The monthly update for the critically acclaimed Gears of War 4 is going live later today for Season Pass owners bringing hot new maps, achievements, matchmaking improvements and a look ahead to the future of Gears 4. Let’s break it down:
Mercy
The classic Gears of War 3 battleground set in the hometown of Dominic Santiago’s wife, Maria, makes its much-anticipated return in Gears of War 4!

The classic Gears of War 3 battleground set in the hometown of Dominic Santiago’s wife, Maria, makes its much-anticipated return in Gears of War 4!

Harbor Haze
Prepare for nerve-shaking combat in Harbor Haze! This new take on Harbor is set during the day, and introduces a brand-new mist mechanic that envelopes the battlefield.

Prepare for nerve-shaking combat in Harbor Haze! This new take on Harbor is set during the day, and introduces a brand-new mist mechanic that envelopes the battlefield.

Both of these maps are available now in the Developer Playlist with Double XP and 20% Bonus Credits for Season Pass holders. Public Matchmaking for all players begins on September 12th.
New Achievements
500G of new achievements are coming to Gears of War 4! After the hardcore Horde and Campaign achievements included with Rise of the Horde, this new list introduces 20 new achievements focused on your first moments with the game. For many of you, you’ll have these new achievements instantly awarded the day you turn on the game.
If you’re new to Gears 4, these achievements are the perfect on-ramp for your first 10 hours in the game. The Coalition is giving everyone a chance to jump into Gears of War 4 again in September 14th.
500G of new achievements are coming to Gears of War 4! After the hardcore Horde and Campaign achievements included with Rise of the Horde, this new list introduces 20 new achievements focused on your first moments with the game. For many of you, you’ll have these new achievements instantly awarded the day you turn on the game.
If you’re new to Gears 4, these achievements are the perfect on-ramp for your first 10 hours in the game. The Coalition is giving everyone a chance to jump into Gears of War 4 again in September 14th.
Matchmaking Improvements
This month also brings major improvements to your matchmaking experience in Gears of War 4. In the coming weeks, Coalition is switching from Region Locked matchmaking (matching you only with players in your choice of Region) to a new Quality of Service matchmaking system.
What does this mean? Matchmaking will try to match you on local data centers with players of similar connection quality more often, resulting in fairer and better quality matches every time you play.
On top of this new system, they also improved the Skill Based Matchmaking to give you better quality skill matchups on top of better network quality, arriving mid-September with ranked season 2.
Looking ahead to the future…
This month also brings major improvements to your matchmaking experience in Gears of War 4. In the coming weeks, Coalition is switching from Region Locked matchmaking (matching you only with players in your choice of Region) to a new Quality of Service matchmaking system.
What does this mean? Matchmaking will try to match you on local data centers with players of similar connection quality more often, resulting in fairer and better quality matches every time you play.
On top of this new system, they also improved the Skill Based Matchmaking to give you better quality skill matchups on top of better network quality, arriving mid-September with ranked season 2.
Looking ahead to the future…
The Coalition will continue to support Gears of War 4 with a wealth of new content, events and more throughout 2018! Here’s just a few of the ways Gears of War 4 will continue to grow over the next year:
- Our Xbox One X Enhanced Update, featuring support for 4K, HDR, Dolby Atmos and new graphical enhancements
- New Gear Packs containing characters and weapon skins to add to your collection.
- Monthly Versus and Horde events with exclusive challenge-based rewards
- Major Seasonal events like ‘11 Years of Gears,’ ‘Gearsmas’ and – yes – ‘Thanksgibbing!’
- Ranked Seasons with skill placement rewards
- Gears of War Esports Season 2 kicks off with the Mexico City Open on October 13th, so mark your calendars and catch up on all the event information here
- Continual balancing improvements to Versus and Horde
- Refinements to ‘Casual’ mode in Campaign with increased player health and damage dealt
- New achievements
Source: news.xbox.com