While Gears of War fans were perhaps most excited to see the brand new Gears of War 4 at E3, Microsoft also had up its sleeve another treat for fans of the franchise, in the form of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. This remastered version of the original game in the series was leaked ahead of time, but its announced August 25th release date, which is right around the corner, got fans excited nonetheless.

With Gears of War: Ultimate Edition releasing later this month, Microsoft and The Coalition took the time today to announce that every game in the series is coming to Xbox One via Xbox 360 backward compatibility, including Gears of War: Judgment. Furthermore, those that play Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will be able to receive the first four games in the series for free.

In order to receive Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Gears of War: Judgment for free on Xbox One, players simply have to play Gears of War: Ultimate Edition online between its release on August 25th and the end of 2015. That gives gamers a solid quarter of a year to buy Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and receive four free games.

This is great news for Xbox One owners and those that want access to the entire Gears of War series without having to keep their Xbox 360 systems plugged in all the time. The Xbox One backward compatibility with the Xbox 360 has offered a great way to avoid the struggle of remastering all of the Gears of War games, which would take too long, and this is a nice incentive for people to get their hands on the game early instead of waiting for a price drop.

It's also incentive for those that have yet to pick up an Xbox One to go out and buy the console this holiday season. As announced a couple of weeks ago, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will be bundled with Xbox One systems moving forward, so those that purchase this bundle will be getting five free games with their Xbox One instead of just Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.

This approach should also help the games avoid the online issues that plagued Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The online issues that persisted in that game for months after launch were largely due to the gargantuan task of porting four Halo games to Xbox One from different generations and trying to force them together under one user interface.

With this stellar Gears of War: Ultimate Edition deal, Microsoft continues their relentless hunt for the consumer's dollar this holiday season. Thanks to their significant lineup of 2015 exclusives releasing this holiday season, their lower price point, and lack of high quality exclusive software on competing systems releasing this year, all coupled with this new Gears of War deal, Microsoft stands a chance of making the Xbox One the best-selling system this holiday.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is set to release on August 25th, exclusively on Xbox One, with a PC release coming later.

Source: IGN