Gears 5 Versus Tech Test Status

NOW OVER

Thank you for playing the Gears 5 Versus Tech Test! See you in the full game on September 6th (Early Access) or 10th (Worldwide Release).

Want to give feedback or report or a bug? Please use the following destinations listed below.

Gameplay Feedback: Forums – Reddit

Bug Reports: Forums – Reddit

A list of Known Issues from Tech Test Weekend 1 can be found here.

Earn The Wreath Bloodspray For Gears 5

To help us really test our services during the Tech Test, we’re asking players to play on Friday, July 26th between 5:30pm – 6:30pm PDT.

As a thank you to players who complete one full match during this period, we’ll be unlocking an exclusive Wreath Bloodspray for use in Gears 5 for all eligible participants!

Tech Test Game Update

On top of numerous server-side updates made during and after the end of Tech Test 1, we have released a Tech Test Game Update to help us further address the following issues:

Matchmaking improvements

Further stabilized match results

Ranks and Divisions should now act in a more stable manner

Resolved players being incorrectly idle kicked when matchmaking for games

A user that Joins in Progress while a game was in match transition couldn’t change characters throughout the match

The Tech Test queue system will now show correct start times and access time estimates

When roadie running into or against covers sometimes a player may get pushed off/back

Updated PC GPU detection to include more supported cards.

Numerous infrequent crash fixes

In addition, we have made some server-side tuning changes in effect from the start of Weekend 2:

Added Backfilling Bots to Ranked KOTH and Escalation for the Tech Test

Reduced Ranked Lobby Map Voting to 30s (was 60s)

Training Grounds: Swapped Tri-Shot / Cryo Cannon for EMBAR / Longshot to give players a new tool to counter strong setups

Training Grounds: Uplink and Helipad rings will no longer spawn you inside the closest TDM spawn to reduce instances of defenders reinforcing the ring before attackers could reach it

Training Grounds: DB Depot and Monument rings no longer spawn players diagonally across the map, which was making it difficult for attackers to contest the ring

Escalation: Base Shock Grenade placements on center line reduced to 1 (was 2)

Escalation: Upgraded Shock Grenade placements on center line reduced to 2 (was 3)

Escalation: Reduced intro duration to 10s (was 15s)

Escalation: Reduced weapon picking duration per team to 20s (was 25s)

This Update is ~1.5GB. On Xbox One, you should find the update in your Update Queue under My Games & Apps if auto-install is not enabled. On Windows 10, you will need to manually trigger the update by searching for Gears 5 Tech Test in the Windows 10 Store.

FAQ Contents

General Information

PC FAQ

Before You Play

Troubleshooting

Error Code Support

Gameplay FAQ

Other Information

General Information

What is the Gears 5 Tech Test?

The Technical Test is a small in-development slice of our Versus offering in Gears 5 that will run across two focused test periods this July.

What’s in the Gears 5 Tech Test?

For Gears 5’s Technical Test, we’re bringing three distinct modes across two brand new multiplayer maps – District and Training Grounds – to play throughout both test periods:

Arcade: A new approachable, frenetic Versus experience.

Escalation: The pinnacle objective mode of Gears is back and better than ever.

King of the Hill: Capture the hill, enjoy the carnage.

In addition, you’ll also get to try out two new features of Gears 5:

Bootcamp: Practice your skills and learn new mechanics in our new training mode.

Tour Of Duty: Experience a mini Tour of Duty, where you’ll complete Medals to unlock exclusive Tester Weapon Skins to take into Gears 5. Complete Challenges and earn enough stars to unlock the exclusive Tester Banner to showcase in Gears 5.

When will the Gears 5 Tech Test be available?

The Tech Test now over. See you in September in the full game!

How do I participate and install the Gears 5 Tech Test?

The Tech Test is open to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers, active Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions or pre-orders from a participating retailer. Pre-order or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass any time before the end of the Tech Test to gain access.

Note: As the Tech Test is online multiplayer, an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership will be required to play.

Xbox One

For Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass subscribers, access is included in your membership.

You can now pre-download the Tech Test from the Game Pass Library as you would with any other game on Game Pass or by searching ‘Gears 5 Tech Test’ in the store.

