The Gears of War 4 beta is in full swing until the end of this week but Microsoft has already flipped the switch on pre-orders for the Ultimate Edition edition of the game which includes a week of early access to the title when it ships later this year. Originally spotted on the New Zealand Xbox One digital store the game’s description dishes out additional details – it’s not just the early access that might be of interest to potential buyers.

According to the store listing by purchasing the Ultimate Edition of Gears of War 4 players are guaranteeing that they will have access to “one year of maps”. This of course implies that extra content for Gears 4 will not be provided for free, like Halo 5’s but will rather be tied to some sort of Season’s Pass. This Season’s Pass will give owners access to 24 maps in custom games & private server meaning that those playing pre-configured playlists will be at the whim of that week’s selection of maps, but presumably all maps will make their way in and out of rotation.

Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition had a price point of $149.99 NZD which roughly translates to $99.99 USD based on current exchange rates. We will bring you more information on Gears 4: Ultimate Edition as it becomes available.