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Gears of War 4's Title Update 3 fights back against rage quitters, adds classic maps

More characters and over 200 weapon skins have been added, too.

David Craddock

January 10, 2017 1:40 PM

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Gears of War 4's third title update drops today, bringing with it a wealth of weapon skins, classic maps, and gameplay changes.

Of particular interest is developer The Coalition's first in a series of methods to combat players who quit out of matches early.

"As of this update, players who quit a Core or Competitive Match will now be suspended from all matchmaking of any kind for a limited time to discourage drop out behavior – with the biggest time punishments going to the first player to quit the match," The Coalition explained in a blog. "In addition, the more you quit, the longer the suspension you will receive from playing matchmaking."

Of course, if you didn't mean to leave the match, The Coalition will leave a narrow window open for players who want to rejoin. "Players can rejoin the match they left (provided it’s still in progress) for up to 5 minutes from the time they quit through a new ‘Rejoin Match’ option in the main Versus menu. Rejoining and completing the match will result in no penalties."

Other inclusions in today's January update for Gears of War 4 include 13 characters, 260 weapon skins, two classic maps (Clocktower and Blood Drive), and more useful data displayed during spectator mode without littering the screen.

Notes on Gears of War 4 Title Update 3 can be found on the Gears website.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.