Windows 10 PC

For Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass for PC subscribers, access is included in your membership.

You can also access the Technical Test by pre-ordering digitally via the Windows Store. Search for ‘Gears 5’ in the Windows Store to download the Tech Test ready for the weekend.

If you are not running Windows 10 version 1903, you will need to update before you’ll be able to download the game. Please click here for more details.

For players on Windows 10 PC, check out the PC Requirements section to for minimum and recommended specs.

Note: While any method of accessing the Tech Test will get you access to the Windows 10 Tech Test, you will not be able to download the game on PC with Xbox Live Gold Membership only.

Why a Technical Test?

This Technical Test allows us to stress test our servers over two focused Test Periods to ensure the best possible experience when large volumes of players rush in at launch.

For our PC fans, it gives us a critical opportunity to get the game onto PCs with unique combinations of hardware and software at scale. If any unforeseen issues arise, it gives us the opportunity ahead of launch to identify and address any issues ahead of release.

And of course, getting the Tech Test into your hands means we can gather your valuable feedback on each of the three modes to inform our development as we march towards launch day and beyond.

Is the Tech Test cross-platform?

Yes, but console players can toggle this On/Off for Ranked matches. You can find this by going opening the menu and selecting Options > Matchmaking > Ranked Crossplay.

Can I stream or create content from Tech Test?

Absolutely!

How Do I Get The Exclusive Wreath Bloodspray?

To help us really test our services during the Tech Test, we’re asking players to play on Friday, July 26th between 5:30pm – 6:30pm PDT.

As a thank you to players who complete one full match during this period, we’ll be unlocking an exclusive Wreath Bloodspray for use in Gears 5 for all eligible participants!

You will not be able to use this Bloodspray during the Tech Test and, additionally, there will be no in-game notification during this period to confirm your Bloodspray has been unlocked.

Given the importance of pushing our population to the max in one specific window to best prepare for launch, we will not be offering additional opportunities to unlock this Bloodspray.

What are the Known Issues from Tech Test Weekend 1?

The following issues are some of the more notable bugs reported from the community during Tech Test 1 that have been logged with our team:

‘Ghost’ players from Killcam can appear on the battlefield – this bug also has a number of other reported issues that stem from this happening

When DBNO, characters will jump backwards to their original position after moving slightly

Bots can execute players and held meatshields under certain conditions

Rarely, users will spawn but be stuck spectating other players

On Windows 10, the game regularly pops up notifications notifying the player their other device is taking too long to sync

Weapons will sometimes be duplicated in loadouts

If an Elimination and Domination victory occur at the same time in Escalation, two rounds will be awarded to a team

The upgrade button binding on ALT causes users to accidentally bring it up during gameplay

On Classic Alt, users will sometimes continue to roadie run despite *X* not being held down

We also have a number of other bugs not in this list logged with our team that are lower impact and/or more infrequent. Thank you to everyone who has logged bugs to help us identify these issues that will be addressed in the future.

PC FAQ: Before You Play

Game Requirements

Minimum Spec (AMD)

Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update

CPU: AMD FX-6000 Series

GPU: AMD Radeon R9 280 or RX 560

VRAM: 2GB

RAM: 6GB

HDD: 15GB

Minimum Spec (Nvidia)

Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update

CPU: Intel i3 Skylake

GPU: Nvidia GTX 760 or GTX 1050

VRAM: 2GB

RAM: 6GB

HDD: 15GB

Recommended Spec (AMD)

Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3

GPU: AMD Radeon RX 570 or RX 5700

VRAM: 4GB

RAM: 8GB

HDD: 15GB

Recommended Spec (Nvidia)

Windows 10 May 2019 Update

Intel i5 Skylake

Nvidia GTX 970 or GTX 1660 Ti

VRAM: 4GB

RAM: 8GB

HDD: 15GB

Ideal Spec (AMD)

Windows 10 May 2019 Update

AMD Ryzen 7

AMD Radeon VII

VRAM: 8GB

RAM: 16GB

HDD: 15GB + SSD

Ideal Spec (Nvidia)

Windows 10 May 2019 Update

Intel i7 Skylake

Nvidia GTX 2080

VRAM: 8GB

RAM: 16GB

HDD: 15GB + SSD

Recommended Drivers

Download and install the latest drivers for your graphics card:

AMD – 19.7.1 or greater

NVIDIA – Driver Version 431.60 (minimum 431.36 or greater)

Which version of Windows do I need to be on?

