Gamecentreonline reports that the New Zealand Xbox Store listing for Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition offers players access to the game a full 4 days before launch. Early New Zealand releases are nothing new considering the substantial time zone difference. iOS users in New Zealand have long had access to new releases a day earlier than the rest of the world.
Many console and PC games have staggered release schedules: Dark Souls III was launched in the Japanese market a full one month prior to its global release—although creating Japanese Xbox Live or PSN account and paying in Yen allowed you to get hold of the title early.
However, this promotion appears to only apply to the $149.99 Ultimate Edition of Gears of War 4, meaning that those who’ve preordered the base version will have to wait until the official October 11th release date. We’re worried that this may set a precedent for publishers to offer early access to games at a higher price. But as usual since this report is not yet confirmed by Microsoft we will have to wait and see whether this is indeed true. We will keep you updated as this builds.
