Author: Trafficblast

Editor’s note: GameSpot originally reviewed Warframe in 2013 and gave it a 6. Due to substantial revisions and new content since its debut, we have re-examined Warframe as it is in 2019 and produced a new review to reflect its current state.

To play Warframe is to reconcile yourself with the sensation that you’re always a bit in over your head. Even six years after its debut, it’s still something of an oddity within the realm of online action-RPGs. With an expanding universe housing a wealth of content, the free-to-play game offers a stellar amount of freedom to explore, uncover loot, and take on missions with its cast of stylish space ninjas. It takes a decidedly unorthodox approach with its non-linear adventure–sometimes frustratingly so–yet journeying across Warframe’s massive universe is as satisfying as it is endearing.

In GameSpot’s original 2013 review, we praised the game’s agile and hard-hitting combat but criticized the lack of meaningful features that effectively took advantage of those strengths. In the broader sense, the Warframe of old was a promising sketch of an idea that lacked reasons for investment. The Warframe of today, however, has filled out the bigger picture. Its vision is clearer, and it’s now so much more than just space ninjas brawling in corridors. Some of Warframe’s best moments involve venturing into the realms of deep space, exploring open worlds and, yes, engaging in combat to power up and take on greater challenges.

When it comes to its gameplay and narrative, Warframe always seems to chuck you into the deep end. The larger story focuses on an interstellar clan of warriors known as the Tenno as they reacquaint themselves with a grander universe in perpetual conflict. You take control of a reawakened Frame–revitalized Tenno fighters from the distant past–to engage in missions against a myriad of enemy factions. This conceit of spacefaring ninjas slashing and shooting across the universe holds the loose narrative together while also giving you an impressive amount of freedom. Several cinematic quests shed light on the history of the Tenno, leading up to some profound moments that reveal a surprising depth for your character and their place in the galaxy.

Warframe is a massive game with numerous, complex systems to dive into–but therein lies the rub. It’s a challenging game to crack; even with hundreds of hours under my belt, I can still feel overwhelmed by how much game there is to unpack. However, the trick to understanding this game lies within finding your own focus in the nebulous grind–whether that’s taking on a variety of side-activities and missions on a series of planets or investing time to customize, experiment, and tweak your favorite Frames.

It can often feel like playing catch-up, considering there is six years’ worth of content in the package, but it’s a game that rewards taking the time to soak it all in, instead of rushing through. How you get accustomed to this surprisingly sink-or-swim structure will determine the mileage you get out of it. Most missions are singular, discrete encounters across the solar system. This piecemeal structure ultimately makes the massive game more digestible. There’s a staggering amount of activities to dive into, and with over 40 hyper-stylized Frames to utilize, there’s a constant sense of fun and surprise when discovering how deep it all runs. However, while the opening missions do well to get you into the basic swing of things when it comes to its core gameplay, the more in-depth systems are left for you to decipher on your own.

The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling.

This mostly hands-off approach in getting you acclimated can sometimes manifest feelings of aimlessness. And it’s magnified when it becomes apparent that there isn’t a traditional endgame to work up to. There are higher-end missions and stories designed for more experienced players, some focusing on endless fights against waves of enemies, but there isn’t anything like raids to unlock later on. In many ways, you’re introduced to that familiar endgame grind from the onset, and that often entails fine-tuning your suite of Frames to tackle many of the game’s tougher challenges.

The true star of Warframe are the various Frames, with each possessing their own unique designs and abilities. The pursuit of new characters to play as is one of the many constants in your journey, often dictating where you should invest your time. It always feels rewarding when you find a new Frame, especially when it’s one that stands apart from the others. Some are highly specialized, such as the stealth-oriented Ash or the aquatic, alien-tentacle-summoning Hydroid. Another standout is Octavia, a Bard-like Frame that lets you craft custom music to amplify your abilities and attack enemies. One time, a squadmate of mine used Octavia’s skills to effortlessly clear a hallway full of enemies–all to the tune of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.”

There is a ridiculous amount of room to experiment, and it can be especially fun strengthening one of the beginner Frames with powerful mods and armaments that can melt through enemies. It’s also impressive how in-depth customization and personalization is in Warframe–you can apply different shaders, accessories, and even alter their particular animation set, and it’s rare to find another player who has the same style and loadout.

It’s a necessity to get your Frame to reach its potential for them to be viable for more advanced activities. If you don’t apply the correct mods and buffs to your character, it can often stop you in your tracks at some inconvenient moments in your progression. If you’re committed to figuring out the intricacies of the game, then using online guides to understand these advanced mechanics, much like with other aspects of the game, is a must. These resources are a big help, but it’s disappointing how often you have to use them, as opposed to the game teaching you the same information. Without them, learning these systems on your own can be a significant test of patience.

