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Gears 5 No Season Pass, No Loot Boxes And DLC Maps Will Be Free

Following its latest showing at E3 2019, Microsoft and The Coalition have provided more details on this year’s release of Gears 5 and what we can expect to see from the game after launch. In a new blog post on the official Gears 5 website, it was confirmed that the game’s multiplayer will not have a season pass this time around. All additional DLC maps that come to Gears 5 following its September release will be made available completely for free, both in matchmaking and private play.

There will still be cosmetic microtransactions in Gears 5 though, as that’s where the post-launch funding will come from. However, there’ll be no RNG, which means no randomized loot boxes. You buy the specific items you want and that’s it.

“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,”

What it means is Gears 5 won’t fragment the player base into the haves and have nots. All players will have all maps, modes, and weapons. Gears of War 4 did have a £40 season pass, although it was restricted to character and weapon skins. Post-launch support was very generous as well, totaling 24 free DLC maps and more than 50 characters. It sounds as if we’re set for much the same support with Gears 5.

Gears 5 will be available on Xbox One and PC (via Windows 10 and Steam) when it releases later this year on September 10. It will cost $60. If you pre-order the game or play it with an Xbox Game Pass membership, you’ll be given the Terminator Dark Fat Character Pack, featuring Sarah Connor and the T-800 from the film, the Vector Lancer Skin, and 7 days of Boost. At the moment, it’s unclear if the pack will be available for separate purchase.