Gears 5, the fifth game in the Gears of War series, is out this September, but for a lot of series fans that’ll be too long a wait to play the game. Fortunately Microsoft has announced that there will be a public Gears 5 beta, called the Technical Test, for players to try the game before the September release date. But what is the Gears 5 beta date? Can players pre-load it? What’s included in the technical test? And how do you get into the beta, anyway? Let’s have a look.
What is the Gears 5 beta date?
If you’re itching to start carving some Locust in half again and can’t wait for September, the good news is the Gears 5 beta date is very soon, and the technical test will start by the end of the week. There are two Gears 5 technical tests in fact, both held over consecutive weekends in July, so you’ll get two chances to try out the game, but once these are done that may be it until the game’s release two months from now. The two beta dates are:
- Start date: Friday, July 19. End date: Monday, July 22.
- Start date: Friday, July 26. End date: Monday, July 29.
Can I pre-load the Gear 5 beta or technical test?
The Gears 5 beta will be 16Gb in size, which is minuscule compared to the final game but sizeable for just a beta test. Since it runs for such a limited period of time, it’s not any wonder that players would like to pre-load the technical test before it goes live, so they can play it the second it comes out. The good news is that pre-loading the Gears 5 technical test is indeed possible, and the better news is that it’ll be available several days before the first beta begins. That’s tomorrow in fact, July 17, and Microsoft has announced that pre-loading will begin at 10:00 PDT / 13:00 EDT / 18:00 BST. Make sure to download it quick so you’re all ready for when the beta starts.
What is included in the Gears 5 beta?
The Gears 5 beta will be entirely based around the game’s Versus modes, and will not include any campaign or co-op content. It will include two maps and three multiplayer modes. The three modes are Arcade, King of the Hill, and Escalation 2.0. In Arcade, kills increase your firepower, deaths are over-the-top and ridiculous, and the whole thing is built to be straight but extreme fun. King of the Hill is self-explanatory, and Escalation 2.0 is described by Microsoft as the “next evolution of our esports mode.” The new Escape mode advertised during Microsoft’s E3 presentation doesn’t seem to be present in these tech tests.
The first map available seems to be winter-focused, and players have the ability to create ice traps that freeze their opponents to death. The other map is set in a sunny industrial arena with lots of explosives. There will also be two new features to try out. Bootcamp is the game’s training mode, and it’ll show new players how to get used to the new mechanics in Gears 5. There will also be” Tour of Duty,” where players complete medals in order to unlock exclusive weapon skins for the main game, and if you complete all three medals, you’ll be able to unlock the exclusive Tester Banner too.
How to get into the Gears 5 beta
The Gears 5 beta will be available on both Xbox One and PC, however there is only two ways to gain access to either tech test. You either have to have pre-ordered Gears 5 at a participating retailer, either for a physical or digital copy, or have joined the Xbox Game Pass and have a valid subscription. It’s also included in the Xbox Game Pass for PC, although other than that PC owners can only pre-order the game on Windows Store to gain access to the beta, as the Steam version is not yet available for pre-order.