Make sure you are on Windows 10 May 2019 Update in order to play. To see whether you’re running this version on you PC:

Go to Start , enter About your PC , and then select About your PC

, enter , and then select Look for Edition to see if your running Winows 10

Look for Version under Windows specification to se if you are running the May 2019 (version 1903)

If you are not running Windows 10 version 1903, you will need to update before you’ll be able to download the game. This can be done by going to the Windows Update: FAQ page.

Check this page for more information on how to find out if a game will work on your Windows device

Updating your Audio Driver

To update your audio driver:

Go to Start Enter Device Manager, and then select Device Manager Select the arrow next to Sound, video and game controllers to expand it Right-click (or press and hold) your sound card, then select Properties Select the Driver tab, and then select Update Driver

PC FAQ – Troubleshooting

My Audio is choppy/distorted/static.

If audio is choppy/distorted while playing the game please try the following to troubleshoot the issue:

If you have a headset plugged into a controller on PC, this is a known issue. We recommend directly plugging the headset into the PC and not the controller



There is also a known issue when playing the game with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz. We recommend changing the sample rate to 48 kHz.

Open the Sound Settings window and then left click on “Sound Control Panel” to open a new window In the new “Sound” Window left click on the current audio device. Left click on Properties to open up the “Speaker Properties” window In the new window, left click on the “Advanced” tab Left click on the dropdown and select “16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) Left click on the “Apply” button to finish the selection. Close the windows and enjoy the game!

My Razer Chroma devices are strobing

This is a known issue on older drivers for Chroma devices. Please update to the latest drivers to fix the issue.

Go to Start, enter Razer Synapse, and then select Razer Synapse Left click on the gear icon in the top right corner Navigate to the about tab Click on “Check For Updates” This will open “Razer Central”, click install on Razer Synapse Once completed close the programs and enjoy the game!

Mouse sensitivity does not feel as smooth as I expect

If your mouse does not feel as smooth as you expect, adjust the in game sensitivity to 0 and increase the mouse DPI instead.

I can’t raise my FPS cap any higher than my lowest refresh rate monitor on a multi-monitor setup

In order to raise your FPS cap to the refresh rate of your monitor of choice to use in a multi-monitor setup, you’ll need to set your monitor of choice as your primary monitor.

Error Code Support

Your Graphics Card Is Below Minimum Spec

You get the following error code when you try to play Gears 5 on Windows:

GW500

This means that the graphics card in your Windows device does not meet the minimum requirements. Your graphics card must support DirectX 12 (Feature Level 11).

GW504

This means that your graphics card was detected to be below the minimum spec for Gears 5.

Solution

Upgrade your graphics card to meet the minimum requirements to play the game and try again. We recommend the following graphics cards:

AMD Radeon RX 570 or AMD Radeon RX 5700

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

You can continue to play the game, but performance may not be optimal.

Your Graphics Card is Incompatible With The Game

You get the following error code when you try to play Gears 5 on Windows:

GW501

This means that the graphics card driver installed on your Windows device has known compatibility problems.

Solution

Visit the website for your graphics card manufacturer and update to the latest driver.

Your Video Card Has Stopped Responding

You get one of the following error codes when you play Gears 5 on Windows:

GW502

This means that the graphics card in your Windows device has stopped responding and was reset by the operating system.

GW503

This means that a graphics card was not detected.

Solutions

Your graphics card may be in an unstable state. Try rebooting your Windows device.

Visit the website for your graphics card manufacturer and update to the latest driver. If you are on the latest driver, try reducing your visual settings.

Your Graphics Card Doesn’t Have Enough VRAM

You get the following error code when you try to play Gears 5 on Windows:

GW510

This means that your graphics card was detected to have less than 2GB of video memory.

