The Coalition's Gears 5 has been updated with seasonal content since launch, with the most recent Operation 3: Gridiron adding new characters and more in March. Today, Operation 4: Brothers In Arms kicked off, adding more new characters than any previous update on top of radically changing multiple in-game systems.
There are six new characters in Gears 5's Operation 4 that can be purchased through a bundle for $19.99: Four Heroes in Dominic Santiago, Garron Paduk, Jinn-bot, and a generic UIR soldier; alongside two Villains in Zamil Karn and a Locust grenadier. The Coalition says they have been able to "ramp up the production" of creating characters by not requiring them to launch with unique Ultimate and Arcade abilities, with only Paduk having an Ultimate out of the six.
Alongside the Totem system once used to unlock characters, the Gears 5 shop and unlock system are being changed to make it easier to unlock new items. Gears Coins are replacing the scrap, supply, and Totem systems, and can purchase almost any old item from other Operations through a permanent store collection. The game's Battle Pass, called Tour of Duty, is also being given a new "Legends" rank that can be re-earned indefinitely to get more Gears Coins.
While these are some of the biggest changes made through Operation 4: Brothers In Arms, there are a host of other new things. The Ranked system has been updated to work based on earning and spending Gears Points to rank higher, there are three new maps to play on, 24 new achievements to unlock, and a seasonal roadmap promises two new characters coming down the line; much like mid-season updates for games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
With all of this new content, it's hard to believe that there is more coming to Gears 5, but in the blog post about Operation 4 the developer discusses plans for the next update. For instance, while characters can now be unlocked by getting any of their skins, Operation 5 will apparently allow players to use any character and class combination they want to mitigate issues with playing characters added without abilities, and it's likely updates may continue for Gears 5 on the Xbox Series X.
Having easier access to old content while new characters, maps, and more are still being added should be a huge selling point for Gears of War fans. Even following the departure of The Coalition's former studio head Rod Fergusson earlier this year, the future for this acclaimed entry in the series looks bright.
Gears 5 is available now on PC and Xbox One.
Source: Gears 5 Blog