Players can unlock the Terminator T-800 and Sarah Connor skins in Gears 5, and here's a guide on how to do so. The Coalition's Gears 5 (which is specifically not named Gears of War 5) is wowing fans with its visual fidelity, but beyond just the gameplay, there are some weird elements in the title that people weren't initially expecting. One of those things is a collaboration with Paramount Pictures on the Tim Miller film, Terminator: Dark Fate.
It was previously announced that - thanks to a partnership between Xbox Game Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Skydance Media - players will be able to control Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor (voiced by the actress herself) or Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic T-800 hunter-killer in Gears 5. However, as with many unlockable characters and skins, especially ones that tie-in with other media, it's not always easy to obtain without spending some money. With that in mind, here are the ways to unlock the Terminator skins in Gears 5.
Simply put, there are two ways to unlock the Terminator skins and get the Terminator: Dark Fate DLC in Gears 5. The first way was to pre-order the game, since the Terminator skins came as a pre-order bonus. But if players didn't do that, there is still one more way to unlock them: play Gears 5 through Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by September 16. If players don't have Xbox Game Pass, there is currently a deal that offers it for $2 a month, but that would ultimately amount to paying for the skins themselves.
Going through either of the above methods will give players the Terminator T-800 skin as well as the Sarah Connor skin, which utilized 3D body scans and 3D models from Skydance. Considering that one of the previous Terminator games, Terminator Salvation (which was based on the movie of the same name), employed a cover system similar to Gears of War, it seems that the Terminator franchise is a perfect fit for The Coalition's world. But it's worth noting that Schwarzenegger's T-800 in Gears 5 is based on the one from Terminator: Dark Fate and doesn't look like the endoskeleton from the original films.
Right now it's unclear if there will be another way to unlock the Terminator skins in Gears 5 after the September 16 cutoff date, but if there is, it could eventually come as a microtransaction from the store. However, if that were to happen, it shouldn't be a part of a loot box or some other randomized pack, seeing as The Coalition has been adamant that they aren't using that type of monetization with this game.