You’ll quickly find yourself in a rhythm of cutting down mobs of enemies and boosting your Frame’s strength by collecting mods and earning experience as new gameplay systems and events open up. While the core gameplay is often satisfying, it’s still common to see a streak of highly repetitive missions, most of which re-use tile-sets for procedurally-generated levels and objective types. This repetition can create a recurring feeling of déjà vu throughout, and there were times when this left me feeling exhausted after an extended play session with the game.

To help ease this sense of repetition, Warframe does inject a number of variations on standard missions, as well as adding in new activities. Along with Nightmare challenges, harder versions of previously completed levels, several missions even remix past stages by including multiple enemy factions within one level, making some standard objectives far more hectic. Some objectives feature totally different gameplay modes, in particular incorporating the Archwing, which switches up the familiar action sequences with Wing Commander-style shooter levels. There’s even a set of PvP game types, such as the Conclave and Duel modes, with the latter letting you invite another player to a player-made clan dojo to engage in a solo fight. Unfortunately, the PvP activities come across as exceedingly basic and clunky compared to the core PvE experience.

Despite how much the game has grown over the years by adding in game-changing features, Waframe’s roots are still planted firmly in its fast-paced and satisfying core combat. The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling. It often shows similar shades to a fast-paced corridor shooter by way of a stunning character-action game, with your squad tearing through enemies using myriad skills and armaments.

The core combat and general traversal of Warframe can move at a blistering pace. Despite how complex they can get, they’re still intuitive enough to dive into, and you can pull off Warframe’s advanced acrobatics like gliding, wall-runs, and the appropriately named “Bullet Jump”–which darts your character in any direction–reasonably quickly. Melee combat also features its own complexities, allowing you to use an assortment of combos and aerial abilities to cut through legions of foes in flashy display. Over time, chaining together slick parkour leaps into fast strikes with your weapons can become second nature, resulting in Warframe’s most gratifying and stylish encounters.

Warframe can be daunting for newcomers, yet it can also prove a challenge for players–like myself–who take an extended break and have to learn the basics of new features while simultaneously unlearning outdated ones. Such is the case for online games, and fortunately, Warframe does have an active and open community to trade with and seek assistance from, and you can directly interact with others at various social spaces across different planets. It’s common that you might have to consult outside resources in order to figure out what to do next, or else your progress might come to a halt abruptly.

Stick with the game long enough, and you’ll unlock access to the more involved cinematic story missions and open-world settings that best show the game’s considerable growth. Unlike the fragmented storytelling in most of the game, these two pillars present a more guided plot that offers memorable narrative and character moments. Some of these missions even include the surprising addition of a dialogue system, which can result in some slightly different events in questlines.

In the open-world settings of the Plains of Eidolon and the Orb Vallis, which open after you reach the planets they’re located on, you can take in the sights of the large-scale worlds, take on dynamic bounties and events with squads, and even learn more about the brewing conflict within each setting. The Vallis’ story is especially engaging, dealing with workers’ rights and the perils of late-stage capitalism in the interstellar age. Though these main stories set in the open worlds tend to end far too quickly, the amount of nuance and narrative packed in was impressive, which left me wanting to spend more time in the settings to continue interacting with its characters.

I’m continually pleased with the flexibility of Warframe’s many systems, and how it allows for you to attain a variety of rewards and unlocks at your own pace. Of course, there is an assortment of items, weapons, and even Frames to purchase with real money or with Platinum, Warframe’s premium currency. Fortunately, most items in the game are attainable through gameplay, allowing you to get into the nitty-gritty of the game’s content mostly unabated. The in-game economy of Warframe is very active, and if you’re resourceful enough, you can even trade some of your own gear and blueprints with other players for Platinum as well.

When new content is introduced, the pathway to experiencing the quests or acquiring the next Frame is available to all players. This relaxed approach is reassuring, especially for a game of this magnitude. I generally find acquiring gear and new classes to be quite manageable. However, there are still some time-sinks that feel mostly arbitrary, resulting in the expected and sometimes lengthy grind that’s commonplace in free-to-play games. To that end, the primary intent of Platinum is to circumvent both investments of time and resources.

Thinking back to GameSpot’s original review, it’s interesting how much the game has improved, yet also how much has stayed the same. The game still has issues with repetition and lack of explanations for its more complex systems, but it’s managed to overcome their severity by introducing so many events and revisions that continue to elevate it. While there are inevitable bouts of frustration here and there, I always manage to center myself once I move on to other opportunities. In a lot of ways, that’s what Warframe manages to do best. One moment you’re taking part in a random spy mission on Saturn, and the next, you’re partnered up with a powerful squad of players that help you through several void fissures. Just when you feel like you’ve hit a lull, a better, and more fulfilling opportunity will likely present itself. Perhaps most importantly, Warframe makes sure that the time spent in its world is almost always well rewarded.

Editor’s note: GameSpot originally reviewed Warframe in 2013 and gave it a 6. Due to substantial revisions and new content since its debut, we have re-examined Warframe as it is in 2019 and produced a new review to reflect its current state.

