Skip to main content

Blast your enemies with snowballs in the 'Gears of War 4' Christmas event

Gearsmas in Gears of War 4 is here!
Overwatch might be leading the way with its holiday event’s legendary skins and Christmas-themed maps, but Gears of War 4 looks to be giving the game a run for its money when it comes to the Christmas spirit. Right now, you can check out Gears of War 4‘s special “Gearsmas” event, offering hideous new weapon skins, a new mode, and even a secret Easter egg.

Gears of War 4’s special “Gearsmas Packs,” available until the event ends on January 4, will net you a collection of ugly characters and weapon skins. “Ugly Gearsmas” armor will be available for JD Fenix, Kait, and the Swarm Drone, though it should make you a more visible target. Gingerbread, “Festive Tree,” snowman, and wrapping paper skins are also available for the game’s weapons, as well as a special Gearsmas emblem. Each pack will set you back 400 credits and contains two items and one “bounty,” which offers a reward for completing specific challenges.

Recommended Videos

The Gearsmas event will also give all players a bonus item, provided that they’re playing regularly. Log onto Gears of War 4 on January 27 to collect the special “Ice Boomshot” weapon skin. A “Chuzzmas” emblem was previously offered on December 16.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

But perhaps most exciting is the introduction of a brand new mode: “Snowball Fight.” It’s exactly what it sounds like: a take on classic team deathmatch, but with all weapons replaced by the special “Snowshot” and two snowballs to fire. Unlike Mei’s similar snowball fight event in Overwatch, the snowballs here will turn enemies to tiny, fleshy “gibs” in traditionally over-the-top Gears of War fashion.

During Gearsmas, developer The Coalition is also re-introducing Windows 10-Xbox One cross-play support for competitive multiplayer, giving you a chance to play with your friends regardless of which system you own. Be sure to ask around to learn who received the game as a gift this holiday season!

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Xbox Live is down, so you can’t sign into your Xbox account
The Xbox logo from Xbox Games Showcase 2024

Xbox Live experienced a major sign-in outage Tuesday afternoon that made it impossible to log into your Xbox profile to play games online.

I noticed it after attempting to sign into my Xbox Live account on my Xbox Series X. I got an error message telling me to "try again in a while." A quick glance at X (formerly Twitter) confirmed that I was not the only person to have this issue. "We are aware that some users have been disconnected from Xbox Live. We're investigating! Please follow here and on our status page for updates," the official X account for Xbox Support tweeted.

Read more
Game Pass is coming to your Amazon Fire TV, even if you don’t own an Xbox
A woman holding a remote while looking at an Amazon Fire TV with the Xbox app on it. It's on the Cloud Gaming menu with Fallout 76, Senua's Saga Hellblade 2 and more on it.

You'll soon no longer need an Xbox console if you have an Amazon Fire TV. Microsoft and Amazon announced Thursday that the Xbox app is coming to Fire TV devices in July.

The Xbox app works with Cloud Gaming, which means with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can stream a huge catalog of games from the Xbox library, including many first- and third-party titles that come to the service on launch day. Huge games like Starfield, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, and the Fallout series are just some examples, and the available games are always changing.

Read more
After the Xbox Games Showcase, play these Game Pass greats this weekend (June 14-16)
Marcus in Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.

We're coming off a fantastic week for Xbox. Although this has been a rough year for the company and game reveals don't make up for all the developers Microsoft has laid off, the Xbox Games Showcase did feature lots of promising games and helped reaffirm the feeling that Xbox is here to stay in gaming. As I returned from Summer Game Fest and wondered which Xbox Game Pass games to recommend this weekend, I looked to games that will give you more context to some of the best announcements from 2024's Xbox Games Showcase.

One is a remaster of the first game in a hallmark Xbox franchise that's getting a prequel soon. After that, there's the Dragon Age game that you need to check out so you're all up to speed whenever Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches later this year. Finally, we have a retro first-person shooter from Rare that still holds up today, getting a revival by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

Read more