We are excited to reveal your first look at Arcade, a brand new type of Versus experience for all types of players. This ultimate jump-in / jump-out mode brings hero characters, each with their own distinct abilities and weapon upgrades, to Gears 5 Versus players.

Arcade Deathmatch is just the beginning, where two teams of five race to be first to 50 kills. This promises to be unlike any Gears TDM you’ve ever played!

Zero To Heroes

Picking a character is more than just who you want to play – it’s about choosing the way you want to play.

Each hero character has a unique combat style defined by a passive ability, a bounty, a loadout, and a dedicated set of weapon upgrades.

These traits let you play your way more than ever before, whether you want to get up close and personal, keep at a distance with the Longshot or somewhere in between – we’ve got the character for you.

The Tech Test features 5 heroes* to choose from in Arcade Deathmatch:

Hunter – Kait / Swarm Hunter

Passive: Increased Movement Speed

Bounty: Execute for an additional Skull

Loadout: Hammerburst, Talon Autopistol, Smoke Grenade

Upgrades: Boltok, Incendiary Grenades, Torque Bow

Kait and the Swarm Hunter are versatile characters thanks to their fast movement and vision-blocking smoke grenades.

Their weapons let them catch enemies off guard at range before relocating to avoid being targeted by opponents, or by executing fast flanks on unsuspecting enemies with Incendiaries and Talon.

Support – JD / Swarm Drone

Passive: Spot enemies who damage you. Enemies you spot reward health to killer.

Bounty: Multi-kill for an additional Skull.

Loadout: Lancer, Snub Pistol, Flashbangs

Upgrades: 3 Random Weapon upgrade slots of varying quality

JD and the Drone are the backbone of any team, providing critical healing to teammates who kill any opponents you mark while supporting from a distance with his sturdy loadout.

While their weapon upgrades are randomized, this gives JD and the Drone more versatility as they move between supporting fights and taking out enemies. Plus, who doesn’t love a little surprise sometimes? This hero character is recommended for new players to give the best variety of power weapons.

Heavy – Del / Scion

Passive: Receive Stim(Extra health above the normal maximum) for Kills

Bounty: Multi-kill for an additional Skull

Loadout: Hammerburst, Talon Autopistol

Upgrades: Buzzkill, Mulcher, RL-4 Salvo

If you’re all about the big guns, Del or the Scion is the hero for you.

While Heavy Weapons make this a slower paced hero than others, their passive ability adds additional health (known as Stim) every time they get a kill. This helps them survive when exposing themselves to engage with Heavy Weapons.

CQB – Marcus / Swarm Grenadier

Passive: Cover slide speed and distance increased

Bounty: Execute for an additional Skull

Loadout: Enforcer, Snub Pistol, Smoke Grenade

Upgrades: Shock Grenades, Gnasher, Breaker Mace

For the bold and the brave, these heroes are all about getting up close and very personal. Their loadout and weapon tree sacrifices range in exchange for some potent close range weaponry.

Without many tools to fight at range, their passive allows them to take cover quickly and close the gap. If you see Marcus or the Grenadier pull out Breaker… run.

Sniper – Fahz / Swarm Sniper

Passive: Immune to flinching when ADS or fully scoped

Bounty: Headshot kill for an additional Skull

Loadout: Lancer, Talon Autopistol, Flashbang

Upgrades: Boltok, Marzka, Longshot

Fahz and the Swarm Sniper are for players that love to snipe from a distance thanks to their headshot centric weapons of increasing quality.

Both can take hits without flinching while they line up those sweet headshots on opponents that dare to challenge them at range, so keep calm and land your shots to make them truly shine.

Eliminations Get Skulls, Skulls Get Weapons

Skulls play a critical role in boosting your power and claiming victory on the battlefield.

Each Elimination (a kill or assist) puts Skulls in your bank for you to purchase upgrades from your character’s unique weapon tree. Each weapon tree offers weapons of increasing power to pick from– the better the weapon, the more Skulls you’ll need to cash in to equip it.

Cash in Skulls at any time to upgrade, even in the middle of a fight. And don’t worry, Skulls aren’t streak based, so you’ll keep your unspent Skulls even if you die. If you want to mix it up and change characters mid-match, the skulls transfer over so a new character can even start with their most powerful weapon option.

Finally, earn Skulls even faster by using each character’s specific bounty that earns you bonus Skulls.

Love That Pop!

Headshots are better than ever in Gears 5, and you’ll see them often in the amped up action of Arcade Mode.

Exclusively in Arcade, headshot damage is boosted to give every weapon a chance to pop heads. This makes Arcade the most fast-paced, visceral experience in Gears Versus. Aim for the head and watch them pop!

Additionally, to keep the focus on each Hero’s distinctive playstyle, slide cancels in Arcade have a longer cooldown than the standard one-tuning found in the rest of the Versus experience. Without wall bouncing in Arcade, cover to cover action truly shines and we can’t wait for you to try it.

Play Arcade in the Tech Test

Get your first taste of Arcade and five hero characters in the Gears 5 tech test on July 19th. To jump in, pre-order Gears 5 or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Find out more at https://Gears5.com/TechTest

The full release Gears 5 will feature a much wider variety of of hero characters to take into battle. We’ll be adding more hero characters and modes after launch for even more play-styles and over-the-top action.

*Note: The role of Heroes may change in the final game.