‘Gears of War 4’ lets you blast your buddies on Xbox and PC this weekend

By Gabe Gurwin December 1, 2016

gears of war 4 cross play weekend horde guide — Microsoft Studios

Gears of War 4 launched back in October with support for cooperatively cross-platform play, but thus far, its multiplayer matches have limited Xbox One and PC players from playing competitively with the other system. That is about to change, at least for a brief period — starting this Friday, Xbox One and PC players will be able to blast each other in public competitive matches.

Running from Friday through the remainder of the weekend, a special “Cross-play Test Weekend” will let users choose to pair up with Xbox One and PC players in a special multiplayer playlist that includes the modes Team Deathmatch, Dodgeball, and King of the Hill. Previously, Xbox One and PC players were limited to cross-play in private matches, the cooperative campaign, and the wave-based Horde mode. Playing during the weekend will also give you an XP boost for winning and completing matches, and will support up to five players in the same squad, up from the usual limit of two.

“Cross-play is divisive in any ‘versus’ experience, and Gears of War 4 is now different,” said The Coalition in the official announcement. “From the beginning, we stated out intention to keep both platforms separate in noncooperative game modes in order to preserve competitive balance. Conserving a fair, competitive environment remains a top priority for us.”

The future for competitive cross-play is still, if you will, at a crossroads. Should player feedback to the test weekend be positive, The Coalition could move forward by implementing it as a permanent feature in the game. Should players reject it, the two ecosystems will remain separate.

Gears of War 4 is one of the most underrated competitive multiplayer games of the year. Regardless of whether you’re gaming on PC or Xbox One, be sure to give it a chance after you’re done blasting pilots in Titanfall 2 and yelling “die die die” in Overwatch.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

Xbox Game Pass adds Lego Star Wars and a former Switch console exclusive

Promotional art of Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga.

Xbox Game Pass is getting 11 new games in December, with some out on the platform starting today. The list includes The Game Awards nominated Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Eastward, which was previously a console exclusive on Nintendo Switch.

Microsoft's gaming service tends to add two batches of games every month, so this new batch makes up the first half of its December releases. Starting today, players can already download Eastward, The Walking Dead: The Final Season, and Totally Reliable Delivery Service.

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II doesn’t let Xbox or PC players disable crossplay

Characters facing forwards in Modern Warfare II screenshot.

Players booting up the Xbox and PC versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II are discovering that the option to disable crossplay doesn't exist in-game. PlayStation players can freely toggle the option.

Crossplay has become an almost universal feature for multiplayer-focused titles. The Call of Duty franchise remains one of the biggest multiplayer titles in the world, and has been supporting crossplay for multiple entries now, so it came as no surprise that this year's Modern Warfare II would also allow players on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC to compete with or against one another. However, with the game's full release, Xbox and PC users have discovered that they are unable to choose not to be matched up with players on other platforms.

Gaming

You can now customize your Xbox Elite Series 2 controller with Design Lab

A customized Xbox Elite Series 2 controller made in Design Lab.

Microsoft added the ability for people to design their own Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 in the Xbox Design Lab. Starting today, you can customize and order this kind of controller on Xbox Design Lab's website.
Customize Elite with Xbox Design Lab
Colloquially referred to as the Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller, this enhanced gamepad first released in 2019. Unlike the standard Xbox One or Xbox Series X controllers, the Elite Series 2 features adjustable-tension thumbsticks and shorter hair-trigger locks on the trigger buttons in addition to interchangeable thumbstick toppers, paddles, and d-pads. Meanwhile, the Xbox Design Lab first launched in 2016 and gives people a way to design and order Xbox controllers with customized colors and engravings.
While there was already a bit of customization with the Elite Series 2's buttons, players can now go to Xbox Design Lab and personalize the colors of the body, back case, d-pad, bumpers, triggers, thumbsticks, thumbstick base and ring, and buttons. You can even adjust the hue of the Xbox button on your controller with the Xbox Accessories App once it's in your hands. You can get the controller itself for just $150, but if you want all of the interchangeable accessories, the price jumps up to $210.
This announcement comes on the same day as the release date reveal for Sony's DualSense Edge, a customizable PS5 controller. It will cost $200 when it launches on January 26, 2023, though people will have to pay an extra $20 if they want to get replaceable stick modules. Whether you play on Xbox or PlayStation, you certainly don't have a lack of options when it comes to customizable controllers.