In Gears 5, we’re taking your favorite characters to the next level with unique playstyles across a variety of modes that make them more than just a cosmetic choice.

As we get ready for launch, here’s what you need to know about Characters in Gears 5.

Characters in Gears 5

If you’ve played any previous Gears game, the word Character may mean a lot of different things. Before we go further, we want to define what the words means in Gears 5.

In Gears 5, a Character is their identity – for example, Fahz, RAAM or Swarm Sniper are all considered Characters.

A Character Skin is a version of that Character that looks different from their usual look – for example, Gilded Marcus is a Character Skin for Marcus.

In the menus, the customization system is organized by Character, with their skins available when you dive into the Character customization options. Skins are used in all multiplayer modes.

COG Team – Heroes

Our most gameplay rich Characters are found on the COG Team and are referred to as Heroes.

COG Heroes come with their own Ultimate Abilities, Passives and Skills all of which give them a unique playstyle for both Horde and Escape. This creates continually new gameplay experiences for both modes through the eyes of your favorite characters, themed to their distinct personality within the Gearsiverse.

In Arcade, Heroes have their own loadout, passive and weapon trees. You can also use them as a cosmetic only choice in all other Versus modes.

Swarm Team

While the Swarm team characters are not playable in Horde and Escape, they do get their own Arcade loadout, and bring passive and weapon trees into battle.

As you would expect, you can also use your favorite Swarm characters to represent you in the rest of Versus.

Earnable Through Gameplay

With the exclusion of the Halo: Reach Ultimate Edition and Terminator: Dark Fate Characters, all future Characters – both COG Heroes and Swarm Characters – will be earned either through gameplay and can also be purchased directly – whatever you choose to do!

Characters will be earnable forever once they are introduced, so even if you miss an Operation, you can always go back and earn the characters that matter most to you.

Select Character Skins will be available via Tour of Duty unlocks (directly earnable only) and the Gears 5 Store (purchase only).

Post-Launch Support

If you didn’t catch it earlier, we’ll be continually releasing more Characters for free post-launch via Operations (more on those soon) to continually grow your roster and provide more ways to play.

While some of your old favorites may not be there day one, you can bet we’ll be bringing them back and better than ever with unique playstyles that really make them pop. The wait will be worth it.

Look out for more information on our post-launch plans coming soon.

TC