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.

We’ve had a ton of fun watching Gears fans getting hands on with the Rise of the Horde update over the past month. It’s been fascinating to see our fans discover new ways to conquer 50 waves using New Skills, while taking on the added challenge of Inconceivable and Ironman difficulties!

While you’re out there collecting the new Rise of the Horde Skills and levelling up your Classes, the Gears of War 4 train keeps rolling with our July Update! On top of our two maps for the month – including some added Windflare surprises – there’s a whole bunch of events and characters to collect.

New Maps

Raven Down

The fast and furious action of Gears of War 1’s Raven Down is crash landing into Gears of War 4! Set on a tight intersection with a crashed King Raven in the middle, combat on this map is up close and personal – frags can help you to get an edge in combat, but this map is all about your core Gears combat skills.

Reclaimed Windflare

The peaceful farm setting of Reclaimed is about to be ravaged by a Windflare! Previously only available in the campaign experience, Windflares are incredibly powerful storms that culminate in the fearsome stormwall with lightning bolts that can fry you in seconds.

As you play in Versus and Horde, the Windflare will periodically roll into the map, challenging you to battle your enemies and the elements. You’ll need to master movement in the strong winds and judge your aim with projectile weapons well in the wind. As the stormwall hits, prepare to dodge lightning bolts that target players – look for the telltale sizzle to know when to move!

Future Updates

Before the Locust attacks, Cole was a hugely famous Thrashball star – long before he was a star in the COG battling the Locust (and now the Swarm). This month, you can relive Cole’s glory day self with the release of Superstar Cole in an upcoming Gear Pack!

Keeping in the off-duty theme, this month’s Craftable Character will be Civilian Anya – find her early in our Gear Packs before her release later this month.

Continuing this month, there’s a bunch of new events for Gears fans to sink their chainsaw teeth into:

• Raven Down 24/7: To celebrate the release of the ever popular Raven Down, we’ll be running Raven Down 24/7 across multiple game modes later this month!
• More for Horde Players: We recently released a new variant of Horde called ‘Anything Goes’, which pits you against 50 waves of randomized enemies. We’ll have another new Horde event for fans to take on later this month.

Stay tuned for more news, including the first information on Ranked Season 2, coming throughout July.

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.