Gears of War 4 Xbox One X enhancements revealed: 60fps campaign, true 4K, more

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Gears of War 4's Xbox One X update is just around the corner, and now we know just what enhancements we can expect.

It looks like Gears of War 4 players are in for quite the treat on Xbox One X. Though developer The Coalition has been relatively mum on specifics up to this point, it has finally revealed the list of enhancements that Gears players will be able to take advantage of on Xbox One X — including a choice between two rendering options.

Perhaps the biggest inclusion on Xbox One X is the ability for players to choose to leverage the Xbox One X's extra horsepower for either performance or visuals. In performance mode, Gears of War 4 will play at 1080p in campaign and horde mode, but it will run at up to 60 frames per second (fps). That's a massive leap, as campaign and horde are currently capped at 30fps on consoles, while multiplayer is the only mode that runs at 60fps. Alternatively, you can pick a visual mode that will "push graphical fidelity to the max" with 4K resolution and ultra quality textures, but framerates will be limited to 30fps in campaign and horde modes.

Additionally, a number of other visual flairs have been added and enhanced across the board. Light shafts, for example, will now look more lifeline, and dynamic shadows will allow shadows to accurately react to shifting light and the movement of objects within the game world. The Coalition also sys draw distances have been increased, reflections now carry a higher fidelity, and character textures have more detail "from head to toe."

All of the visual enhancements are joined by HDR support, which already made the game look pretty impressive on Xbox One S. Gears 4 on Xbox One will also pack Dolby Atmos support if you have a compatible surround sound setup.

