After issues with Xbox Live kept players from enjoying the early access launch of Gears 5 last week, developer The Coalition has offered some compensation to players. Players who purchased the Gears 5 Ultimate Edition or subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate were supposed to have access to the game four days before its release. However, issues with Xbox Live prevented players from participating in multiplayer matches or even connect to the game’s servers.
Gears 5 has had other issues, too. Players continue to report problems with progression and missing collectibles. The Coalition has released a few fixes and continues to update players on social media about its progress. However, those who paid a premium price for the Gears 5 Ultimate Edition or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate lost out on the extra access features. They also lost out on a promised point boost set to expire after a limited time.
However, The Coalition is trying to make things right with those players. The company tweeted that it would offer in-game compensation to players who were supposed to have access to the game last week and didn’t get it. They’re awarding those players with five days of faster progression, along with 600 scrap, which is used to help players craft skills or supply cards for multiplayer. Players should have both within the next 48 hours.
The Coalition has offered a gesture of goodwill, but it still does not detract from the fact that players paid for early access, which they didn’t get. It also doesn’t help that Xbox Live has had a score of problems over the past several weeks. Those problems could become worse after Microsoft rolls out Xbox Live to mobile and Switch, creating a situation where even more people are trying to connect to servers. The company also has plans for a streaming subscription service for games, Project XCloud, but it will need servers that work reliably to get people to sign up.
Although Gears 5 is getting enough good reviews to be considered a success, gamers have a long memory, and will remember paying extra for something they didn’t receive. This kind of situation will often lead to players criticizing early access, which continues to be a hotly debated feature in game releases that many maintain is actively harming the industry. The Gears 5 situation certainly doesn’t help that feature’s reputation, but at the very least, The Coalition has given fans what they can to ensure the lost time is at least made up for in some fashion.
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Source: The Coalition/Twitter
