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 May content update arrives tomorrow, packed full of surprises for Gears of War 4 fans! Strap in as we unveil a new original map created by The Coalition, celebrate the return of a fan-favorite map from Gears of War 2 and see a beloved hero brought back from the dead to join the multiplayer ranks.

Maps

This month brings a brand-new map designed by The Coalition in Dawn, along with our first returning map from Gears of War 2 – Security!

Dawn

Set in a stunning Outsider village built around an abandoned mining colony, Dawn is a map defined by two defensive structures – the high ground of the bar, and the entrenched mine on the low side. Prepare for a new kind of fight centered around the vital Dropshot spawn, as it’s surrounded by both high and low flanks and features a risk-it-all one-way vault to secure the weapon.

This map combines tight corridors of combat with open spaces – learn to use the right weapon for the right situations on this map and you’ll truly become a master of Dawn.

Security

Fans have been asking us since the launch of Gears of War 4 to bring back some of the classic maps from Gears of War 2, and we’re incredibly excited to answer your cries with Security! We’ve worked extensively to bring this map up to modern graphical and gameplay standards, with improvements that incorporate Gears 4’s close-cover combat, Horde and proper support for respawn-based modes like TDM.

This new reimagined setting for Security takes you to a fight over a glorious decadent COG depository, with stacks of gold bars providing makeshift cover throughout the map. Defensive lasers bar access to key parts of the map, so prepare for a tough fight for the button that disables the lasers to give your team control over the flow of combat.

For Gears of War 4, we’ve made a major change to how the lasers work. In King of the Hill and one of the key central rings on Escalation, the security lasers will only block the side entrances to the top sandbags to focus on opening flanks rather than blocking off entire areas. In addition, the lasers are activated in Horde when pressing the button (rather than disabled), offering a short defensive window that kills enemies as they try to run through it. Time your press just right to decimate groups of enemies getting too close to your base!

Multi-GPU Support Arrives on Windows 10

We are excited to announce that Multi-GPU support arrives with the May Update for our Windows 10 players! Our Windows 10 team have been hard at work implementing support for users who use multiple graphics card setups, and now fans can take full advantage of their setup to really push the stunning visuals of Gears of War 4.

Looking Forward

As always, there’s plenty more for Gears fans to play for this month!

Back in Gears of War 2, the plucky Benjamin Carmine met his horrible end inside the Riftworm. This month, you’ll be able to find Benjamin Carmine back from the dead in one of our May Gear Packs as Zombie Ben Carmine – complete with his missing lower torso innards.

Our monthly Versus and Horde events also continue in May with a brand-new Horde variant and the return of Gnashers Only King of the Hill for Versus fans.

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.