Microsoft has done an amazing job of supporting Gears of War 4, the latest entry in the popular shooter series. But next week, it will ship its biggest-ever update for the game.

“Prepare for the biggest ever update in the history of Gears of War 4—and all for free—with the Rise of the Horde arriving on June 6” Microsoft’s Liam Ashley explains. “And, if you haven’t dived into the next chapter in the epic saga of Gears of War 4, you can try it for free later this month with our Game Trial.”

With this update, Microsoft is completely overhauling the Horde game mode with 15 new Horde Skills (three per Class) to collect, Level 6 skills, Loot Drops, tuning changes and new difficulty levels.

The new skills help you further specialize your character class. “The Scout has new abilities like Cloak to turn invisible in their quest to pick up Power, while Heavies can take the Berserker and Last Stand skills to deal more and take more damage with Heavy Weapons as they get lower on health,” Ashley says.

There are other skills for other classes as well, of course, and gamers can now take existing Skills to Level 6, making them even stronger than ever before.

This update will also bring a new reward system for defeating bosses. “Each Boss Wave you defeat at Wave 30, 40 and 50 will drop a singular random Horde Skill,” Ashley says. “Harder difficulties increase the likelihood of a rare drop, so challenge yourself for the best chance at a high-quality Skill drop.”

Also, Season Pass holders get an exclusive Gear Pack with the Rise of the Horde update. This pack includes 5 of the new Horde Skills and a bonus free Horde Expert Pack.

Microsoft is introducing two new difficulty levels too. In Horde mode, a new Inconceivable level is even harder than Insane, where you start off weaker and and your enemies are even stronger. In the campaign, a new Ironman mode works similarly, plus you’ll have even less weapons and crate drops for extra ammo. Worse still, if you die even once, the game ends.

There are 20 more achievements as well, with an extra 500 gamerscore to collect. And new maps, including fan favorite Avalanche, and Rust Lung, both from previous games.

Finally, Microsoft is offering a free game trial of Gears of War 4 on both Xbox One and Windows 10 from June 9 to 15. Anyone can download and play the full game for up to 10 hours during that time frame, Microsoft says, and choose between the campaign and multiplayer modes as desired. New players will also receive special bonuses like guaranteed characters, weapon skins and new Horde Skills to try.

Wooh. That’s a lot of stuff.

Tagged with Gears of War