The world is crumbling. Humanity's reliance on technology has become their downfall and enemies are uniting to wipe out all survivors.

As Kait you must journey across the biggest, most beautiful Gears world to uncover the origins of the Locust, and fight with your squad to protect what's left.

The “Hivebusters” campaign expansion for Gears 5 will be arriving alongside Gears 5: Game of the Year Edition on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.

In the new expansion, play as Lahni, Keegan and Mac – the heroes introduced in Gears 5’s Escape mode – in their first mission as part of the secretive Hivebuster program. Thrown together and dubbed “Scorpio Squad,” their suicide mission to destroy a Swarm hive may hold the key to saving Sera and their own redemption.

• Enjoy a new, 3-hour campaign set on the volcanic Galangi islands. The island lava flows and sandy beaches are crawling with Swarm and a deadly new predator.
• Use and upgrade Ultimate Abilities in a campaign story setting for the first time.
• Up to 3-player co-op, split-screen or online.
• 16 new achievements to unlock for 210 Gamerscore
• The expansion supports Gears 5 Xbox Series X|S optimizations, including reduced load times, quick resume, variable refresh rates and 4K HDR Ultra visuals on Series X.

Gears 5: Hivebusters is the first Xbox Game Studios campaign expansion to join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate day-and-date with release. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can play as a part of their existing membership when the expansion is live on December 15. Simply update the game and launch the expansion from the “Gears 5” main menu.

Other players can pre-purchase the expansion for $19.99 starting today via the Microsoft digital store or the Steam store.

Also available next week is the “Gears 5: Game of the Year Edition,” which includes the “Hivebusters” campaign expansion, “Halo: Reach” Character Pack, plus 30 days of boost, and is available as a digital exclusive from the Microsoft digital store ($59.99) or included on day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. 

Additionally, the “Gears 5: Hivebusters” campaign expansion will be available to play via cloud gaming (beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate upon launch on December 15. The expansion joins “Gears 5” and over 100 other titles now available to play from Android mobile devices.

New Achievements

Gears 5: Hivebusters is complete with a new set of Achievements worth 210 Gamerscore.

Name	Description	Gamerscore
Designation: Scorpio	Unlock during the DLC Campaign	5
Out of the Frying Pan	Unlock during the DLC Campaign	5
New Island, New Mission	Unlock during the DLC Campaign	5
A Breath of Fresh Air	Unlock during the DLC Campaign	5
The Spirit Walk	Unlock during the DLC Campaign	5
Face the Creature	Unlock during the DLC Campaign	5
The Awakening	Activate Keegan, Lahni and Mac’s Abilities in the Hivebuster Campaign Expansion	5
Electroblade	Kill 50 enemies using Lahni’s Electroblade Ability as Lahni in the Hivebuster Campaign Expansion	5
Ready to Frontline	Kill 50 enemies as Mac through your Barrier Ability in the Hivebuster Campaign Expansion	5
Supplies for the Effort	As Keegan, activate Resupply ability 25 times in the Hivebuster Campaign Expansion	5
Enter Hivebusters	Complete all Chapters of the Hivebusters DLC (any difficulty)	5
Rite of passage	Complete all Chapters of the Hivebusters DLC on Insane	15
Renewed, not consumed	Find all Character Ability upgrades in the Hivebusters DLC	5
Operation: Ride the Snatcher	Complete the Hivebusters DLC in 3-Player Co-Op (Scorpio squad, dupes not allowed)	10
Searching for answers	Collect all Campaign Collectibles in the Hivebusters DLC	5
Class Act	Reach level five on any one Assault, one Tank and one Support	5
The Centaur Set	Max out each of the Anchor, Gunner, Pilot, Veteran, Brawler classes	10
A Gear of many talents	Complete a Versus match in each of Regency, River, Nexus, Clocktower, and Gridlock	5

For more background and lore around the Lahni, Keegan and Mac, check out the Gears of War: Hivebusters graphic novel, also written by Kurtis Wiebe. It’s available now and includes the Mechanic Mac character skin and Hivebusters banner for use in Gears 5 multiplayer.

 

Key Features:

• Never Fight Alone. Play solo or with a friend in local split-screen co-op, or online co-op. Battle alongside your friends anywhere with cross-play between Xbox One and PC.
• Tours of Duty: Rank up from new recruit to four-star general in Gears Tours of Duty. Take on new and exciting challenges, earn awesome rewards, and show off your loot.
• Boot Camp: New to Gears or just a little rusty? Bootcamp is a fun way to learn the ropes, from the basics to advanced combat techniques.
• Explore Sera. Skim across glaciers, sail over deserts and descend into sunken ruins to discover the largest and most diverse Gears world ever created.
• Visual Showcase: Play every mode in 4K Ultra HD resolution with stunning HDR at a smooth 60 frames per second.
• Play as Jack: Play as Jack, your personal flying support bot that can protect allies and damage enemies - perfect for players new to Gears.

Gears 5 is currently available for Xbox One and PC.