Gears 5 Arcade Mode Features Passive Skills, Loadouts and Purchasable Power Weapons

With the Versus tech test for Gears 5 starting this weekend, The Coalition is taking a different approach with the new Arcade mode. In a recent stream focused on Team Deathmatch, the developer revealed what can be expected in Arcade. Check out the 90 minute VOD on Twitch.

Arcade sees characters having different passive skills along with loadouts and different upgrades. Then there are the Skulls, which can be earned through kills and assists. These can be used to acquire Power Weapons. If you die with a Power Weapon or drop it, then it’s gone. However, it’s possible to hold onto Skulls and spend them when the time is right (especially because different Power Weapons have different costs and can be re-purchased).

There aren’t too many other changes to multiplayer but the ideas seems to be in diversifying the core gameplay while making it more accessible to non-multiplayer fans. We’ll find out how effective it is when the Gears 5 Versus tech test takes place on July 19th to 22nd and again on July 26th to 29th.

Gears 5 is out on September 10th for Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.