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The Gears of War Reloaded beta is upon us, here's how you can take part

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The big remaster of the original title in the long-running Gears saga is giving players a chance to experience it before its August launch.

Gears of War: Reloaded Delta Squad
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Following its big appearance at the recent Xbox Games Showcase, Gears of War Reloaded is bringing the original game in the series back to life once again.

It was first remastered a decade ago with the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, but this newest remaster will up the ante once again. Expect more technical enhancements to bring it up to scratch with a 2025 title.

The release is currently slated for August 26 on Xbox, PC, cloud, and for the first time, PS5. Ahead of this, two beta weekends are planned on all platforms to showcase the multiplayer mode.

Sounds interesting? Here's how you get in.

When are the Gears of War Reloaded beta weekends?

The chance to try the latest remaster of the first Gears of War is upon us. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Whether you're on Xbox, PC, or PS5, the beta weekends are the same for all. Additionally, it will also be live on Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now on all supported devices.

Here's when you can play:

  • Weekend one: June 13 3 p.m. ET - June 15 3 p.m ET.
  • Weekend two: June 20 3 p.m. ET - June 22 3 p.m ET.

How to play the Gears of War Reloaded beta

Only multiplayer will be in the beta, with cross-play and cross-progression enabled with a Microsoft Account. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

There are three different ways you can get into the beta.

The first is by preordering a copy of Gears of War Reloaded on any of its supported platforms. The second is by being an active subscriber to either PC Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

The final method is already owning a copy of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. Owners get a free copy of Gears of War Reloaded, and codes for those have already started going out. I got mine a few days ago.

The only caveat is that to play the beta this way, you need to have purchased Gears of War: Ultimate Edition prior to May 5 of this year.

It's also worth pointing out that it appears only digital preorders of Gears of War Reloaded seem to count for access to the multiplayer beta. On Xbox, there are currently no preorders for a physical edition, but there is one for PS5. But this doesn't seem to include access to the beta.

At the time of writing, the Xbox install for the beta is already live. Steam customers may get a code to redeem the install, since it doesn't appear to be live on the store at this time.

For more check out my colleague, Samuel Tolbert's, Gears of War Reloaded hands-on session on the Xbox Ally X from the Xbox Showcase.

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Richard Devine
Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine

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