To play Warframe is to reconcile yourself with the sensation that you’re always a bit in over your head. Even six years after its debut, it’s still something of an oddity within the realm of online action-RPGs. With an expanding universe housing a wealth of content, the free-to-play game offers a stellar amount of freedom to explore, uncover loot, and take on missions with its cast of stylish space ninjas. It takes a decidedly unorthodox approach with its non-linear adventure–sometimes frustratingly so–yet journeying across Warframe’s massive universe is as satisfying as it is endearing.

In GameSpot’s original 2013 review, we praised the game’s agile and hard-hitting combat but criticized the lack of meaningful features that effectively took advantage of those strengths. In the broader sense, the Warframe of old was a promising sketch of an idea that lacked reasons for investment. The Warframe of today, however, has filled out the bigger picture. Its vision is clearer, and it’s now so much more than just space ninjas brawling in corridors. Some of Warframe’s best moments involve venturing into the realms of deep space, exploring open worlds and, yes, engaging in combat to power up and take on greater challenges.

When it comes to its gameplay and narrative, Warframe always seems to chuck you into the deep end. The larger story focuses on an interstellar clan of warriors known as the Tenno as they reacquaint themselves with a grander universe in perpetual conflict. You take control of a reawakened Frame–revitalized Tenno fighters from the distant past–to engage in missions against a myriad of enemy factions. This conceit of spacefaring ninjas slashing and shooting across the universe holds the loose narrative together while also giving you an impressive amount of freedom. Several cinematic quests shed light on the history of the Tenno, leading up to some profound moments that reveal a surprising depth for your character and their place in the galaxy.

Warframe is a massive game with numerous, complex systems to dive into–but therein lies the rub. It’s a challenging game to crack; even with hundreds of hours under my belt, I can still feel overwhelmed by how much game there is to unpack. However, the trick to understanding this game lies within finding your own focus in the nebulous grind–whether that’s taking on a variety of side-activities and missions on a series of planets or investing time to customize, experiment, and tweak your favorite Frames.

It can often feel like playing catch-up, considering there is six years’ worth of content in the package, but it’s a game that rewards taking the time to soak it all in, instead of rushing through. How you get accustomed to this surprisingly sink-or-swim structure will determine the mileage you get out of it. Most missions are singular, discrete encounters across the solar system. This piecemeal structure ultimately makes the massive game more digestible. There’s a staggering amount of activities to dive into, and with over 40 hyper-stylized Frames to utilize, there’s a constant sense of fun and surprise when discovering how deep it all runs. However, while the opening missions do well to get you into the basic swing of things when it comes to its core gameplay, the more in-depth systems are left for you to decipher on your own.

The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling.

This mostly hands-off approach in getting you acclimated can sometimes manifest feelings of aimlessness. And it’s magnified when it becomes apparent that there isn’t a traditional endgame to work up to. There are higher-end missions and stories designed for more experienced players, some focusing on endless fights against waves of enemies, but there isn’t anything like raids to unlock later on. In many ways, you’re introduced to that familiar endgame grind from the onset, and that often entails fine-tuning your suite of Frames to tackle many of the game’s tougher challenges.

The true star of Warframe are the various Frames, with each possessing their own unique designs and abilities. The pursuit of new characters to play as is one of the many constants in your journey, often dictating where you should invest your time. It always feels rewarding when you find a new Frame, especially when it’s one that stands apart from the others. Some are highly specialized, such as the stealth-oriented Ash or the aquatic, alien-tentacle-summoning Hydroid. Another standout is Octavia, a Bard-like Frame that lets you craft custom music to amplify your abilities and attack enemies. One time, a squadmate of mine used Octavia’s skills to effortlessly clear a hallway full of enemies–all to the tune of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.”

There is a ridiculous amount of room to experiment, and it can be especially fun strengthening one of the beginner Frames with powerful mods and armaments that can melt through enemies. It’s also impressive how in-depth customization and personalization is in Warframe–you can apply different shaders, accessories, and even alter their particular animation set, and it’s rare to find another player who has the same style and loadout.

It’s a necessity to get your Frame to reach its potential for them to be viable for more advanced activities. If you don’t apply the correct mods and buffs to your character, it can often stop you in your tracks at some inconvenient moments in your progression. If you’re committed to figuring out the intricacies of the game, then using online guides to understand these advanced mechanics, much like with other aspects of the game, is a must. These resources are a big help, but it’s disappointing how often you have to use them, as opposed to the game teaching you the same information. Without them, learning these systems on your own can be a significant test of patience.

You’ll quickly find yourself in a rhythm of cutting down mobs of enemies and boosting your Frame’s strength by collecting mods and earning experience as new gameplay systems and events open up. While the core gameplay is often satisfying, it’s still common to see a streak of highly repetitive missions, most of which re-use tile-sets for procedurally-generated levels and objective types. This repetition can create a recurring feeling of déjà vu throughout, and there were times when this left me feeling exhausted after an extended play session with the game.

