Xbox gamers surprised with free game as 'thank you' from Microsoft

In an effort to win over gamers, Microsoft is handing out a free game as a way to show its thanks to Xbox and PC players.

Ahead of the launch of Gears of War: Reloaded, Xbox and PC owners are getting the chance to download the game for free thanks to a brand-new incentive by Microsoft.

This news comes courtesy of an email sent to Xbox users which read as follows: “As a thank you for being a Gears fan, we’re offering owners of Gear of War: Ultimate Edition (digital) a free code for Gears of War: Reloaded, playable on Xbox Series X/S and PC.”

Put simply, those who already own Gear of War: Ultimate Edition will be able to upgrade to the upcoming Reloaded version at no extra cost.

As a remaster, this will be the perfect way to experience the game with improved performance and graphics and it is especially much needed considering that the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition has featured longstanding problems.

The PC version had performance issues, broken multi-GPU support, and FreeSync/G-Sync issues to name just a few problems so it is unsurprising that Microsoft is deciding to give away the remaster for free.

Gears of War: Reloaded launches on 26 August so make sure you redeem your free download ahead of release if you wish to dive into the (hopefully) fixed remaster.

News of the freebie dropped over on r/xbox overnight and fans have gathered to share their thoughts on Microsoft’s decision, especially user TheNittanyLionKing who had an interesting bit of information.

“Here's an extra cool thing about this: Gears Ultimate Edition is not a Play Anywhere title, but Reloaded will be,” they explained.

“Essentially, everyone who has Gears: Ultimate Edition is now getting two copies of the game for free: one for Xbox consoles and one for Windows PC if anyone else out there like myself plans on getting the Xbox Ally X.”

That is definitely worth noting as being able to play the new edition on the upcoming Xbox Ally will definitely be the icing on the cake.