10 Gears of War Ultimate Edition Release Date Tips

The Gears of War Ultimate Edition release date is Tuesday for Xbox One which means that fans of the series will soon be able to relive one of the Xbox’s greatest games in high-definition. With an Xbox One Gears of War Ultimate Edition release date just a few days away, we want to offer a few release date tips to those who are thinking about buying and those who have already committed to it.

Rumors leading up to E3 had Microsoft and The Coalition announcing at least one new Gears of War game for Xbox One. On stage, the companies detailed not one, but two new upcoming Gears of War titles including Gears of War Ultimate Edition and Gears of War 4.

The Gears of War 4 release date is set for 2016 though the company has yet to outline a specific date. The Gears of War Ultimate Edition release date will come much sooner as Microsoft and its partners look to hold gamers over until the release of the next big installment in the long-running series.

In June, Microsoft confirmed a Gears of War Ultimate Edition Beta and a Gears of War Ultimate Edition release date for the month of August. The game arrive on Xbox One on August 25th and it will feature a 1080p remastering of the original Gears of War for Xbox. It includes both the single player campaign and the multiplayer mode that Microsoft and The Coalition put to the test during the beta.

With a release now less than 48 hours away, we want to arm you with some release date tips that will help those that have pre-ordered the game and those of you who are still on the fence about buying it. Here are our Gears of War Ultimate Edition release date tips.

Note, many of these will also apply to the PC Gears of War Ultimate Edition release which will arrive sometime after the Xbox One version.

Pre-Orders & Bundles

As a reminder, there are a few reasons why it might be smart to pre-order Gears of War Ultimate Edition right now. And if you decide not to pre-order, know that there is a very good reason to buy and play the game before the end of the year.

A Standard Edition pre-order will net you several character skins and an Animated Imulsion Weapon Skin. If you pre-order from Amazon, you’ll gain access to the Savage Theron Guard Multiplayer Skin. If you order from GameStop, you’ll get an exclusive Savage Grenadier Elite skin.

These aren’t necessary to play the game’s multiplayer mode but they’re nice bonuses for those invested in the Gears series. If you want more, you might want to opt for the $60 Deluxe Edition pre-order.

This version of the game gets you a ton of skins including a BW weapon skin pack, Anya multiplayer skin, Classic Weapons Skin Pack, Animal Skin Weapon Pack, and more.

So you’ll have to decide if the extra $20 will worth it to you. The Deluxe Edition doesn’t come with anything but the game and skins so if you’re fine with the standard weapons and characters, you’ll want to stick to the standard version of the game. The standard version costs $40.

If you decide that you don’t want to pre-order, you might want to think about buying either version of the game before the end of the year.

If you play the game before December 31st, 2015, you’ll gain access to the Xbox 360 versions of Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Gears of War Judgement. These will become available through Microsoft’s Backwards compatibility platform for Xbox One.

If you don’t buy the game, you’ll probably have to shell out some hard-earned cash for these titles ahead of the Gears of War 4 release date.

Pre-Load & Midnight Release

If you order the game digitally, you can pre-load the game onto your Xbox One so that you can play once the clock strikes midnight on August 25th.

Microsoft and Amazon are both offering a pre-load to digital customers so if you’ve already bought the game or you want to play it the second it comes out, this is one way to do that.

If you don’t want to buy the game digitally and you want a copy as soon as humanly possible, Best Buy is hosting a midnight release. What this means is that you’ll be able to walk in and buy a copy of the game starting at midnight, August 25th. You’ll need to make sure that your store is hosting a midnight launch though. To do that, head here.

Free Up Space

Set aside some time to install this game. You shouldn’t run into any download issues but you’ll still want to keep an eye on the download just in case.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition is over 40GB in size which means that it should take a bit of time to download and install. So if you buy digitally, you’ll want to install it over a fast connection. If you’re planning to use a physical copy, it’ll still take some time to install so pick a good time so that you can monitor its progress.

You’ll also want to start figuring out your storage situation right now. If you’re tight on space, you’ll want to start looking into ways to free it up for the Gears of War Ultimate Edition download. For some of you, this might be a little tricky.

We highly recommend buying an external hard drive, especially if you plan to buy a ton of games later on this year. Games like Fallout 4 will be pretty big as well.

Prepare for Gears of War Ultimate Edition Problems

If you’re looking to play right at midnight on release day or at any time during the first few days, expect to encounter some problems with game, particularly in matchmaking and online.