To help ease this sense of repetition, Warframe does inject a number of variations on standard missions, as well as adding in new activities. Along with Nightmare challenges, harder versions of previously completed levels, several missions even remix past stages by including multiple enemy factions within one level, making some standard objectives far more hectic. Some objectives feature totally different gameplay modes, in particular incorporating the Archwing, which switches up the familiar action sequences with Wing Commander-style shooter levels. There’s even a set of PvP game types, such as the Conclave and Duel modes, with the latter letting you invite another player to a player-made clan dojo to engage in a solo fight. Unfortunately, the PvP activities come across as exceedingly basic and clunky compared to the core PvE experience.

Despite how much the game has grown over the years by adding in game-changing features, Waframe’s roots are still planted firmly in its fast-paced and satisfying core combat. The overall speed and flexibility in its action is something that it continually excels at, and there’s a constant sense of grace and finesse that can make even the ordinary missions thrilling. It often shows similar shades to a fast-paced corridor shooter by way of a stunning character-action game, with your squad tearing through enemies using myriad skills and armaments.

The core combat and general traversal of Warframe can move at a blistering pace. Despite how complex they can get, they’re still intuitive enough to dive into, and you can pull off Warframe’s advanced acrobatics like gliding, wall-runs, and the appropriately named “Bullet Jump”–which darts your character in any direction–reasonably quickly. Melee combat also features its own complexities, allowing you to use an assortment of combos and aerial abilities to cut through legions of foes in flashy display. Over time, chaining together slick parkour leaps into fast strikes with your weapons can become second nature, resulting in Warframe’s most gratifying and stylish encounters.

Warframe can be daunting for newcomers, yet it can also prove a challenge for players–like myself–who take an extended break and have to learn the basics of new features while simultaneously unlearning outdated ones. Such is the case for online games, and fortunately, Warframe does have an active and open community to trade with and seek assistance from, and you can directly interact with others at various social spaces across different planets. It’s common that you might have to consult outside resources in order to figure out what to do next, or else your progress might come to a halt abruptly.

Stick with the game long enough, and you’ll unlock access to the more involved cinematic story missions and open-world settings that best show the game’s considerable growth. Unlike the fragmented storytelling in most of the game, these two pillars present a more guided plot that offers memorable narrative and character moments. Some of these missions even include the surprising addition of a dialogue system, which can result in some slightly different events in questlines.

In the open-world settings of the Plains of Eidolon and the Orb Vallis, which open after you reach the planets they’re located on, you can take in the sights of the large-scale worlds, take on dynamic bounties and events with squads, and even learn more about the brewing conflict within each setting. The Vallis’ story is especially engaging, dealing with workers’ rights and the perils of late-stage capitalism in the interstellar age. Though these main stories set in the open worlds tend to end far too quickly, the amount of nuance and narrative packed in was impressive, which left me wanting to spend more time in the settings to continue interacting with its characters.

I’m continually pleased with the flexibility of Warframe’s many systems, and how it allows for you to attain a variety of rewards and unlocks at your own pace. Of course, there is an assortment of items, weapons, and even Frames to purchase with real money or with Platinum, Warframe’s premium currency. Fortunately, most items in the game are attainable through gameplay, allowing you to get into the nitty-gritty of the game’s content mostly unabated. The in-game economy of Warframe is very active, and if you’re resourceful enough, you can even trade some of your own gear and blueprints with other players for Platinum as well.

When new content is introduced, the pathway to experiencing the quests or acquiring the next Frame is available to all players. This relaxed approach is reassuring, especially for a game of this magnitude. I generally find acquiring gear and new classes to be quite manageable. However, there are still some time-sinks that feel mostly arbitrary, resulting in the expected and sometimes lengthy grind that’s commonplace in free-to-play games. To that end, the primary intent of Platinum is to circumvent both investments of time and resources.

Thinking back to GameSpot’s original review, it’s interesting how much the game has improved, yet also how much has stayed the same. The game still has issues with repetition and lack of explanations for its more complex systems, but it’s managed to overcome their severity by introducing so many events and revisions that continue to elevate it. While there are inevitable bouts of frustration here and there, I always manage to center myself once I move on to other opportunities. In a lot of ways, that’s what Warframe manages to do best. One moment you’re taking part in a random spy mission on Saturn, and the next, you’re partnered up with a powerful squad of players that help you through several void fissures. Just when you feel like you’ve hit a lull, a better, and more fulfilling opportunity will likely present itself. Perhaps most importantly, Warframe makes sure that the time spent in its world is almost always well rewarded.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw will be an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC and then land on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch within a few months. The PC version launches August 13th for $29.99. Outlaw is a prequel to Rebel Galaxy from 2015. This time around you will take on the role of an outlaw/smuggler named Juno. The game includes an open world, campaign, tons of ship customization, and minigames. For casual players, there is a new autopursuit feature to assist in getting targets onscreen and for veterans an assist off setting to compliment old school flight sticks.

