Gears of War: E-Day remembers the golden years of multiplayer shooters that didn't double as undercover cosmetic storefronts, and it's promising a throwback experience where almost every piece of customization will be earnable by playing online matches. What an idea! But don't worry about grinding endlessly for in-game currency, the devs apparently aren't going down EA's "pride and accomplishment" route.
The Coalition today dived deep into Gears of War: E-Day's multiplayer portions – the Horde mode that pits 12 players against waves of subterranean beasties and the Versus mode that includes sweaty 4v4 PvP matches. While the multiplayer looked great, what really got my chainsaw-guns revved up was the talk of how The Coalition is ditching the seedier parts of modern online shooters.
"Remember the good ol' days when you bought a game and you could unlock all the customization items just by playing because you already bought the game? Us too! So, when it comes to growing your own collection of customization items in E-Day, we've taken a more old-school inspired approach," the devs write in a lengthy new blog post.
"Nearly every single item in Gears of War: E-Day can be earned by simply playing the game. That means no battle pass, no tour of duty, no gimmicks, no bullshit. Whether it's a Legendary Character Skin, an Epic Weapon Skin Set or a Rare Pose, almost all of it can be earned through gameplay," it adds.
According to the studio, the only exceptions to this rule are items included in the Premium Edition of the game, pay-only bundles that raise money for charity, and collaboration content like an incoming weapon skin set inspired by Metallica. That aside, you'll be able to earn in-game coins after online matches, by levelling up, or by "unlocking many of the medals from our Gears 3-inspired medal system."
The Coalition seems keen to avoid a Star Wars: Battlefront 2 type of disaster, though: "Now to address the Brumak in the room, earning coins is not intended to be painstaking or provide the player with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Earning Coins shouldn't be an arduous grind. Chasing your favorite skin and unlocking new items should be fun. As such, we've carefully tuned the rate you earn Coins with this principle in-mind and we'll pay close attention to player feedback to adjust as necessary in post-launch."
In case you've forgotten about the almost decade-old controversy, EA found itself in hot water when Star Wars Battlefront 2 fans complained about how unlocking certain characters could take upwards of 40 hours. EA's response? They wanted to give folks a "sense of pride and accomplishment" in having spent literal days to play as Darth Vader. It's still Reddit's most downvoted comment.
Here's hoping The Coalition's promises land true when Gears of War: E-Day comes to PC and Xbox Series X|S on October 6. A multiplayer open beta kicks off for pre-orderers and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers between August 6-10, before opening up to everyone between August 13-17.
In the meantime, check out the best co-op games to play right now.
