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.

Horde 3.0 marks the return of the popular multiplayer survival mode that pits up to five players against waves of enemies – a genre that Gears of War helped popularize with the release of Gears of War 2 in 2009. This is the first time Horde has appeared in a Gears of War game in five years, and returns to the mode’s trademark co-op multiplayer intensity, with the addition of modern touches such as classes, abilities and fortifications.

In addition to ferocious new classes of enemies like the Swarm and the DeeBees, Horde 3.0 also introduces new innovations like a class-based system that lets you choose from five variations in roles – Soldier, Sniper, Scout, Heavy and Engineer – to play to your strengths and encourage teamwork. In addition, the new “Fabricator” is a deployable base of operations that allows players to build their defenses anywhere on the map and execute their defensive strategy with precision.

Horde 3.0 will make its public debut at PAX West this weekend on the showfloor and then on Saturday special guests will compete to become the “First to Fifty” beginning at 6:30 PM PDT from the PAX Arena. The event will be streamed live on Twitch and will feature the all-new ‘Relic’ multiplayer map. Attendees will be eligible to win a range of prizes including Run the Jewels x Gears of War t-shirts, pins, physical Gear Packs and a special Tony Moore poster.

"Run the Jewels was on heavy rotation when we started laying the groundwork for the next era of Gears back in 2014, and has been there ever since." said Rod Fergusson, Studio Head at The Coalition. "The fact that two career artists came together as a group to create something so special – a rarity in modern hip-hop –  are things that Gears fans will immediately recognize and appreciate. We’re proud to have Run the Jewels as a part of the Gears of War family."

Later this year, Killer Mike and El-P will forever become part of the Gears family by appearing as multiplayer characters in the game. The duo will bring their brutal intensity and ‘can’t nobody save us but us’ attitude to Gears of War 4 multiplayer.

Fans in the Seattle area can meet Killer Mike and El-P from Run the Jewels and Gears of War co-creator Rod Fergusson and score some exclusive collaboration giveaways at BAIT at 915 E Pike St, Seattle, WA from 2-3 PM on Saturday, September 3rd, or catch Run the Jewels in concert during their mainstage performance at the Bumbershoot Music and Arts festival at 7:20 PM in downtown Seattle.

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.