The choice of rendering modes is something that we've seen in other titles, like Rise of the Tomb Raider, and it seems to strike the right balance in putting the option for enriched visuals or better performance in the hands of players. The Xbox One X patch for Gears of War 4 is set to land on November 7 right alongside the launch of the Xbox One X.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
28 Comments
  • I just bought a used copy of this yesterday just for the launch of the Xbox One X. I'm glad I waited until now to purchase this game. Good times are coming.
  • love to play the story one more time with xbox one x of course 
  • I'll do the same with hardest difficulty. been waiting!
  • Something tells me that I will purchase the XBOX ONE X before the 4K monitor. 
  • This news lately regarding suffering modes is fantastic. It shows people with 1080p sets will get massive visual gains. It's like 20% about resolution gains as much as all the other visuals that are upped. Couple together with the fact Ps4 Pro just isn't get these multiple mode upgrades with vastly superior lighting, shadows, higher poly models etc and its a no brainer that One X is the only console to purchase when going for 3rd party titles.    Xbox One X. "The way its meant to be played"
  • Agree 100% People like me that have a 1080p set up can see the benefits. Games like Rise of the Tomb Ryder, Gears of War, Quantum Break etc have the  advantage of better texture, FPS and draw distances. Sure, some people will not pay for that but I will. 
  • @Richard: I wonder if you were saying the same thing about PS4 when it was more powerful than the XB1 since 2013. Obviously no. You and your fellow MS/XB "fans" are funny... :)
  • Nobody gives a **** about PS4 or PS4 Pro.
  • very different. The difference between One vs PS4 was 1080p - 900p. The difference between One X Abd Pro is not only resolution but Better Shadows, better lighting, better draw distance, higher quality textures, higher polygon models, better Occlusion. Shadows of War shows a night and day difference. Like 360 rise of the tomb raider vs One Rise of the tomb raider difference. 
  • Did we get actual benchmark of games that doesn't have a marketing deal with MS? You're saying comparing PS4 pro vs XB1x is like comparing XB1 vs X360? GTFO!! When wil your bs end? Playing on console as it is shows that resolution/framerate is not a priority but not just that, you have been promiting the weaker console for years... LOL You MS/XB "fans"' didn't care about resolution/framerate since 2013, now all of a sudden it's become a priority... I see a lot of hypocrisy!! And even if it was a smaller difference, you would have still supported the more powerful console, right? No because you are MS/XB fan. You would have supported this XB no matter what. Power doesn't really matter to you guys. It's "MS/XB" that matters to you... 
  • I think HW talk is gonna be irrelevant... MS will always cover low-end and high-end market (helps win10, win10s, win10arm as well).
    UWP brought us BC/FC/XPA/GamePass, cloud sync is free, unlimited and cross-platform ready. store-region-hot-swap.
    All your library and peripherals works on xb1 forward (some will work on pc and arm), newer Xboxes can cross-play with older Xboxes (can even sync progress between'em)
    Buying cross-platform games from PsStore... just sound illogical. Unless, you can guarantee me all my ps4 investments can work on ps5/6/7/8. * I own ps4 (abandoned), xb1, getting 1x, $2k pc (abandoned Steam too), $2.5k Alienwares, Surface Pro, cannot wait for win10arm (to dock on my gamepad), xb1 wireless gamepad is wz me in my bag all the time.
  • Can you guarantee me that there will even be a XB in 5 years?  You make it sound like BC is  the most amazing feature ever and that matters more than anything else. You want to talk about FC? How about playing Recore on my windows 7 or windows 8 PCs?  You are going off topic with the same stuff... but you should know by now my priority is NEW GAMES. I can play ALL my old games without the need of a $500 console.
  • and BC is very important. No one has faith you can play your bought digital games on PS4 on PS5 when it releases. Sony will likely ask you to pay for PS Now for the privelesge based on their track record with digital consumers. It happened to PS3 digital buyers. 
  • @Richard (about BC) "very important" is subjective. It's just a nice feature for me. 
    But is it vital? NO.
    Because if we want to play our old games all we need to do is to connect our old console (in my case I just need to change the HDMI in of my TV). You see I've way too many current gen games to play as it is. If I ever want to play an old gen game, all I need to do is pick the disk from the shelf and insert it my old console. See I'm not lazy... As far as digital games goes, I can play all my PS3 digital games no problem. All I need to do is switch my PS3 and play it. LOL
  • > Can you guarantee me that there will even be a XB in 5 years?
    Why make Spencer a board member?
    Do you think MS will drop the business after they've invested into UWP/FC/BC/XPA/CloudSync/GamePass, turning xboxes an ecosystem?
    Gaming is a big market. GoW4 sold more than 6.4m units and people are still participating.
    GamePass business model (service) can do no harm, it will only grow since there's no competition.
    Besides high-end and low-end strategic, they are also grabbing PC markets. UWP/BC/FC/XPA/CloudSync give birth to GamePass, how is it not important?
    XPA gives xboxes advantages others cannot have and vice versa.
    a) PhoneA can do XPA, b) PhoneB can't, which one would a gamer choose?
    a) Game from xboxes ecosystem runs not only on current gen + newer iterations but (some) also on PC and a 6" b) game from ps4 runs only on ps4, which copy is logical to purchase? XPA, FC and cloud sync cost you $0 anyway. BC: For xb1 to emulate xb360 and xbOg.
