He adds that because it's a competitive game, balance is an extremely big focus for the development team and using a premium price helps maintain a level playing field for everyone. Rather than using paid unlocks for certain characters or classes, everyone who plays will have access to everything, it sounds like.

And in a move that really shouldn't surprise anyone who played the original Gears of War, the art direction is being changed to "a more mature look and feel" that will help it stand out from the current crowd of colorful shooters like Battleborn and Overwatch.

"We decided to take a step back and explore how we could dial up the maturity in LawBreakers, going back to our original vision," Bleszinski says. "The new look and feel embraces the innovative and vertical nature of our game elevated by violence, intensity and competition."

Sure, because a game that's both serious and colorful at the same time is impossible? You can see comparison shots from last year's debut to today in the gallery up above.