information
Home world	Sera
Base of operations	The Hollow
Leader	Queen Myrrah
Notable members	General RAAM Skorge Karn Ukkon

The Locust are a fictional collective of subterranean species in the Gears of War media franchise. Created by Epic Games, they were introduced in the 2006 video game Gears of War as the principal enemy faction opposing humanity. Their organized military, commonly called the Locust Horde, emerges from beneath the surface of the planet Sera during Emergence Day and wages a prolonged war against the human Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG). Led by the human Queen Myrrah and Locust commanders like General RAAM and Skorge, the Locust are depicted as the principal antagonistic force of the Gears of War franchise.

During development of the first game in the series, Epic designed the Locust as large, physically imposing humanoid enemies that combined monstrous appearances with organized military behaviour. Their size and level of detail affected the environmental and combat design of Gears of War, contributing to the use of tighter spaces and close-range encounters. Subsequent games expanded the range of Locust enemy types and returned periodically to the horror elements of their original conception. The Coalition adopted a similar approach for the prequel Gears of War: E-Day, redesigning familiar Locust enemies to make their initial encounters appear more threatening.

Later installments expanded the Locust beyond their initial role as enemies by depicting their society, hierarchy and conflict with the Lambent. Gears 5 recontextualized their origins by revealing connections between the Horde, Queen Myrrah and COG research at the New Hope Research Facility. Following their apparent destruction in Gears of War 3, Gears of War 4 introduced the Swarm, a successor faction connected to the original Locust. Critics and scholars have examined the Locust's visual and gameplay design as well as their role in the series' treatment of war, militarism and the dehumanization of an enemy.

Concept and design

Early versions of the enemies that became the Locust were known as the "Geists". Art director Chris Perna initially visualised the Geist as hulking white humanoids that emerged from holes dug during the night and abducted children. Perna carried a scalloped motif from their facial design into their armour and proposed vehicles, although the mechanical vehicles were subsequently replaced with creatures. After Nintendo released the video game Geist in 2005, Epic abandoned the name and adopted "Locust", which had previously referred to one unit within the Geist army, for the faction as a whole.

Cliff Bleszinski compared the Locust to the Uruk-hai of The Lord of the Rings, emphasizing that although they appeared monstrous, they could organize themselves, employ battlefield tactics, and manufacture and use weapons rather than simply attack mindlessly. During development Bleszinski was also considering a stronger survival-horror direction, influenced by his admiration for Resident Evil 4, and used the term "military horror" for the approach. Although this version of the project was subsequently scaled back, horror elements remained in the finished game.

The physical scale of the Locust affected the design of Gears of War. According to Bissell, the creatures were large and highly detailed, leading Epic to contract its previously spacious prototype environments so that players would encounter them at closer range and could see that detail. Senior gameplay designer Lee Perry said the change was part of the point at which the project began to assume its recognizable form. Epic also made Marcus Fenix and the other human soldiers comparably large, which allowed some animations and art assets to be shared between the factions while maintaining a consistent visual scale.

Enemy design

Epic developed Locust enemy types around differing scales and battlefield functions. Discussing Gears of War: Judgment, art director Chris Perna described a recurring "dinosaur chart" used by the team to maintain a range of small, medium-sized and very large creatures that could be combined in combat encounters. He also said that some enemy designs were created around particular gameplay functions. Epic also sought to restore aspects of the Locust's earlier horror-oriented conception for Judgment. Perna said that the series had moved away from their frightening quality over successive games and that the prequel was intended to make them appear more brutal and fearsome again. The developers also introduced more aggressive artificial-intelligence behaviours and greater teamwork among Locust enemies.

The Coalition pursued a similar direction for Gears of War: E-Day. Creative director Matt Searcy described the design brief as treating the Locust as the "monsters under the bed", while studio art director Aryan Hanbeck said that the game presents them through the perspective of characters encountering them for the first time. The team particularly focused on restoring the Locust Drone from an enemy that had become routine in later installments to a threatening individual opponent. The developers also expanded Locust movement and combat behaviours. Enemies can climb and flank the player, while Grenadiers can deploy smoke before approaching at close range.

A replica of the Digger Launcher displayed at Epic Games' headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. The weapon fires a burrowing creature as a projectile, which reflects the Locust faction's distinctive combination of industrial machinery and organic creature design elements.

Epic explored weapon concepts that extended the series' creature-based approach beyond enemy design for the Locust. During development of Gears of War 2, for example, the Ticker evolved from an initial proposal for conventional land mines into a small creature carrying an explosive payload. Bleszinski said the change followed the team's tendency to design Locust equipment in terms of creatures rather than ordinary machinery.