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Google Stadia launches in just a few months, but some sections of the gaming community are still a little confused by the service’s details. In an attempt to clarify people’s questions, Stadia’s product director, Andrey Doronichev, held a Reddit Q&A in which he sought to distance the platform from comparisons to Netflix.

“To be clear, Stadia Pro is not ‘Netflix for games’ like some people have mentioned,” Doronichev explained. “A closer comparison would be like Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus. The Pro subscribers get 4K/HDR streaming, 5.1 sound, exclusive discounts and access to some free games. Roughly one free game per month, give or take. Starting with Destiny 2 (yay!).”

Stadia Pro is the premium subscription service that Stadia users can subscribe to if they wish. It gets you everything listed by Doronichev above, but Stadia Pro subscribers will still have to pay full price for additional games beyond those offered for free, despite a Pro membership already costing $10 / £9 per month–coincidentally the same price as a Netflix Premium subscription in the UK.

Stadia Pro will be launching as part of the Stadia Founder’s Edition, which is currently scheduled to release in November 2019. The premium subscription will be the only way to play Stadia at first, but not forever: a separate Stadia Base service will launch in 2020. Base will be free, but you’ll miss out on the free monthly game and resolution and sound quality will be slightly diminished, to a maximum of 1080p and stereo sound.

Elsewhere in the Reddit thread, Doronichev addressed what would happen to your games if Stadia were to shut down. For more details on the streaming service, check out everything we know about its Stadia’s pricing, release date, and game lineup.

It feels like only yesterday that E3 2019 wrapped up, and we’re already gearing up for the next big gaming event of the year: Gamescom 2019.

Gamescom is held every year in Cologne, Germany. This year’s key date is August 20, when the show kicks off. However, as is the norm with Gamescom, that day is for press and trade visitors only; members of the public can get in from the day after, Wednesday, August 21. The last show day is Saturday, August 24.

This year the event will be kicked off with a new livestream named Gamescom: Opening Night Live. This presentation will be hosted by Geoff Keighley and will include “announcements from major game publishers and independent developers, world premieres of new game footage and special guest appearances from the stars of the gaming industry.” The show will be streamed live on August 19 from 8 PM CEST / 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM BST (4 AM AET on August 20).

This year is Gamescom’s 10th anniversary. Over 370,000 people from around the globe attend each year, making it the world’s biggest gaming convention. Let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing at Gamescom in the comments!

Grand Theft Auto V‘s Online mode continues to expand, and next week developer Rockstar is building on the mode once again. On July 23 the game will receive a new update to add an entire new location, The Diamond Casino & Resort.

“The massive construction project on the corner of Vinewood Park Drive and Mirror Park Boulevard is nearing completion, radically changing the skyline of Los Santos forever,” Rockstar says of the new update. “If you’re looking to dive into the action, the casino floor has a selection of activities to enjoy. Play against the house using Chips in Three Card Poker, Blackjack and Roulette. Slot Machines with a variety of prizes are also at your fingertips, while Inside Track offers a lounge to watch and cheer along with friends as the drama of virtual horse racing unfolds. Spin the Lucky Wheel in the lobby for chips, cash, and clothing or even the new Truffade Thrax supercar that can be found whirling on the podium during opening week. And be sure to check back each week to see what new high-end vehicle can be won.”

There’s also a new property type–the Master Penthouse–purchasable as part of the resort. Owners of the penthouse will also gain access to VIP areas of the resort, a roof terrace and infinity pool, and a new storyline involving the Diamond family. Luckily, Twitch Prime members can purchase the Master Penthouse for free if they link their accounts by the end of July 19. For more, check out all the Twitch Prime rewards for GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

In related news Rockstar was recently confirmed to be developing for Google Stadia, though we don’t know what game–or games–that applies to. GTA V with GTA Online would be one possibility, since it already has a successful PC version up and running, though rumors of a Red Dead Redemption 2 PC version have also circulated in recent months.

Like Gears of War 4, this year’s Gears 5 will support cross-play between Xbox One and PC. Multiplayer director Ryan Cleven has confirmed that cross-play is supported not only for Versus multiplayer, but also for the Escape, Horde, and Campaign modes.

“We are happy to confirm that Gears 5 will feature cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC for Versus Multiplayer,” he said. “Cross-platform play also extends across the other Gears 5 modes to provide a great over-the-top three-player experience in Escape, an epic five-player Horde session, or three-player Campaign co-op.”

Keyboard and mouse controls offer a level of precision that’s better than a controller, and thankfully, Gears 5 multiplayer users can opt-out of playing against PC users for ranked play.

“For the launch of Gears 5, Xbox players will be able to opt-out of matchmaking against PC players for ranked matches,” Cleven said.

Gears 5 launches in September, but a multiplayer technical test is available today on Xbox One and PC. For lots more on the test and the game in general, check out GameSpot’s news feature: Gears 5 Dev Answers Our Burning Questions About Microtransactions, Multiplayer, Battle Royale, Loot Boxes, And More

The Gears 5 multiplayer technical test kicks off today, July 19, giving fans the first opportunity to try out the Xbox One and PC shooter ahead of its full release in September. GameSpot recently spoke with Gears 5 multiplayer design director Ryan Cleven and eSports creative manager Rose Gunson about the game’s new multiplayer features and more.

