Gears 4 Support Winding Down

Gears 5 is coming soon, and that means support for the previous game, Gears of War 4, is coming to a close. In a blog post, developer The Coalition said it is a "bitter-sweet" moment to say goodbye to some features of Gears of War 4. As fans may recall, Gears of War 4 was the first brand-new Gears game that The Coalition developed after taking over the series from Epic.

"We're incredibly proud of what Gears 4 achieved, and how our time together with the community over the past three years has shaped what Gears 5 has become. Thank you truly, deeply, for all your support since October 2016. It's meant the world to us," the studio said.

Looking ahead, Gears of War 4's Ranked Season will come to an end in January 2020. "With the vast majority of the game's population moving to Gears 5, we will be removing all aspects of Ranked play from Gears 4," The Coalition said.

Taking the place of Ranked play in Gears of War 4 will be new playlists for the Core and Competitive modes. Given the player population will likely be relatively low given people may shift to Gears 5, The Coalition is expanding the latency and skill rating rules. Additionally, there will no longer be quit penalties when Ranked is finally removed.

Additionally, The Coalition will no longer add new Events to Gears of War 4. "Our focus is on Gears 5 to our maximum capabilities," the studio said. The achievements "Better Than Bacon" and "I Like Em Crispy" seemingly require Events, so after January 2020 the studio will update the game so the Midnight Omen and Flaming Weapon skins can be crafted.

What's more, The Coalition said it plans to look into the possibility of adding a permanent XP boost for all of Gears of War 4. However, "At this point we are unable to promise this change," The Coalition said.

Gears of War 4's servers will remain online for the foreseeable future, so those who want to keep playing still can.

Gears 5 launches on September 10, but the game unlocks four days early for people who buy the game's Ultimate edition or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. The game is available to pre-load right now, and you can see GameSpot's rundown of the Gears 5 server start times, launch maps, and more.