The Coalition reveals the rewards players can earn for hitting level 20 during the Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta test, which is set to get underway on April 18.

In just a few days, the Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta will get underway, allowing fans to see for themselves whether The Coalition can live up to the standards set by earlier games in the series. Now, the studio has revealed what reward will be on offer to players that reach level 20 during the test period.

Up for grabs are character and weapons skins, seemingly a staple of any modern multiplayer shooter worth its salt. There's also an emblem and a temporary XP boost, the latter of which looks likely to be an example of the game's microtransactions, which were confirmed to be present in Gears of War 4 just yesterday.

Both the iconic Lancer Assault Rifle and the Snub Pistol are given weathered makeovers, being offered up as 'vintage' weapon skins. There's also a vintage look for Kait, a new character for the series who's one of the trio of protagonists that the game will center around.

There's already been some criticism of the decision to include character skins in a thread on the official Gears of War forum. Users are worried that The Coalition might be adding in wacky, colorful customization options, similar to those that sullied the multiplayer modes of Gears of War: Judgement for some.

However, there's little cause to worry about that prospect for the time being. While Kait's skin does confirm that armor customization options will be offered up, its design is certainly in-keeping with the dark tone that we've seen Gears of War 4 possess in footage released up until now.

It's not yet clear whether these rewards will be distributed to players upon hitting level 20 in the beta, or when the full game launches later this year. However, given that the secondary function of these tests is to get players hooked ahead of a retail release, the latter seems like the most likely option.

The Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta gets underway on April 18 — if you played Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on PC or Xbox One ahead of April 11, you should be in. This period ends on April 24, at which point at open beta for all Xbox Live Gold members will run from April 25 to May 1.

If you didn't play the Ultimate Edition and you're desperate to get involved as soon as possible, there's still hope yet. The Coalition announced in a community post that they'll be running a livestream later today, and they'll be handing out beta codes during the broadcast.

Gears of War 4 is set to release for Xbox One on October 11, 2016.

Source: Gamespot