Earning something rather than paying for it in gaming is rewarding and there is nothing more aggravating than being dealt the short stick because another player spent more money than you. We have seen games in the past suffer greatly because of pay-to-win mechanics. It causes an unbalanced playing field in competitive gaming. This rang true with EA’s Battlefront 2 who had to completely re-do their progression system which was the end result after an outcry of players voiced BF2 was pay-to-win. Players had to spend upward to 40 hours of playtime to earn the same content another player could spend an extra $20.  Thankfully, a trend has started and games that move away from this system seem more successful. Not only does it a create a fair playing field for the players, it also shows the care creators have for their fans. Gears 5 is looking to uphold and even move forward in this new direction.

Gears 5 is continuing to show they are working hard on making positive changes from its predecessor. A recent reveal on the Gears 5 website has shown that the game will no longer have loot boxes. In addition to that, players will not have to buy a season pass to stay up to date with content. This means all maps released will be free downloadable content for all players. Microtransactions will still be implemented but only to boost progression and exclusive customization content. Details explain that content is earned rather than paid for by using the new Tour of Duty system.

We’ve committed to delivering more earnable content than ever before through an extensive new system called Tour of Duty. You take on Daily Challenges and seasonal Medals to rank up and earn customization content (including character skins).The path to each piece of content earnable is clear – you will know what you need to do to earn each specific customization item.

This sounds like a brand new way for players to earn awesome rewards. Rather than using the randomness of the loot box system, this turns things around giving players the ability to know exactly what they are getting. Players will also find random supply drops in the playing field that will reap rewards.

With Supply Drops, every minute you play (across every multiplayer mode) contributes towards a random item drop from a unique pool of content we call Supply. If you draw a duplicate card, we’ll automatically turn it into Scrap. Scrap can be spent on crafting Supply items you don’t have or character skills you want to upgrade. Supply Drops and Supply Drop Content cannot be purchased with real-world money.

Gears 5 is heading in the right direction when it comes to progression. The new system sounds different and exciting and players no doubt will keep their eyes on the prize at every given moment. Gears 5 releases on September 10, 2019 for Xbox One and PC.