Welcome to What’s Up Gears fans! We’re here to bring you the latest and greatest news, community content and more from the Gearsiverse.

Here’s What’s Up this week in Gears:

Meet new character Fahz, played by Rahul Kohli

Watch new Escape Gameplay from E3

Get your first look at Map Builder

First info on earning content in Gears 5

Versus Tech Test Date and ELEAGUE Ep. 2

Meet the Newest Gear

Debuted at the E3 Coliseum Panel, here’s Fahz Chutani (played by Rahul Kohli) in a Gears 5 cinematic to give you a taste of the latest addition to the Gearsiverse. Check it out above.

Speaking of the E3 Coliseum Panel, you can check out the full Panel with the Cast of Gears 5 in the video above including Rahul Kohli. Brace for some laughs!

Escape

Since our big reveal at E3 2019, Escape info has been POURING out of the show. We’ve had interviews, plenty of press impressions, new gameplay from creators and a whole lot more about our new 3 player co-op mode.

If you haven’t already got up to speed on Escape, our gameplay trailer Escape Explained (above) is the perfect introduction to the mode – and who doesn’t want the dulcet tones of one Colonel Victor Hoffman telling you what to do?

We heard many of you wanted to see experienced Gears players taking on Escape, so we put together a quick run through of the E3 Hive with 4 Mutators enabled.

While far from the toughest setting, this action-packed run shows how the gameplay experience can change as you crank up the difficulty on the road to mastering the hive.

If you didn’t catch the World Premiere of Escape gameplay, our friends at UpUpDownDown released the entire Live From The Hive Escape stream on their channel. Check it out above to see some WWE superstars get coached by the one and only Rod Fergusson as they take on the hive.

IGN First has exclusive coverage of Escape and Map Builder throughout June. There’s still plenty more to come, but here’s just some of the biggest videos and articles they’ve dropped so far:

Map Builder Hands On

Escape’s Story and New Characters

Jack Drone from Gears 5 Collector’s Edition

Creating Escape Mode – Developer Interview

We were also so excited to see fans get hands on with Escape at Microsoft Stores and E3 last week. The feedback from those who have played means a lot to the team, so we thought we’d share some of our favorites below with you too!

I've died and gone to heaven #Gears5 escape is soooooo good! 😍 having the time of my life! #E32019 #XboxE3 pic.twitter.com/IiPvTeGqz4 — BigPhil 93 (@BigPhil1993) June 12, 2019

Just went hands on with Gears 5 Escape Mode!



It was 3 Player Couch Co-Op Gears of War Goodness. It has three unique & original characters that all have special abilities. It felt great & my squad escaped with a killer time!#E3 #Gears5 pic.twitter.com/asSSmjDfUx — SnowBikeMike (@snowbikemike) June 11, 2019

@GearsViking I spent 4 hours at a Microsoft store today. Damn you, in a good way and I'm loving it, but damn you. #Gears5 #EscapeMode is legit. pic.twitter.com/4ga3swePVw — CJay The Joker (@JoKingWenceslao) June 11, 2019

Map Builder

With Map Builder, you’ll be able to create, play and share your own Gears experiences for the first time in Gears franchise history.

At launch, Map Builder can be used to construct Escape Hives – but our intention is to also add the capability to build Horde and Versus maps as part of our post launch support!

Check out our Map Builder Explained video above for a quick look rundown of what to expect this September!

(And yeah, we got Hoffman to narrate this one too!).

IGN First also got hands on with Map Builder during their visit to the studio for their exclusive Escape coverage.

Head over to IGN’s article or hit the video above as Miranda builds a map of death for our very own Otto Ottoson (Lead Multiplayer Producer) to tackle. Does he make it out? You’ll have to watch to find out.

Earning Content in Gears 5

Earning content in Gears is something we know many of you care deeply about. You’ve asked and we’ve listened.

In Gears 5, our goal is to create a player-first experience when it comes to in-game content, and it starts with this:

No Season Pass

No Gear Packs

DLC Maps are free for matchmaking and Private Play

Exclusive earnable content in the all-new Tour of Duty system

All store purchases are direct, no RNG so you always know what you will get

We have many exciting new features for Gears 5 coming up that we’ll talk about in detail soon.

However, we felt it was important to let you know how we’re handling in-game content now rather than waiting until we talk about those features. Click here to read the full article on how you’ll collect content in Gears 5.

Gears 5 Versus

ELEAGUE Gears Summer Series

The ELEAGUE Gears Summer: Bonds and Betrayals of Brotherhood docu-series kicked off this Friday with a bang, following pro player Sleepytime (Reciprocity) in his life as a Gears Pro.

Episode 2 will debut this Friday at 11pm ET / 11pm PT on TBS, or you can tune in on Twitch from 11pm ET / 8pm ET. Hit the video above for a first look at what to expect this Friday.

Tech Test Date

We’ve seen some confusion out there around the Versus Technical Test, so we wanted to take the chance to clarify the date.

The official Technical Test start date will be Friday July 19th, 2019. More details about the specifics of the test will be made available in early July. You won’t be waiting long!

Road To Gears 5

In case you missed it in the E3 madness, we announced the Road To Gears 5!

The Road to Gears 5 is a series of 10 new challenges that give you the chance earn content to take into Gears 5 by playing Gears 4, including FIVE more Gilded Characters and a whole bunch of bonus customization items.

The first 5 Challenges are live now, with the remaining 5 activating on August 1st. And yes, when it comes to the last set of 5, they will retroactively unlock if you already meet the conditions.

Head on over to our official Road to Gears 5 Hub to track your progress in each active Challenge.

That’s It From Us This Week

As we sign off, don’t forget to join us tonight for the return of our weekly Gears Developer Stream!

This week, we’ll be playing some Gears 5 in our Developer Stream for the first time! We’ll be playing Escape in the company of Ryan Cleven (Multiplayer Design Director) as we answer your questions and drop even more juicy details.

The stream begins at 3pm PT / 6pm ET on live.gearsofwar.com. Don’t miss this!

TC, out.