    FC: A commitment in design, for future xboxes to run older games (cloud sync is important too). which means, games and peripherals you buy today, will work on xb1x2/3/4.
    > How about playing Recore on my windows 7 or windows 8 PCs?
    Not FC. > you should know by now my priority is NEW GAMES.
    Same here, Middle Earth from xboxes ecosystem can run on xb1, xb1x, Alienware NB.
    Luckys' Tale can run on xb1, xb1x, Surface Pro.
    Gungeon can run on xb1, xb1x, win10arm docking on a gamepad.
    I can cross play Anthem on xb1x and xb1 with my GF. >I can play ALL my old games without the need of a $500 console.
    1. I hate switches and disk-swapping, wasting times.
    2. Till the day the old console break.
    3. How many racing set you gonna buy, leave it in your house?
  • I have never said much about resolution actually. And yes. Look at a video of Rise Of The Tomb Raider 360 vs One. Then look at Shadows of War Ps4 Pro vs One X. The differences are almost identical. Forget resolution. One X has much better textures, much better lighting, better ambient Occlusion, longer bigger draw distances, higher polygon counts, more detailed shadows, extra scenery detail altogether.  The Ps4 Pro footage in the co.parison looks very blurry and muddy in the textures particularly. Like someone has smeared Vaseline on them. It's night and day difference. The lack of ram upgrade made the PS4 Pro pointless as any sort of upgrade at all. Resolution and frame rate are 1 small area where One X kills Ps4 Pro. Trying to claim One vs Ps4 standard was even remotely the same thing is like holding those straws as tightly as possible. 
  • "And yes. Look at a video of Rise Of The Tomb Raider 360 vs One. Then look at Shadows of War Ps4 Pro vs One X."
    Stop lying. MS has a deal for both ROTR and Shadow of war. And whatever the case if we followed your logic you would have supported the stronger console since 2013, but no and that's because you're a MS "fan". You would have supported the console no matter what. You would have probably supported it even if it was weaker than the switch, that's of company "fans" do. LOL You were the one who was comparing the Xb1x to a gaming PC with a 1080. LOL
    So where are the benchmark for that? Where are the benchmark with games that MS doesn't have a deal with? 
    You have been talking a lot the last few months but we are yest to see any proper benchmarks. And it's suppose to be released in just few days? How strange... LOL Oh and another thing. I'm calm. Power has NEVER been my priority it's always been games and right now I have plenty (recent games, not 15 year old games lol). And even if power was my priority all I would need to do is upgrade my GPU for less than 500 bucks to outperform the XB1x. So there. :)
  • I would have supported PS4 for all 3rd party games if it was more than a tiny tiny resolution difference. Again your comparing apples to oranges. Sorry. The One X has a massive visual advantage. Next year the gap will be even bigger. Keep those straws though. You gonna need them. 
  • You can say whatever you want the fact remains that you along with all your MS/XB "fans" went for the weaker console.
    And now you guys dare talk of power. GTFO... LOL
  • also I said One X was more powerful than a GTX 1070. Which it is. Look at Ark. It has 2 modes on One X. And the One X does 1440p with highest settings. Confirmed by the developers. Guess what a 1070GTX can't. It has to drop some of the detail settings to medium at 1440p. So far Digital Foundry showed us his much better Shadows Of War looks on One X compared to PS4 Pro. Your getting proof, but ignore it. Just wait for more DF videos. They are only going to get much worse for PS4 Pro over the next 24 months. Much worse. The lack of RAM is gonna really hurt it. 
  • Ark and Shadow Of War. 2 games where MS got a deal with LOL Just few days left before release. Aren' MS going to provide actual benchmark to show how powerful it is? The only thing they have shown are games were they have a deal with... ofc no one knows for sure if they worked more on the XB1x version thanks to the deal. Why don't they actually show proper benchmarks? Looks like they are hidding something... LOL Oh and it's Shadow Of War not Shadows Of War.
  • Well.. xb1 version Titanfall2 had a announcement to achieve 6k on xb1x with no effort no?
    Can ps4 Titanfall2 achieve 6k on ps4Pro with no effort?
  • I don't know. I haven't seen ANY BENCHMARK!!!
  • You don't know? It just can't.
    https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-one-vs-ps4-pro-vs-xbox-one-x-specs-c...
    Well.. it prob can... with ps2 level modeling, small texture and less particles.
  • Looks like you don't know the meaning of benchmark. LOL
  • So, does the 27GB update that's downloading now have the xb1x enhancements? Curious since IT'S 27GB!!!!
  • I dont understand. I have the X now, and a 4k tv with HDR, as well as the huge update patch, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO 1080p 60 frames option showing up under visuals, and no visual enhancement tab.
  • Disregard my earlier comment. I found out that the only place you can activate the visual enhancement screen is by selecting options button on the controller itself at the main menu, and it never avails itself as any option on screen anywhere else ""EVER"". That means if you ever go to OPTIONS via the option tab in during the main menu, or "IN" game, that option will not be available. Why they didnt change the games options, i can only say was stupid, but i believe a lot of X owners dont know that the game defaults to "Performance " mode, so they arent really receiving native 4k textures on their new X's for this game by default, but are playing the game just like it would perform on the S.