Gears 5: Hivebusters release date set for next week, and it's launching on Game Pass Ultimate

The Gears 5: Hivebusters campaign DLC is coming next week, and if you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber you'll get it for free on day one.

The first story expansion for Gears 5 is set to hit Xbox and PC on December 15, 2020. It stars the group of three rough-and-tumble survivors from Gears 5 Escape mode, and it tells the story of their first mission as Hivebusters. The roughly 3-hour campaign will send teams of 1 to 3 players roadie running across a volcanic island populated by Swarm and "a deadly new predator". You can even play it online or in split-screen, which should make it the perfect evening's entertainment for your socially distanced holiday celebrations.

While Gears 5 got its own next-gen update, the Hivebusters expansion is the first Gears experience specifically built to take advantage of the power of Xbox Series X; shorter load times, variable refresh rates, and, 4K HDR visuals, and all the rest. If you don't have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can pre-order it right now for $19.99 on Xbox, Steam, or the Windows Store.

If you haven't picked up Gears yet, hold off on that a la carte pre-order: Gears 5: Game of the Year Ultimate Edition is also coming out next week, and it will include the base game, Hivebusters, the Halo: Reach Character Pack, and 30 days of boost all for $59.99. Or you could just sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and get it as part of your subscription.

See what else is on the way with our big guide to upcoming Xbox Series X games.