In the interview, the developers answer our burning questions about the game’s new modes and features, including the Arcade, Bootcamp, and Map-building modes. The developers also discuss their broader ambitions for how they wanted to improve the overall multiplayer experience compared to Gears of War 4, how much longer they’ll continue to support that game, and how the developers are going about making Gears 5 feel unique while also appealing to veteran fans of the franchise.

On top of that, they discuss Gears 5’s new plan to have no season pass or loot boxes (but still offer microtransactions), while the pair also talk about if there could ever be a battle royale mode and more. In addition, they confirm that Gears 5 will have cross-play support for not only multiplayer, but also the new three-player Escape mode, the five-player Horde mode, and three-player campaign.

The first weekend of the Gears 5 tech test began today and runs through Sunday; you must pre-order the game or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass to get in. For lots more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything you need to know about the Gears 5 tech test.

You can read our full interview below. All responses are from Cleven, except where noted.

GameSpot: When you started out thinking about Gears 5 multiplayer, what were your main considerations or specifics points that you wanted to focus on to grow and improve the experience over Gears 4?

Cleven: With Gears 4 we had two main goals with our Versus multiplayer. We wanted to gain the trust of the fans by demonstrating that we could create a Versus experience that was faithful to the legacy of Gears. Second, we wanted to develop Gears of War into a competitive esport. After learning so much from how our community played Gears and the feedback we were given, we wanted to make a stronger statement with Gears 5. We wanted to make something that both respected the legacy but took Versus in a new direction.

For Gears 5, we chose to focus on three key areas in development:

• We saw that, even with our new ranking system and what we felt was more accessible modes, new players still had a hard time jumping into our multiplayer game. This had to change.

• Our competitive esports mode, Escalation, was strong, but not best in class. We wanted it to be the best shooter esport out there.

• Lastly, our core combat needed modernization. Gears combat has such a strong core, it has lasted for over twelve years relatively unchanged. We felt it was both the right time and the right team to make changes.

What were some of the main pieces of feedback that fans gave you over Gears 4 that you’re addressing or improving upon in Gears 5 multiplayer?

We received a lot of feedback over the course of Gears 4. While players enjoyed the fairer matches our new ranking system brought to Gears 4, there were clearly parts of it that players found frustrating and confusing. Our new Division system in Gears 5 brings new ranked leaderboards and rewards to help players better understand what’s happening and give incentive to playing every week.

While players enjoyed all the customization content in Gears 4, players were unable to unlock content by achieving specific goals in the game, which was in place for Gears 3. For Gears 5, we’ve built a totally new system, Tour of Duty, which brings unlockable customization content back to players. Every day, you have fresh objectives to help you rank up in the Tour to unlock exclusive customization options, while completing seasonal medals will also earn you big rewards.

We also received a ton of feedback on the weapon tuning system that was in Gears 4, which included two different tuning sets to help grow our competitive community, one for our core audience and one for our competitive audience, that contributed to fundamentally different paths in gameplay. In Gears 5, we have worked very hard to create a single tuning across both core and competitive modes and we believe we’ve found a single tuning that will make both audiences happy and no one feeling left out.

In Gears 4, you have a very successful multiplayer experience that remains popular today, years after release. Are you planning to continue to support that title after the release of Gears 5?

The Coalition has learned a lot on operating a live game as a service. For Gears 4, we delivered extensive post-launch support in terms of maps, content and gameplay updates. We have learned a lot from our experiences running a live game as a service, and with Gears 5, we have developed a very comprehensive post-launch plan. While we aren’t revealing all the details for this plan just yet, we will be releasing new maps, new modes, new customization content, new hero characters, new events, and more map builder support post-launch. Our Tour of Duty will be updated every season with new challenges and new exclusive content to earn. One of the things we are really excited about, is that at some time post-launch, players will be able to create their own Versus maps in our Map Builder.

As a first-party game, Gears 5 is launching into Xbox Game Pass. This gives you a millions-wide audience right out of the gate. What are you doing to ensure servers are ready?

Our experience running a successful launch of Gears with an ongoing service has given our team a lot of experience with scaling our services. Gears 5, launching into Xbox Game Pass, presents a new challenge for launch. We have built new, modern services using Azure and performed multiple scale tests to simulate a launch, but to be confident in our new technology, we are running a live Technical Test for Gears 5 Versus Multiplayer starting on July 19, open to all pre-orders and members of Xbox Game Pass. This Technical Test will help us find any remaining issues with enough time to address them before launch.

In partnership with Microsoft Research, we have developed an advanced matchmaking system called TrueMatch that uses Azure-based AI learning to help find the best balance of ping, skill, and wait time, but in almost real-time. It adapts to the ever-shifting conditions of matchmaking, to bring the best experience, to players of all skill levels, no matter where they are.

