Gears of War 4 Beta Players Getting Free Avatar Shirt, New Merch Announced

Today during a panel at PAX East, Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition announced that everyone who plays the game's multiplayer beta will receive a free dodgeball shirt for their Xbox Live avatar. Dodgeball is a new mode for Gears of War 4 that is playable in the beta. In other news about the beta, it extends to all Xbox Live Gold users tomorrow, April 25, following its "early access" period earlier in the month.

Additionally, new Gears of War avatar items including the Brumak and Corpser will go on sale tomorrow.

It was also announced today during the panel that some new Gears of War 4 merchandise is coming. This will include 7" action figures for main characters JD, Kait, and Del. These will launch this fall.

Microsoft has also partnered with Funko for a line of Pop Vinyl and Mystery Mini figures based on Gears of War 4 characters. These will also go on sale later this year.

The Coalition's business development manager Sarah Boatman explained that it took some time to establish its merchandising partnerships with Funko and Tri-Force. This is in part because those partnerships "went dark" as the Gears of War franchise changed hands from Epic Games to Microsoft.

Boatman teased that The Coalition has even grander plans for Gears of War merchandise; some new partnerships will be announced before E3.

The Coalition already sells a variety of Gears of War merchandise through its website, including hoodies, t-shirts, and even beer growlers. In all cases, it is The Coalition's goal for its merchandise to be "authentic, premium products."

Images of the new Gears of War 4 merchandise were shown during the panel today. We will post pictures here on GameSpot when they are released.

Gears of War 4 launches on October 11 for Xbox One. As mentioned earlier, the open beta for all Xbox Live users begins tomorrow, April 25.

Did you miss PAX East? Here's a roundup of all the big news, videos, and more.