The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson reveals additional details on Gears of War 4's multiplayer component, including playable characters, weapons, and more.

As fans of Gears of War 4 likely know, gaming magazine Game Informer is using this month to reveal new information on the highly anticipated Xbox One exclusive. The latest update from the publication shines a light on the multiplayer component for Gears of War 4, offering fans a hint of what to expect from the mode when the game releases later this year.

First of all, Gears of War 4's multiplayer is being given more attention than multiplayer has ever been given in past Gears titles. What this means is that work on multiplayer has been occurring since the first day of development, with lead multiplayer designer Ryan Cleven working alongside both The Coalition and studio Splash Damage.

Splash Damage will be offering additional support for the development of Gears of War 4's multiplayer. Previously, Splash Damage worked on Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, so the company has experience working with the Gears of War franchise. Bringing in a second studio to work on the game's multiplayer reinforces The Coalition's claims that Gears of War 4's multiplayer is being given special attention this time around.

Another way this is apparent is by the fact that Gears of War 4 will sport three separate factions, whereas previous Gears titles only offered two. In Gears of War 4 multiplayer, players will play as either the Outsiders, COG soldiers, or monstrous members of the Swarm. Every match will still be humans vs. monsters, though, so it's possible that a second monster faction will be announced at some point down the line.

Each faction will have its own knife and playable characters. So far, five playable characters have been confirmed for Gears of War 4's multiplayer. Besides Marcus Fenix's son JD, Kait Diaz, and Del Walker, the other two confirmed playable characters represent the Outsiders faction. They are Reyna, Kait's mother, as well as Kait's uncle, Oscar. One has to imagine that the inclusion of Reyna and Oscar hints that the two characters will also play a role in Gears of War 4's story.

Even though characters will be shared between Gears of War 4's campaign and its multiplayer, there are a couple elements that won't be shared between the two modes. For one, the windflares seen in the latest Gears of War 4 screenshots and the game's reveal trailer will not be featured in its multiplayer maps. Furthermore, the resolution and frame rates between the campaign and multiplayer will also differ.

As previously reported, Gears of War 4's multiplayer will run at a crisp 60fps. If that wasn't good enough news for fans, it has now been confirmed that the multiplayer will also utilize dedicated servers, which should help it avoid the "host advantage" problem that plagued earlier games in the series. All things considered, it looks like Gears of War 4's multiplayer is set to both look great and be technically sound.

The final bits of information to garner from Game Informer's latest update on Gears of War 4 point to The Coalition increasing the franchise's focus on eSports. The studio has actually assigned some team members to work specifically on Gears of War 4's eSports initiative, which should help the game hit the ground running in that arena as soon as it launches.

So, when can players expect to try Gears of War 4's multiplayer for themselves? As luck would have it, Gears of War 4 will have a multiplayer beta, and we now know that the beta is scheduled for this spring. What this means is that gamers will have a chance to test out Gears of War 4's multiplayer within the next few months at the latest, which should be an exciting prospect for fans of the franchise, to say the least.

Gears of War 4 will be available later this year, exclusively for Xbox One.

Source: Game Informer