What are your hopes and expectations for the Gears 5 technical test coming up? Given the final release is coming up so soon, is this more a test of the servers rather than gameplay/features?

Our Gears 5 Tech Test is a way for us to evaluate our server performance and listen to our players as to what changes need to be made for both gameplay/features. For Gears 5, we’re actively listening to our Gears community during development and will look to further evolve our game modes based on player feedback post-launch.

Our primary goal is to make sure that all Gears 5 players have a fantastic launch experience and testing our technology early enough to be able to react will help us do that.

At this stage, I think people know what to expect from a Gears game. How do you feel about that sense of familiarity? How do you think about providing a multiplayer experience that people find familiar and inviting, but also one that offers something new for seasoned players?

The core combat of Gears 5 is built around a new recoil-based shooting system and in-game feedback system we call Battle Language. Gears 5 will feel very different than previous games while remaining true to the essence of Gears. The rifle game in Versus has been overhauled with the new recoil system for a much more modern combat experience, while the new Inverse Omen will change the way players experience getting hit and being damaged in Gears. For weapons, new ice attacks will freeze players, while Stim will provide players with over-health; both are represented by the new Inverse Omen. In PvE experiences, damage numbers and health bars will help players understand the impact of their characters leveling.

The new Arcade mode is an entirely new way to play Gears Versus. It is a great mode to jump into for first-time Gears Versus players as it will be more familiar to players coming from other PvP games. It blends the visceral, intimate combat of Gears Versus with a light take on hero shooters. Character abilities, unique loadouts and in-game weapon upgrading combine with the new Arcade Team Deathmatch to the most fast-paced, over-the-top Versus experience in Gears history.

To help players jump in faster, we’ve built Boot Camp, a quick introduction to the gameplay of Gears 5. If you have never played Gears before, it provides an engaging and comfortable way to learn the core mechanics. If you’re a Gears veteran, it introduces you to the new mechanics in Gears 5

In the iteration stage of design, how wild or weird or different did you get with Gears 5 multiplayer before settling on the maps, modes, and features in the final product? What kinds of things did you consider that didn’t make it into the final release?

We experimented with a lot of modes, maps, weapons and tuning that didn’t make it to the final game, though they might show up post-launch. We are confident that players will love what’s new in Gears 5, including the Ice Cannon and Lancer GL, that fires a mortar, along with our new maps really emphasize the visceral action that Gears is known for.

“Releasing a new entry in an established franchise is always difficult when it comes to navigating fan expectations” — Cleven

Being a live service game, the fans really let you know how they feel about pretty much every facet of your game. How do you go about walking the line between sticking to your guns creatively and giving fans what they want?

Releasing a new entry in an established franchise is always difficult when it comes to navigating fan expectations. The hardest part is to find the common problems amongst the feedback that can inspire new creative solutions. For example, when a weapon is identified by our community as overpowered, it may be that the weapon is too easy to attain or that the movement speed is too fast or too slow. Listening to many different perspectives gives you more clues on what the deeper issues are and we use this approach to identify the key issues, then look for innovative solutions that solve multiple issues simultaneously to create the tightest designs possible.

What are you doing with Gears 5 to support competitive gaming and esports? I think you’ve said you want the game to be more “watchable,” but what does this mean in practice?

Rose Gunson: One of the focus areas we have for the future of Gears Esports is creating an ecosystem that all audiences can watch at a broad level. We want to encourage a viewership that can come in and watch the storylines unfold between the different teams, while also allowing people to see the highest level of professional Gears gameplay in the world.

Cleven: We have overhauled our competitive ranking system to give all players more understanding of how to improve their play. They will be able to see how they stack up against others in their tier and get detailed information at the end of each match for how they performed.

The new Escalation mode in Gears 5 has been significantly improved to support a higher level of competitive play. The metagame has been vastly expanded to create more options for players and more speculation for viewers. The game has been slowed down to help viewers to follow the action. The gunplay has been evolved to make the shooting more visibly skillful. We have added an announcer to the game to communicate what changes are happening on the map. Overall, we feel Gears 5, with Escalation, is the best shooter Esports experience on the market.

The Halo development team actively works with pro gamers to develop Halo multiplayer. Is this something you also do for Gears?

Gunson: The collaboration between esports production and game development at The Coalition is fantastic. We’re really fortunate to sit next to our developers and have the opportunity to go back and forth with what makes sense to further grow and push each other. If we’re all focused on making esports successful, it helps us accomplish a common goal.

Cleven: We value all our players’ input to the game. Working directly with the pro player community over the course of Gears helped tremendously with the tuning of Gears 5. We were able to use their deep understanding of the mechanics of Gears, their insight in what it takes to work as a team and their passion for the game to help us better understand the game we were making. Being able to try new ideas out with an open-minded pro community is something that few developers get the opportunity to do, and we certainly appreciate it.

“We value all our players input to the game” — Cleven

Will there be cross-play between Xbox One and PC like with Gears 4?

