Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta test begins next month

Microsoft wants to show you that it can do cover shooting without Epic.

Gears of War 4’s beta is coming April 18 for players who qualify for “early access,” according to Microsoft. This is a test of the first new release in the series for the Xbox One and Windows 10, and this early trial period will run through May 1. Anyone who boots up Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, a collection of the Xbox 360 Gears of War games, before April 11 will get entry into the early part of the beta as Microsoft begins sending out invite codes in waves. On April 24, anyone who has Xbox Live Gold on Xbox One will have access to the Gears of War 4 technical demo.