For Gears of War 3, Epic also explored weapon concepts that extended this creature-based approach into the Locust arsenal. The Digger Launcher originated from the idea of a projectile that could travel underground rather than function as a conventional explosive. Developers described it as an unusual weapon concept that required early playable prototypes and iteration before completion. The final weapon combined conventional military functionality with a creature-like projectile that burrowed through the battlefield before attacking its target.

Development of the Swarm

The name "Swarm" originated during Epic Games' abandoned pre-production work on a fourth Gears of War game. After Microsoft acquired the franchise and development passed to The Coalition, studio head Rod Fergusson said the new team retained the name while replacing Epic's proposed creatures: "The name stuck, but none of the monsters stuck."

In 2014, The Coalition brought in creature designer Guy Davis to develop early visual concepts for the Swarm; Davis's professional portfolio credits him with creature design on Gears of War 4, while the game's credits list him under additional concept art. Davis said that his early studies experimented with body shapes and facial details intended to distinguish the new creatures from the original Locust. He identified the double nasal cavity and plated, segmented jaw as elements of his concepts that carried into the eventual design, and described his final concept pass as a "Locust based Swarm".

Fictional attributes

Society and hierarchy

Within the series, the Locust inhabit the Hollow, an extensive subterranean region beneath the surface of Sera, and are ruled by Queen Myrrah. Their military, known as the Locust Horde, contains numerous infantry classes and specialized creatures used in combat. Drones serve as the backbone of the Locust Army, while Therons are elite soldiers equipped for specialist combat roles and command functions. Later games expand the depiction of Locust society beyond a conventional military force, depicting Locust cities as well as art, written language, religion and social hierarchy, rather than functioning solely as a group of invading creatures.

Official material for Gears Tactics identifies the Locust geneticist Ukkon as responsible for the incorporation of genetically engineering creatures used by the Horde's military, including Brumaks, Reavers and Corpsers. Game Informer similarly described Ukkon as one of the Horde's geneticists and quoted design director Tyler Bielman characterizing him as the figure responsible for creatures such as Brumaks and Corpsers.

Origins and transformation

The original trilogy gradually reveals information about the Locust's origins without initially providing a complete explanation. Gears of War 2 introduces the abandoned New Hope Research Facility, where children of Imulsion miners had been subjected to genetic experimentation and transformed into creatures known as Sires. The facility's records direct Delta Squad toward Mount Kadar and establish a connection between the experiments and the Locust without yet explaining their precise relationship.

Gears 5 returns to New Hope and Mount Kadar and explicitly connects the Locust threat to its origin in COG genetic experimentation carried out on children infected by the Imulsion in an attempt by the COG to create soldiers. Within the game, the artificial intelligence of scientist Niles Samson explains that the Locust were developed using genetic material derived from the Sires and Myrrah.

Before their invasion of the surface, the Locust are engaged in a prolonged conflict with the Lambent, Locust altered by exposure to Imulsion. The Lambent spread through the Hollow, killing or converting other Locust and driving the Horde from its underground territory. Gears of War 3 reveals that Adam Fenix had worked with Myrrah on a means of destroying the Lambent while preserving the Locust. He ultimately activates the Imulsion Countermeasure, destroying the Lambent and apparently exterminating the Locust as well.

Gears of War 4, set 25 years later, reveals that the Locust were not completely destroyed. Locust bodies affected by the Countermeasure had become encased in crystalline shells, from which evolved Locust known as Scions later emerged as part of the new Swarm threat. The Swarm also abduct humans and place them in organic pods, where victims can be transformed into Juvies and later into larger Swarm forms. Gears 5 further develops the connection between the factions through Kait Diaz's biological relationship to Myrrah and the Swarm hive network.

Appearances

Original trilogy

The Locust first appear in Gears of War, set fourteen years after Emergence Day. Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad attempt to map the Locust tunnel network and ultimately deploy the Lightmass Bomb against it. General RAAM is the principal Locust commander encountered during the game and is defeated before the bomb is detonated, destroying part of the Horde's underground network.

In Gears of War 2, the COG launches Operation Hollow Storm after the Locust begin sinking human cities from beneath the surface. Delta Squad infiltrates Nexus, the Locust capital, where it encounters Queen Myrrah and the Locust commander Skorge. After learning that sinking Jacinto would flood the Hollow, the COG deliberately destroys the city in an attempt to wipe out the remaining Locust forces.

Gears of War 3 depicts both humanity and the surviving Locust under threat from the spreading Lambent. The game reveals Adam Fenix's earlier work with Myrrah on a method of destroying the Lambent without killing the Locust. His completed Countermeasure ultimately destroys the Lambent and apparently exterminates the Locust.

