Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition has been adding a steady stream of new content to the title since its release, but next week’s update will be the game’s “biggest ever.”
On June 6, The Coalition is rolling out the free Rise of the Horde update, which adds two new difficulty levels to both the Campaign and Horde modes (Inconceivable and Ironman), as well as 20 new Achievements. The update also sees the return of two fan-favorite maps: Avalanche from Gears of War 2 and Rust Lung from Gears of War 3.
The biggest changes, however, are reserved for Horde mode. In addition to the new difficulty levels, the update adds 15 Horde skills (three per class), along with new Loot drops. Existing skills, meanwhile, can be raised to Level 6 following the update. Season Pass holders will also get a free Gear Pack that contains five of the new Horde Skills, as well as a bonus Horde Expert Pack.
Microsoft is offering a limited-time free trial of Gears of War 4 for both Xbox One and PC players. From June 9-15, you can download a trial version that lets you try “10 hours of free play.” This trial encompasses the first act of the game’s campaign and gives players complete access to the Horde and Versus modes, including the new content being introduced in the Rise of the Horde update.
You can find the full breakdown of features and changes coming in Rise of the Horde on the Xbox website.