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'Gears of War 4' will punish rage quitters

You can also rejoin games to redeem yourself.

Rage quitting isn't just a problem in fighting games. There's a good chance you've played shooters where teammates drop the very second it looks like they'll lose, dooming your team to defeat. And The Coalition wants to do something about it in Gears of War 4. The developer is rolling out Title Update 3 in January, and it'll introduce the first phase of efforts to punish those who bail prematurely. If a player quits a Core or Competitive round, they'll face a temporary matchmaking ban to "discourage drop out behavior" -- and the more they do it, that longer that ban persists. Moreover, Squads with a suspended player won't be allowed to do matchmaking until the offending player's penalty is over.

Unlike some games, though, there's a shot at redemption. A Join in Progress feature gives players the opportunity to return to a match within 5 minutes of leaving, erasing their penalties in the process. This will be helpful for quitters who regret their impulsive decisions, but it'll be particularly important for anyone who drops unintentionally (say, due to a flaky internet connection).

Other improvements? Two classic maps, Blood Drive and Clocktower, are coming to multiplayer. The Gears team also hopes to improve its eSports standing with a revamped spectator mode that shows more info while simultaneously shrinking the visual clutter. And if you're a fan of collectibles, Title Update 3 will add 13 new characters and over 260 weapon skins. In other words: the Coalition clearly wants to keep you playing past the holidays.