How To Join The Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Beta

Gears of War: Reloaded is a remaster of the beloved third-person shooter set to release in August 2025, but players can experience the improved quality of the original even earlier through two open beta weekends. These betas feature the game’s remastered online multiplayer, which you can join in a variety of ways. You even have the chance to earn exclusive rewards through this pre-release competition.

While the gameplay for Gears of War: Reloaded remains mainly the same as its original version, the improved visuals alone make it worth getting for any fans of the series. From a 4k resolution to 120 FPS in the multiplayer mode, enhanced graphics and audio make this title the definitive version of the classic 2006 game. New features on different platforms also allow you to customize your experience even further.

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Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Beta Schedule

How To Enter The Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Betas

Rewards For Participating In The Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Beta

Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Beta Schedule

Battle Against Other Players Across Two Weekends

There are two periods of time when players can download and play the Multiplayer Beta for Gears of War: Reloaded in the summer of 2025. With the game set to release on August 26, 2025, these betas are brief opportunities to compete in matches and experience the game ahead of time. The chaotic versus matches from the original Gears of War return in full force, with only a few changes to classic mechanics.

The table below goes over the start and end dates for each Multiplayer Beta window:

Beta Start Date	Start Time	Beta End Date	End Time
June 13, 2025	7:00 PM UTC (12:00 PM PST)	June 15, 2025	7:00 PM UTC (12:00 PM PST)
June 20, 2025	7:00 PM UTC (12:00 PM PST)	June 22, 2025	7:00 PM UTC (12:00 PM PST)

Each of the Multiplayer Betas feature Cross-Play between all platforms, meaning that any player can fight against each other regardless of their system. Gears of War: Reloaded‘s five different platforms include these options:

Xbox Series X|S
Xbox on PC
Xbox Cloud Gaming
PlayStation 5
Steam (PC)

This cross-platform play comes with another benefit for when the game officially launches at the end of August 2025. Cross progression is featured within the Multiplayer Beta, allowing you to earn experience and transfer it to whatever platform you’re playing Gears of War: Reloaded on. With XP advancement from both betas being saved for when the game releases, this gives you a way to never lose any progress you’ve made anywhere.

How To Enter The Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Betas

Join The Action Through Three Different Methods

At any point during the two Multiplayer Beta weekends, you can join the action by downloading the beta version of the game in advance. To do this, you must meet certain requirements since there does not seem to be a physical release for Gears of War: Reloaded planned.

Here are all the different ways you can make the Multiplayer Beta available to download for your account:

Own a digital copy of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
Pre-order Gears of War: Reloaded for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, or Steam
Have an active PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate subscription

Having any one of the above requirements will make your account eligible to download the Multiplayer Beta when it goes live on either active weekend. The multiplayer experience offered is the same no matter what platform you download the beta on. Additionally, players who enter the first beta will automatically gain access to the second one, with all of their progress carrying over for the multiplayer.

Only specific Multiplayer game types and modes are available when you join either beta weekend. For example, the first Multiplayer Beta only features Team Deathmatch, while the second is more focused on the King of Hill match type from the original Gears of War.

Each weekend for the Multiplayer Betas highlights a different game mode, with only a few maps being featured each time. For the first beta, players only have access to Team Deathmatch matches, which pit two teams against each other to score the most number of kills. Fan-favorite maps return for this mode, inlcuding Gridlock, Raven Down, and Gold Rush.

For the second Multiplayer Beta, the Courtyard and War Machine maps are added to the Team Deathmatch playlist. In addition, King of the Hill mode becomes active on the second weekend, giving you and your team matches to control a specific location more than an enemy team. While only the Canals map is available in the second beta for King of the Hill, it varies the multiplayer a bit before the last beta ends.

Rewards For Participating In The Gears Of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Beta

Gain Exclusive Cosmetics By Joining Either Beta

As you fulfill one of the requirements necessary to join the Multiplayer Beta, you have a chance to earn free cosmetic rewards based on how you entered. By pre-ordering the game or downloading its Multiplayer Beta through Game Pass (Ultimate or PC), you get two free character skins to use in multiplayer modes. The free cosmetics you earn are:

Adam Fenix (Multiplayer Character skin)
Anya Stroud (Multiplayer Character skin)

Adam Fenix is the father of Marcus Fenix, the main protagonist of the original Gears of War and the Reloaded remaster. This military scientist invented the Hammer of Dawn weapon, which may be featured prominently in the multiplayer betas. Meanwhile, Anya Stroud is the director of Delta Squad, now entering the fray herself as an exclusive character skin you won’t find anywhere else.

For Gears of War: Ultimate Edition owners, you can only participate in the Gears of War: Reloaded Multiplayer Betas if you purchased your Ultimate Edition copy at some point before May 5, 2025.

Anyone who has a version of Game Pass can just download these skins to use immediately. Alternatively, anyone who pre-orders a physical or digital copy of the game will have access to these skins, even within the multiplayer betas themselves.

Make sure you have enough room on your platform device to download the game’s beta when the multiplayer test windows become active. Once you have everything together, you can start playing Gears of War: Reloaded early through its Multiplayer Beta weekends, earning XP that transfers over into the official release in August 2025.