'Dead Rising 4' news, updates: Christmas-themed DLC now available, new expansion packs to arrive in 2017

"Dead Rising 4" gets players in the holiday spirit with the arrival of its new Christmas-themed DLC known as the Stocking Stuffer Holiday Pack.

In the zombie game's latest expansion pack, Frank West goes home for the holidays, and he must kill zombies using his all-new arsenal of holiday themed weapons. Players are tasked to defend themselves against a horde of zombies while dressed in all types of holiday costumes, ranging from gingerbread men to elves. Users also have the option to dress up as Santa as they lay waste to the monstrous creatures using their flashy new weapons, including a baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire and Christmas lights.

Additionally, players can now drive around in "Santa's Little Melter," a holiday-themed vehicle which is essentially a motorcycle with a reindeer head on it that can shoot lasers. The selfie camera now as a new border option featuring Christmas designs.

Players can get their own Stocking Stuffer Holiday Pack through the game's $20 season pass. It can also be purchased on its own for $5. More expansions for "Dead Rising 4" will arrive next year, including "Frank Rising" and "Super Ultra Dead Rising 4 Mini Golf." In addition, an all-new way for players to explore Frank's journey will be made available as well. For more details about the new DLC, players can check out the gameplay trailer that was released.

On other related news, Microsoft recently announced that new difficulty options for the game's story mode are scheduled to come out in early 2017. "Enemies do more damage, Frank's weapons break faster, and food restores less health than before," Microsoft said in their official statement, adding, "Keep your eyes peeled, watch your back, and don't forget to scrounge for every weapon you can find – you'll need them. We'll be sharing more details about when the new difficulty settings will be available in game after the holidays."