We are happy to confirm that Gears 5 will feature cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC for Versus Multiplayer. Cross-platform play also extends across the other Gears 5 modes to provide a great over-the-top three-player experience in Escape, an epic five-player Horde session or three-player Campaign co-op. For the launch of Gears 5, Xbox players will be able to opt-out of matchmaking against PC players for ranked matches.

With Gears 4 cross-play, you experimented with different set-ups for people with keyboard/mouse and controller; how will this work in Gears 5?

With the addition of keyboard and mouse on Xbox consoles, we see the two communities being closer than ever before. Players can choose the control the game how they want to. With few very small exceptions, the mouse and keyboard support will be the same across Xbox and PC. We also support key rebinding and the Xbox Adaptive Controller to enable all types of players to play Gears 5 the way that they want to.

Escape is brand-new for Gears 5. What is this mode all about, and what does it add to the Gears multiplayer experience that wasn’t there before?

The fun, high-stakes nature of Escape is built around having a three-person squad, introducing a new level of strategy and communication for players. In Escape, your three-player suicide squad must infiltrate the Hive, plant the bomb and escape with your life. Players enter with a knife and pistol but must pick up resources along their escape route. It’s everything you love about Gears, turned up to 11. Each character has an ultimate ability that will help you outsmart the horde, outrun the venom, and escape alive.

You have said there will be no season pass or random loot boxes, but there are microtransaction opportunities in Gears 5. Can you talk more about what you can acquire with real money and how you’ve gone about designing an MTX system that respects the players?

We have three sources for customization rewards–Earnable, Purchasable, and Free rewards. The new structure is built to respect player choice: earnable items are not purchasable, purchasable items are not earnable, and free items are only free. The player always knows what they get if they are earning or purchasing content.

As new Hero characters impact gameplay, they will be both earnable and purchasable to players to maintain an equal playing field. Players have full visibility into the Hero Character they are selecting, and there is no randomness involved. New maps and Escape Hives will be free to all. Each of the rewards are divided into seven types of customization: Costumes, Skins, Banners, Expressions, Executions, Blood Sprays, and Marks.

While there are no purchasable loot boxes in Gears 5, there are earnable rewards obtained from simply playing the game. If players choose to purchase separate in-game cosmetic rewards using our premium in-game currency ‘Iron,’ they will have full visibility into what customization items they are purchasing.

What are your plans for ongoing content for Gears 5 multiplayer? Are you fully embracing the new paradigm of games-as-a-service?

In addition to regular new map releases, Versus will support Map Builder post-launch. This will open Versus to the community, which will be able to build and share their own maps. As to our overall philosophy of maps after launch, in Gears 5 our goal is to create a player-first experience when it comes to in-game content, including maps, which will all be free to play in both matchmaking and private. In Gears 5 we will have:

• No Season Pass

• No Gear Packs

• DLC Maps are free for matchmaking and Private Play

• Exclusive earnable content in the all-new Tour of Duty system

• All store purchases are direct, no RNG, so you always know what you will get

The Arcade mode is new as well. You’ve described it as unique and approachable for newcomers. Is this in response to feedback that the standard MP was too unforgiving?

For newcomers, we have both a new training mode that we call ‘Boot Camp,’ which walks players through the core elements of Gears 5 gameplay. The new and approachable multiplayer game type we call ‘Arcade’ features a style of play more familiar to people playing other modern shooters while still feeling authentically Gears.

Arcade blends the visceral, intimate combat of Gears 5 Versus with a hero system that grants abilities, unique loadouts with unique in-game weapon upgrading to each character. It’s faster, more frenetic, with bigger headshots and over-the top action. While returning fans will feel totally at home in Arcade, players new to Gears can jump in and find a more familiar experience than previous Gears games. Arcade is built to be the fastest way to jump in and have fun in Versus.

The new Map Builder seems like an exciting introduction to the series. How robust are these tools? And how will sharing and discovery of user-made maps work?

Map Builder is a new addition to Gears 5 that lets you create custom Escape Hive maps and experiences to share with and challenge your friends. Whether you build it yourself or play a creation from another player, Map Builder provides an approachable tool for players to make fun Escape experiences. We built it to give players the same tools as our developers to build Escape maps.

Sharing maps is easy. With the push of a button, the map is published to our online services where the community can browse multiple feeds, like most played, or trending, to find the experiences they want to play. Players will be able to create Escape maps in Map Builder at launch and other modes will become available after launch.

What are your thoughts on battle royale in Gears 5? Is this something you might consider?

Gears 5 does not include a Battle Royale mode. We have five great experiences in Gears 5 with Horde, Escape, Campaign, and our extensive list of Multiplayer versus modes, with the added customization of the new Map Builder.

We’re big fans of the Battle Royale genre, but we would want to ensure we bring a Battle Royale mode to Gears in a meaningful way. We’re actively listening to our Gears community and will look to further evolve our game modes based on player feedback post-launch.