Dave Bautista will be playable in Gears 5

Here’s some fun news to kick off your morning: Dave Bautista will be joining the cast of Gears 5 as playable in game character.

The wrestling superstar turned actor (Guardians of the Galaxy, Blade Runner 2049) made the announcement via Twitter with a short teaser video. It shows him in donning a suit of sleeveless power armour, turning to the camera to say “it’s about f***ing time” before whacking on a pair of shades.

His appearance in Gear 5 is part of a cross promotion with the WWE Clash of Champions event. Batista (note the use of his WWE name) will be available to unlock and play in the sequel’s suite of online multiplayer modes.

This may seem like a random, somewhat strange inclusion for what has been one of Microsoft’s more hardcore and gritty franchises.

However, earlier this year Dave Bautista made it very clear that he’d be lobbying to get a role in the upcoming Gears of War film, the Fenix lookalike saying he had tried everything to make that happen.

Having him appear in Gears 5 is no coincidence, and he’s not the only cameo making an appearance. At Microsoft’s E3 press conference this year, we got our first look at Sarah Connor and the T-8000 Terminator, both of which are based on the upcoming film, Terminator: Dark Fate.

Microsoft will also be pulling in characters from its own lineup of first party games, namely the Halo franchise. Two Spartan warriors from Halo Reach’s Noble Team will appear alongside the Gears 5, ready for some multiplayer action.

Gears 5 officially launches on both the Xbox One and PC next week on September 10th. If you just can’t wait, Microsoft has laid out a few different (totally non confusing) ways of getting the game early on September 6th. This includes those who purchase the Ultimate Edition or have access to Game Pass Ultimate. Simples.

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Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.