Xbox has unveiled the first character packs coming to Gears 5, and series fans are not happy. Although the latest game in the Gears of War franchise was initially botched by server and Xbox Live issues upon launch, it has since gone on to surpass Fortnite as Xbox's most played game and even ended up being Xbox's biggest game launch this console generation.
Thanks to a partnership between Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, and Xbox Game Studios, Gears 5 received special skins relating to characters from the upcoming fifth sequel film Terminator: Dark Fate. Previously, players who wanted to get these Terminator skins in Gears 5 would either have to preorder the game or play it through the Xbox Game Pass program, however this deal ended on September 16th and since then the costumes have been unavailable for new players.
Yesterday, Xbox released a video on YouTube which showed off T-800, Grace, REV-9, and Sarah Conner skins now available to purchase in the Microsoft store for Gears 5. Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor and the T-800 are grouped into Character Pack 1, with REV-9 and Mackenzie Davis' Grace filling out Character Pack 2. Unfortunately, simply scrolling through the comments below the Terminator skin reveal trailer shows that fans were really expecting something a little more substantial and lore-friendly as DLC instead of movie references.
Two of the highest voted comments underneath the video are both from fans begging for Gears of War characters instead, with dozens of people expressing disgust that Xbox (and developer The Coalition, by proxy) are asking players to pay for what amounts to advertisements for a movie which hasn't even been released yet. Even worse, fans who would normally be excited about Terminator characters are even more disappointed because iconic series favorites like John Connor, Kyle Reese, and the T-1000 are still missing from Gears 5's lineup.
This isn't the first issue Gears 5 has had regarding its use of microtransactions. Last month the cost of "Iron," Gears 5's in-game currency, rapidly increased overnight in the United Kingdom, sparking outrage from fans who weren't warned ahead of time. Although The Coalition later responded and said the change was due to pricing miscalculations stemming from country conversion rates, the economy of Gears 5 has felt confusing and ill-priced since launch. With each of these Terminator: Dark Fate packs costing $19.99, or $17.99 for Xbox Game Pass players, it's doubtful most players will decide to throw down even more money just to play as characters from a movie they haven't seen. Judging from the above video's comments, it doesn't look like many players are planning on purchasing Terminator characters in Gears 5 at all.
Source: YouTube