While Microsoft and The Coalition were able to wipe out problems thanks to the beta, we’ll almost certainly see some initial hiccups emerge shortly after the game’s release. Lag, dropped matches, and issues finding games will likely plague those who play the game right when it comes out.

Know that the companies involved will be working hard to iron out these issues, should they arise. This probably won’t resemble the Halo Master Chief Collection debacle.

You’ll also want to keep this in mind if you’re the type of person that hates dealing with growing pains. If you are, you might be better off waiting a few weeks to buy the game. We should see patches roll out in the weeks after its release, patches that help to stabilize single player and multiplayer.

Keep an Eye on the Forums

If you’ve already bought Gears of War Ultimate Edition, you’ll want to keep an eye on the official Gears of War Ultimate Edition forums. You might also want to get familiar with the Xbox One and Gears of War Reddits. These forums will be a great source for problems, fixes, patches, feedback, and more.

We’ve already seen tons of threads pop up on all of these forums and these will be the places you’ll want to look if you experience issues with the game.

You’re very much encouraged to report bugs and issues so that the developer can squash the problems in future patches for the game. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and Microsoft should support this game for the foreseeable future. So if you see something, report it.

Buying Physical vs. Digital is Important

Remember, there are some key differences between buying physical and digital that go beyond pre-loading.

If you buy the game in digital form, you’ll be able to download and install it right now. However,  you’ll also cut down on clutter and you’ll also gain easy access to the game on your Xbox One’s dashboard.

If you buy the game in physical form, you’ll be able to lend the game out to your friends with an Xbox One or sell the game if you decide that you want to get rid of it down the road. If you’re the type of person that eventually loses interest in a game, you might want to go the physical route.

Look for Gears of War Ultimate Edition Deals

If you’re looking to buy the game in the near future, keep an eye out for deals that extend beyond the pre-order bonuses that Microsoft and its retail partners are offering.

You’ll want to investigate Best Buy’s Gamers Club Unlocked program. If you get a membership, you’ll knock the price of the game down 20%.

We should see some smaller Gears of War Ultimate Edition deals emerge in the near future and aggregators like SlickDeals are a great place to start looking in and around the game’s release date.

If You Want the Best Deals, Wait

We don’t expect to see huge price cuts around the Gears of War Ultimate Edition release date though. There will likely be some smaller deals but don’t expect anything big until we push away from the release date.

If you’re looking to score a major Gears of War Ultimate Edition deal, you’ll want to hold out for a few weeks as the smoke around the release settles. We typically start to see deals emerge four to six weeks after a game’s debut. And with the holidays and Black Friday coming up, November could be good to this game.

It’s hard to predict when we’ll see a decline but if you want to save a few bucks on the standard version or the deluxe version, you might want to think about waiting.

Look for Gears of War Ultimate Edition Reviews

We haven’t seen critics release their full Gears of War Ultimate Edition reviews just yet. So, if you’re on the fence about this game, you should wait a few more days for them to provide feedback about the remaster.

Reviews usually come out in and around the release date so we could see some appear today or tomorrow. Gears of War Ultimate Edition reviews will continue to emerge in the weeks after the game’s release so you might want to wait for a wide range of feedback from critics to see what the consensus is. To do that, keep an eye on sites like Metacritic.

Gather User Feedback

You’ll also want to gather feedback from Gears of War Ultimate Edition players before you come to a decision. Metacritic, Microsoft’s forums and places like Reddit are great resources for that and you’ll want to keep an eye on them as we push away from the game’s release date.

We’ll likely see a number of gamers post their thoughts on the final version of the game in the hours, days and weeks ahead. And their feedback will be invaluable to those of you who are on the fence about buying.

It’s important to take in a diverse set of opinions. Don’t just focus on the feedback of Gears of War fans and critics. Dig into the feedback of newcomers and people who have a limited time to play as well.

Gears Of War 4 Beta Release Date

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If you didn't buy and play Gears of War Ultimate Edition in time, you'll still be able to play the Gears of War 4 beta, you'll just have to wait a few more days for the Gears of War 4 beta to open up to the public. Early Gears of War 4 beta access ends on April 24th at which point the companies will open up the Gears of War 4 beta to everyone.  All qualifying Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox One will be able to play the game until the beta ends on May 1st.  Look for additional details to emerge closer to the open beta.

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