Prequels and later games

Gears of War: Judgment returns to the opening phase of the Locust War, approximately one month after Emergence Day. Its campaign follows Kilo Squad during the battle for Halvo Bay, where the squad opposes Locust forces led by Karn. Gears Tactics, set twelve years before the original game, follows Gabe Diaz's campaign against Ukkon, a Locust geneticist and member of the Locust Council.

Gears of War 4 introduces the Swarm as the new enemy faction and gradually reveals its connection to the Locust. Gears 5 centres much of its campaign on Kait Diaz's investigation of her connection to the Locust and the origins of the Swarm.

The forthcoming prequel Gears of War: E-Day is set fourteen years before the original Gears of War and follows Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago during the Locust invasion on Emergence Day. It is scheduled for release on October 6, 2026.

Reception and analysis

Critical reception

Contemporary reviewers commented on the range and presentation of the Locust enemies. In his original review of Gears of War, Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot noted that while many Locust encountered by players were humanoid soldiers with relatively minor visual differences, the game also introduced specialized humanoid enemies and creatures ranging from smaller opponents to large monsters, each requiring different tactics. Clive Thompson of Wired highlighted the Berserker's sound design, arguing that its distorted vocalizations contributed to the unsettling atmosphere of the game.

The transition from the Locust to the Swarm also drew criticism. Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer argued that despite Gears of War 4's new setting, protagonist and nominally new enemy faction, the Swarm's visual resemblance and close relationship to the Locust contributed to the sequel feeling insufficiently different from the original trilogy.

Analysis

A pair of cosplayers dressed in costume as Locust characters.

The Locust have been analysed as a visual design element as well as a narrative device within the Gears of War series. In a 2012 study of visual style in video games, Yin Wu used Gears of War 3 as a case study for how enemy design can communicate both narrative meaning and gameplay information. Wu contrasted the Locust's angular forms, spikes, asymmetry and skeletal or insect-like motifs with the more orderly geometric construction associated with the human faction. He also identified the use of contrasting visual markers, such as blue illuminated elements on human uniforms and red elements on Locust armour, as a means of helping players distinguish allies and enemies during combat. Wu further examined how Locust design communicates hierarchy and gameplay function. He argued that differences between units such as Drones, Theron Elites and Palace Guards visually communicate distinctions in status within the Horde while also allowing players to recognise enemies with different abilities and levels of threat. Wu also argued that the Locust's monstrous presentation shapes the player's response to the series' violence: although Locust soldiers retain broadly humanoid characteristics, their threatening and repulsive appearance reduces the potential for player sympathy toward enemies that the game requires them to repeatedly kill.

Later criticism has examined how subsequent entries in the series complicate this initial portrayal. Shane Snyder, in a 2015 study of procedural rhetoric and masculinity in the Gears of War series, examined a related tension between the Locust's human-like qualities and their role as enemies. Snyder noted that Locust Drones share the physical characteristics, armour and military organisation of the human soldiers, while their monstrous features distinguish them from the protagonists. He argued that this combination presents the Locust as recognisably similar to humanity while still positioning them as expendable targets within the game's combat systems. Snyder further noted that the Locust demonstrate intelligence through their use of weapons, tactics and cooperative behaviour, but that limited communication and the absence of diplomatic interaction restrict the player's ability to understand them as individual subjects.

Snyder further argued that the trilogy largely leaves Locust grievances to be expressed through Myrrah near the end of Gears of War 3, after the player has already spent much of the series encountering the Horde primarily as targets in combat. Phil Hornshaw of GameSpot noted that the franchise gradually depicts the Locust as a developed society with cities, art, written language, religion and social hierarchy, while also revealing that their emergence onto the surface occurred during an existential conflict with the Lambent. Hornshaw argued that these revelations complicate the original presentation of the Locust as a purely existential threat, particularly because the COG is later revealed to have contributed to their creation and because the trilogy repeatedly employs weapons of mass destruction against them. He criticised the series for raising these ethical implications without requiring its protagonists to confront them in comparable depth.

Grace Benfell of GameSpot similarly examined the Locust through the series' depiction of the COG. She argued that the original game presents the Locust as an apparently monstrous enemy whose existence reinforces the COG's militarised worldview, while later installments complicate this framing by connecting the Horde's origins to COG experimentation and depicting their conflict as involving survival as well as aggression. Benfell also noted visual similarities between Locust and COG soldiers, including their armour, movement and demeanour, arguing that the series deliberately blurs aspects of the distinction between human protagonist and enemy faction.

Further reading

• Cummins, Eric Locken (2025). Playthinking a Mad World: Gears of War, Science Fiction Video Games, and Speculative Play Within the Global War (of) Terror's Legacy in American National Mythology (PhD thesis). Old Dominion University. doi:10.25777/k3n3-kn83.