Gears of War 4 Multiplayer Beta Start-Date Announced, Here's How to Get In

The Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta will begin on Xbox One starting April 18, Microsoft has announced. To get in on that date, you need to play Gears of War Ultimate Edition on Xbox One or PC by April 11. Previously, you needed to have played by March 1, but Microsoft announced the extension today.

The first wave of tokens for the beta will begin to be dispersed on April 18, though Microsoft didn't say who will get codes first or how long it may take for all codes to go out. After the "early access" period ends on April 24, all qualifying Xbox Live Gold members can play through May 1.

As explained in the image above, to qualify for early access to the Gears of War 4 beta, you need to log in to Xbox Live and play the Ultimate Edition on Xbox One or Windows 10 by 11 PM PST on April 11.

Microsoft has yet to provide any details on what the Gears of War 4 beta will include in terms of maps, modes, and characters. The game's multiplayer mode is still being kept largely under wraps, though we did recently learn that Brink studio Splash Damage is working on it.

In other Gears of War news, Microsoft also announced that the Gears eSports ESL Pro League Season 2 finals will take place in Boston, Mass. as part of PAX East on Saturday, April 23. This event will be stream live from the Gears of War Twitch channel. As part of this stream, Microsoft will also reveal a new Gears of War 4 competitive game mode.

Also at PAX East, Microsoft will host a panel called "Out of the Shadows: Inside Gears of War Multiplayer with The Coalition." This will take place on Sunday, April 24, starting at 10:30 AM EST, and it will also be streamed from the Gears of War Twitch channel. Finally, Gears of War 4 multiplayer will be available for PAX East attendees to play on the show floor.

As previously revealed, Gears of War 4's story takes place over the span of 24 hours. It's also been confirmed that Gears of War 4's co-op is limited to two players locally and online, and not four, as was the case with Gears of War 3.

The sequel's resolution and frame rate has also been confirmed, and The Coalition has teased that a PC version is "possibly' in the works. Gears of War 4 will launch in full in fall 2016.

Ed Note: A Microsoft representative tells GameSpot there is a 17+ age requirement to get into the Gears of War 4 beta, which is why the open beta is technically described as being available to "qualify" Xbox Live Gold members.