by Zoë Curnoe, Production Director, The Coalition

In the past month, Gears 5 released the Xbox Series X|S update, which relaunched the game with next-gen technical optimizations for new consoles and new campaign features, and followed up with the largest multiplayer update ever, Operation 5: Hollow Storm. Today, to cap off this holiday’s re-release, we’re announcing the Gears 5: Hivebusters campaign expansion, coming Wednesday, December 16, 2020 to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or available for AU$29.95 and NZ$39.95 pre-purchase from the Microsoft digital store.

Gears 5: Hivebusters Expansion
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 was written by Kurtis Wiebe, creator of the Rat Queens comic book series, and author of the Gears of War: Hivebusters comics on which the expansions characters are based. Gears of War: Hivebusters, which originally appeared as a five-part series in 2019, is now available for print purchase as a single collected volume and includes the Mechanic Mac Character Skin and the Hivebusters Comic Cover Banner as bonus digital items for immediate use in multiplayer.

Availability

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 16. Simply update the game and launch the expansion from the Gears 5 main menu.

Other players can pre-purchase the expansion for AU$29.95 and NZ$39.95 starting today via the Microsoft digital store or the Steam store.

Hivebusters Graphic Novel

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.

Gears 5: Game of the Year Edition

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 or included on day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Cloud Gaming (Beta) Support

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 16. The expansion joins Gears 5 and over 100 other titles now available to play from Android mobile devices.

For the latest on Gears 5, including the multiplayer relaunch as part of Operation 5 and our latest team up with WWE Superstars The New Day, stay tuned to Xbox Wire and Gears5.com.