Gundam Breaker 4 open network test will be held simultaneously worldwide on July 18-21
Bandai Namco announced that they will hold an open network test for Gundam Breaker 4 worldwide on July 18-21, depending on time zones. The company's American branch confirmed the worldwide scope soon after a Japanese live stream for the game was broadcast. However, note that this test will only be available on consoles—namely the PS5, PS4, and Switch. The Japanese press release noted that PlayStation users will be able to access the demo without having to subscribe to PlayStation Plus, but those who want to check it on the Switch will still need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
The times provided by both Japanese and American sources confirmed that this test will run simultaneously worldwide. There will be 3 time windows available to access the test version. We have also added a European time zone with a unified 24-hour format for the sake of clarity.
Asia Pacific (Japan - JST)
- July 19 - 9:00~14:00
- July 19 - 18:00~23:00
- July 20 - 11:00 ~ July 21 - 15:00
Europe and Africa (Central Europe - CEST)
- July 19 - 02:00~07:00
- July 19 - 11:00~16:00
- July 20 - 04:00 ~ July 21 - 08:00
Americas (US Pacific - PDT)
- July 18 - 17:00~22:00
- July 19 - 02:00~07:00
- July 19 - 19:00 ~ July 20 - 23:00
Speaking of the stream, it was geo-restricted to Japan only, but the Japanese Gundam.Info official site has compiled the information revealed there, and it has more than just the public test announcement. Bandai Namco here revealed three more brand-new Mobile Suit kits that have not even been listed on the Japanese official website as of this writing:
- MSJ-06II-SP Tieren Taozi (from Mobile Suit Gundam 00)
- JMF-1337B Blazing Gundam (from Gundam Breaker Battlogue, will also come with Blazing Mask variant)
- Captain Gundam (SD unit from SD Gundam Force)
Stages in the Gundam Breaker series have been comprised of Story and Free missions. While Gundam Breaker 3 added a Bounty Hunter mode that lets you fight against Gunplas created by other players, Gundam Breaker 4 will newly add a Survival Mode that can go up to 50 waves to the list.
In addition, the new game will retain the Parts Fusion feature that lets you fuse redundant parts into another existing part to boost the latter's stats and rarity level. One of the game's long-term objectives will be to max out your favorite parts' rarity levels to 5 stars, as it will also unlock the part's Mastery Skill.
Gundam Breaker 4 will also newly feature Ability Cartridges to give more buffs or debuffs to your Gunpla. A cartridge obtained from mission rewards will have up to 3 randomly-generated buffs or debuffs, and a Gunpla unit will be able to equip up to 5 cartridges for a maximum total of 15 additional effects.
Bandai Namco Entertainment America has also uploaded an English version of the new Gundam Breaker 4 gameplay trailer that includes the open network test dates in US time zones, and you can find it right below. Gundam Breaker 4 will be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam worldwide on August 29.
The Open Network Test lets console players try their hand at GUNDAM BREAKER 4, the first numbered entry in the series coming to the West. They can assemble magnificent Gunpla creations from 20+ Mobile Suits, getting a taste of the 250+ base suits that will be available in the full game at launch. They can then bring those creations to life, joining their friends and other players in multiplayer battles with 3-player co-op to overcome waves of enemy Gunpla, including giant boss mechas. As they defeat enemies, players collect parts to make bigger and better Mobile Suits. The ONT will also include a series-first where players will be able to use their Gunpla creations as their avatar in the multiplayer lobby, where players can interact and show off before launching into co-op battle.
The GUNDAM BREAKER 4 ONT sessions are scheduled as follows:
July 17, 9 p.m. PDT: Pre-download begins for PlayStation® and Nintendo Switch™ consoles
July 18, 5 p.m. PDT – 10 p.m. PDT: ONT available
July 18, 10 p.m. PDT: 4-hour Maintenance; ONT unavailable
July 19, 2 a.m. PDT – 7 a.m. PDT: ONT available
July 19, 7 p.m. PDT – July 20, 11 p.m. PDT: ONT available