Gears 5 is out September 10, or earlier with the Ultimate Game Pass
You'll be able to play it on September 6 if you have the Ultimate Game Pass
Things look dicey for Kait in Gears 5, but that's definitely not the case when it comes to players who are anxious to get their hands on the game - it's launching September 10 2019. Better still, you can get access to it 4 days earlier than everyone else on September 6 if you have the Xbox Ultimate Game Pass. If ever there was a reason to jump on Microsoft's subscription service, this is it.
A new trailer for Gears 5 was shown off at Xbox's E3 show alongside the release date announcement, and it's a doozy. Playing to Billy Eilish's morbidly appropriate single 'Bury a Friend', it focuses on Kait's split allegiances and the pressure she'll come under as a result. A haunting minute or so of footage sees her struggling to cope with the ghosts of her past, her allies, and what appears to be a terrifying madness that threatens to get the best of her. Things become steadily eerier from there as an infection creeps up her neck and she cradles her mother's Locust medallion. By the time those dark veins reach her eyes, an image of the Locust Queen from the original Gears of War trilogy is overlayed across her face. The implication is clear - Kait's in a battle for her soul. This also leaves the door open for a return from the Locust Queen, if only in spirit (she was killed by Marcus at the end of Gears of 3, so a physical comeback would be... challenging). Life still sucks in the world of Sera, it seems.
That hasn't stopped a storm of new content set in the Gears universe, though. First up is a gory trailer for 'Escape', presumably a new mode hitting Gears 5 (seen above). Then we've got the Terminator: Dark Fate character pack, available to those who pre-order or Xbox Game Pass users. This allows you to become the T-100, because why not?
For more coverage of E3 2019, be sure to check out our overview.
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As the site's Tabletop & Merch Editor, you'll find my grubby paws on everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news. I've been writing about games in one form or another since 2012, and can normally be found cackling over some evil plan I've cooked up for my group's next Dungeons & Dragons campaign.