Solution

We recommend that your graphics card have at least 2GB of video memory. You can continue to play the game with less video memory, but quality and performance may be affected.

Your System Doesn’t Have Enough RAM

You get the following error code when you try to play Gears 5 on Windows:

GW511

This means that your Windows device was detected to have less than 6GB of system memory.

Solution

We recommend that your Windows device have at least 6GB of system memory installed.

Your System Is Low On RAM

You get one of the following error codes when you try to play Gears 5 on Windows:

GW512

This means that your Windows device does not have enough free memory available to run the game.

GW513

This means that your Windows device is out of memory.

Solutions

We recommend that your Windows device have at least 6GB of system memory free. Try closing other programs to free up memory.

Ensure your graphics card and Windows device meet the minimum memory requirements.

We recommend that your graphics card have at least 2GB of video memory.

Reducing “Scaled Resolution” in the in-game settings and closing other running programs may help free up memory.

Gameplay FAQ

Can I group with other players?

The Tech Test will allow you to group up with other players similar to Gears with one exception: Arcade. As it is meant to be a casual drop-in type mode, Arcade will allow solo players and groups of two and three in the Tech Test.

How do I earn rewards?

There are four rewards for Testers to earn in the Gears 5 Tech Test:

Tester Banner: Complete active Tour objectives to earn Stars. Earn ten Stars to rank up and unlock the banner.

Complete active Tour objectives to earn Stars. Earn ten Stars to rank up and unlock the banner. Tester Lancer: Win five matches of either Arcade Quickplay or Escalation

Win five matches of either Arcade Quickplay or Escalation Tester Snub: Play ten matches of either Arcade Quickplay or Escalation

Play ten matches of either Arcade Quickplay or Escalation Tester Gnasher: Win fifteen matches of either Arcade Quickplay or Escalation

These rewards can be earned at any point during both of the Tech Test periods. All four rewards can be equipped in the Tech Test and will follow you to Gears 5.

What is Arcade?

What is Escalation?

Why Did I Get Timed Out?

The Tech Test will time out after a player has been idle for approximately 20 minutes in the menu without starting to matchmake. This allows us to ensure that as many active players as possible are participating in the test.

The issue that cause idle timeouts when matchmaking has now been fixed. Timeouts will only apply to players who are on the menu and are not searching for a match.

Additional Information

Xbox Game Pass subscriptions

Access to the Tech Test is provided to Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. As an active subscription is required, you will lose access to the Tech Test if your subscription expires during the Tech Test.

Physical Pre-Order Tech Test Access

These are the participating retailers who will supply 5×5 codes to access the Technical Test. Please contact your local retailer for further support on acquiring your code. If your retailer of choice is currently not listed, please enquire directly with them for more information.

United States

Amazon

Best Buy

Walmart

Mexico

Amazon

Best Buy

Claners

Game Planet

Gamers

Walmart

United Kingdom / Ireland

Amazon

GAME

Gamestop

Smyths Toys

Canada

Amazon.ca

Best Buy

The Source

France

FNAC

DACH

Amazon

Media Markt

Saturn

Australia

EB Games

Harvey Norman

JB Hi Fi

New Zealand

EB Games

JB Hi Fi

Mighty Ape

Brazil

Amazon

Benelux

BOL

Game Mania

MSH NL

Smortoys

Central and Eastern Europe

Alza

Euro

Game Studio

JRC

Konzolvilag

Mall Group

Media Markt

Mediaexpert

MSH NL

Neonet

Programing

China

Cool Game

Game Time

Mingren

Hong Kong

Brightex

Broadway

Fortress

Suning

Iberia

Amazon

CRF

ECI

Game

Media Markt

Worten

Xtralife

Mediterranean

Amazon

GameStop

Unieuro

Nordics

CDON

Media Markt

Webhallen

Russia

DNS

Eldorado

Mvideo

Vidioigr.net

Singapore

GameMartz

Qisahn

South Korea

11st

Gmarket

Taiwan

Bahamut

Play-E

Wang-Chi

Missing Tech Test Code

Our team is working with the participating retailers above to ensure that codes are being sent out. If you have not received a Tech Test code, please reach out to the participating retailer that you pre-ordered from.