'Gears of War 4' Update: All Modes Will Have Split-Screen
Developer The Coalition recently confirmed that its upcoming Xbox One shooter "Gears of War 4" will have split-screen play in all modes. However, the split-screen functionality will result in a decrease in the game's frame rate.
Game Informer recently interviewed (video below) Rod Fergusson, studio head of The Coalition, where he talked about split-screen play, the game's upcoming beta, other development details and the studio's vision for the game, among other things.
"Any way you can play Gears of War you can play split-screen," he told the publication.
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It was previously confirmed that "Gears of War 4" will run at 1080p/30 fps and at 60 fps for multiplayer, although the resolution hasn't been revealed yet. With the split-screen play, the multiplayer frame rate will drop to 30 fps, which is the standard for the game's Campaign mode, according to IGN.
The Coalition's confirmation of "Gears of War 4's" split-screen feature follows Microsoft's decision to drop split-screen from "Halo 5: Guardians." Fergusson understands 343 Industries' decision but couldn't take the same choice for "Gears of War 4."
"I understand it. It's a hard thing. It's not a free feature ... Those are realistic development trade-offs you have to decide whether you want to support," he said. "But [co-op] defines us, we can never get rid of that."
In addition to split-screen play, Fergusson also discussed the game's upcoming beta. "Gears of War 4" will have its beta starting April 18. According to the studio head, the beta will not be a marketing demo but a "technical beta."
"What you're going to play is basically an alpha build of our multiplayer," Fergusson explained. "It's actually, 'Hey, we have brand new technology on our servers and we have brand new features on our client and we want that to be tested at scale and we want your help'."
"Gears of War 4" is expected to launch on Oct. 11, 2016.
