Gears of War may not have made a huge presence at the E3 2017 Xbox press conference, but developer The Coalition has posted a message on its website detailing how Gears of War 4 will be taking advantage of the new Xbox One X.
In a short Q&A with Gears of War 4’s Mike Rayner, the technical director detailed all of the upgrades that will be coming for free to the game.
“One of the exclusive features for Gears of War 4 on Xbox One X is the ability to run 4K HDR with Wide Color Gamut Support,” said Rayner. “We supported HDR on the Xbox One S, and 4K on PC, but this is the first time you can play Gears of War 4 with a combination of that incredible 4K fidelity and the vibrant contrast of HDR. It’s really something else.”
Rayner also mentioned the update will include fully dynamic shadows, real time “god rays,” improved reflections, longer draw distances and higher polygon counts. All these combine to make Gears of War 4 feel more alive and immersive.
Not only are the Gears of War 4 visuals getting some love, but the audio will also be enhanced on the Xbox One X. The console will support Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 audio for both Atmos Digital Receivers and headphones equipped to handle that technology. This will add extra sound channels that run ambient sounds, making the game feel more like a living world with added environmental noises.
If you don’t own a 4K TV, Gears of War 4 will still look better on the Xbox One X. As mentioned by Rayner, the console uses a technique called super sampling. Super sampling takes a 4K signal and scales it down to the output of your screen, be it 1080p, 720p or lower. While this won’t give you 4K-quality visuals on your screen, it will make the game look better than if you were using a different console. This includes a sharper picture and less anti-aliasing.
The 4K update will be releasing for free on Nov. 7, the same day the Xbox One X is released.
So what do you think? Are you excited to see the graphical improvements made to Gears of War 4 on the Xbox One X? What other games do you hope to see a 4K patch for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
