Set on the fictional planet of Sera, the “Gears of War” series charts the story of humanity’s struggle against fearsome and brutal adversaries through a captivating tale of hope, comradery and survival.

After narrowly escaping an attack on their village, JD Fenix and his friends, Kait and Del, must rescue the ones they love and discover the source of a monstrous new enemy. “Gears of War 4” returns the franchise to the dark tone and intensity of the original and includes split-screen and online co-op, the next generation of five-player favorite, Horde Mode, 60 frames-per-second Versus multiplayer, and stunning visuals powered by Unreal Engine 4.

The days are getting colder and the nights are getting longer, which means it’s time for the seasonal signature event for Gears of War – Gearsmas!

Beginning today until January 4th 2017, this year’s holiday spectacular marks the biggest event for Gears of War 4 yet with over 30 pieces of festive content to collect, a special playlist featuring the first ever custom weapon for Gears 4 and a whole lot more.

Take a first look at the Gearsmas Celebrations in the trailer above, then read on for all the juicy details.

The Festive Collection

Gearsmas brings a whole bunch of new festive-themed items to customize your look in the spirit of the holidays!

The Gearsmas Pack is full of Holiday Presents with 28 pieces of unique content to collect. For 400 Credits, each pack contains One Bounty and two items from the Gearsmas collection listed below:

• 3 ‘Ugly Gearsmas Armor’ Characters – JD, Kait and Swarm Drone
• 4x Gingerbread Weapon Skins
• 4x Festive Tree Weapon Skins
• 4x Snowman Weapon Skins
• 4x JD Wrapping Paper Weapon Skins
• 4x Kait Wrapping Paper Weapon Skins
• 4x Swarm Wrapping Paper Weapon Skins
• 1 Commemorative Gearsmas Emblem

For the first time, there’s also some special timed rewards to collect that can’t be found in the Gearsmas Pack. Our new Daily Rewards system will be handing out some holiday presents on the days listed below – simply jump on Gears of War 4 to claim your gift!

• December 16: Chuzzmas Emblem
• December 27: Ice Boomshot

Special Events

On top of all the new customization items to add to your collection, there’s also new ways to play!

Snowball Fight is a brand new special event that features the first custom holiday weapon for Gears of War 4 – the Snowshot. This icy looking Boomshot that fires Snowballs which, in true Gears fashion, still gibs enemies!

The mode is a variant on TDM where everyone starts with the Snowshot and 2 Snowballs. Just like real-life Snowball Fights, you’ll have to scramble to pick up more Snowballs when you’re out!

In the spirit of coming together during the holidays, Crossplay Versus is also back in a Special Event playlist. Throughout Gearsmas, Xbox One and Windows 10 players can game on together in Social with squads of up to 5 players.

As an additional thank you to our fans, both of these playlists feature 1.5x XP for the duration of Gearsmas!

New Surprises

There’s even more to come throughout December for Gears fans. Later this month, the UIR are joining the fight with their own UIR Gear Pack – we’ll be revealing more information on dates and content in this pack next week.

Speaking of the UIR, fans have hunted down many an Easter Egg in our Campaign – but there might be something new to find on December 25. Good luck in your Easter Egg hunt Gears fans!

In the spirit of Gearsmas, Gears of War 4 has extended a special offer – a 35% discount!

Key Features:

• New Story, Heroes and a Nightmare Reborn: The first chapter of an all-new “Gears” saga thrusts players into an epic and perilous journey through the wilds of Sera. Fight as JD Fenix – son of the legendary hero Marcus Fenix – as he embarks on a desperate mission with his friends Kait and Del to find their missing loved ones and confront a fearsome new threat.
• Never Fight Alone: Rev up your Lancer and fight your way through the Campaign with a friend over Xbox Live or via local split screen co-op, with the option to play as JD, Kait or Del. Cross Play lets Xbox One and Windows 10 gamers play together in cooperative modes like Campaign, Horde and Co-Op Versus.
• Shared Progression and Achievements with Xbox Play Anywhere across Xbox One and Windows 10: Cloud saves enable you to switch seamlessly between both versions of game, giving you the freedom to play where you choose. Both versions are included with a single purchase.
• Fight through a Dynamic and Deadly Environment: Brace yourself against ferocious windflares that blow away cover, bend your shots and drastically alter the battlefield, forcing you to employ new tactics. As the windflare intensity increases, each enemy confrontation evolves into a brutal fight for survival in this tale of Man vs. Monster.
• New Arsenal of Weapons and Combat Tactics: Pummel your enemies from cover with new close-cover combat moves like yank, vault kick and a bloody new combat-knife execution. Make use of dangerous new weapons, like the Buzzkill and Dropshot, to shoot around and over cover, raining destruction from all angles.
•  The Best “Gears” Multiplayer Experience Yet: Whether you enjoy powering through the co-op Campaign, fending for survival in Horde mode or testing your skills in frenetic Versus Multiplayer matches running in 60 FPS on dedicated servers, “Gears of War 4” is the ultimate game to play with friends.
  • Explosive Versus Multiplayer Action: Compete in intense multiplayer gametypes that reward social, competitive and professional players alike, including new modes like Dodgeball and the premier new competitive “Gears” multiplayer mode, Escalation. Track your progress with the new visible ranking system that drives online matchmaking and lets you stand out for your abilities.  
  • The Next Generation of Horde: Team up with up to four other players and weather the onslaught using class-based skills and dynamic fortifications. For the first time, you can build and deploy defensive weapons and fortifications anywhere on the map.
  • Play with Friends Against AI Foes: Fine-tune your skills in Co-Op Versus, where your match-made team of five squares off against increasingly punishing AI teams.
• The Complete “Gears of War” Collection: For a limited time, “Gears of War 4” (both digital and retail versions) will include the entire Xbox 360 “Gears of War” collection. Play through the original “Gears of War” trilogy and “Gears of War: Judgment” on Xbox One via backwards compatibility, amounting to over 50 hours of “Gears of War” gameplay.