| Kait Diaz | |
|---|---|
| Gears of War character | |
 Kait Diaz as she appears in Gears 5 (2019) | |
| First appearance | Gears of War 4 (2016) |
| Created by | The Coalition |
| Voiced by | Laura Bailey |
Kait Diaz is a fictional character in the Gears of War franchise. She first appeared in Gears of War 4 as a supporting character, and is the main protagonist of Gears 5. Within the series, she is originally a member of the Outsiders, a loosely organized faction of rebel human settlers who live outside of the walled city states of the supranational and intergovernmental military collective known as the Coalition of Ordered Governments ("COG"), following the conclusion of humanity's war with the Locust Horde on the planet Sera. By the events of Gears 5, she has enlisted with the COG armed forces and has attained the rank of corporal. The character is voiced by Laura Bailey in each of her appearances. Outside of the video game series, Kait has appeared in the novels Gears of War: Ascendance and Gears of War: Bloodlines.
Kait Diaz is the first lead female character of the Gears of War video game franchise, which is predominantly known for its hypermasculine male characters. The Coalition, a subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios and the current developers responsible for the Gears of War franchise following its acquisition from Epic Games, intended for a strong female lead to replace Marcus Fenix and wrote the narrative arc of the fourth and fifth installments of the franchise around the character.
Kait has been received positively, and is considered to be one of the more popular characters in the Gears of War series. She has been praised for her nuanced characterization, strong backstory, and as a positive example of gender equality and representation in video games. Various merchandise for the character, as with other of the series' characters, has been released.