Microsoft has pushed back the release of Epic Games' third installment of Gears of War until Fall 2011. The Xbpox 360 game was originally given an April 5 release date by Epic Games’ design director Cliff Bleszinski. This new launch date will give some breathing room between Epic’s other big shooter, Bulletstorm, which is currently still on track for a February 22, 2011 release from Electronic Arts for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Cliff Bleszinski talks about Gears of War 3 in this exclusive video interview.

Microsoft issued a statement about the delay of the new game, which reads: "Gears of War 3 promises to be the biggest entertainment launch of 2011. The teams at Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games have done great work thus far readying the title for release in the Spring of 2011. However, we've elected to move the launch of Gears of War 3 until Fall 2011 to make it the marquee title for the holiday season."

Gears of War 3 is currently in alpha and Epic will be unveiling multiplayer details about the game next week at a press event at its newly expanded Cary, NC studio. Gears of War 3 plunges players into a harrowing tale of hope, survival, and brotherhood that will conclude the current story arc for Gears of War. With the last human city destroyed and the remaining survivors stranded, time is running out for Marcus and his comrades as they fight to save the human race from the jaws of extinction.

Traditionally, the Gears franchise has always shipped in the fall timeframe. And given the success of the franchise, it really doesn’t matter when the game ships in terms of sales. Gears of War is a blockbuster entertainment franchise that has inspired a full line of toys and collectibles, apparel, an upcoming film, graphic novels, and a book series by New York Times best-selling author Karen Traviss. The games have sold over 12 million copies to date.

About the Author

John Gaudiosi

Editor-in-Chief

John Gaudiosi has been covering videogames for the past 20 years for outlets like The Washington Post, CNET, Wired Magazine and CBS.com. He has focused on the convergence of entertainment and videogames for outlets like Video Business, Home Media Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Gamerlive.TV and is also a freelance game columnist for Reuters and writes for outlets like Forbes.com, NVISION, Official PlayStation Magazine, EGM Now, Geek Monthly, PrimaGames.com, and Yahoo! Games. John also serves as the video game expert for NBC in Washington D.C. and has produced videogame documentaries for The History Channel and Starz Entertainment. John was named one of the Top 50 Game Journalists in the world by Next-Gen.biz in 2007. He is the co-author of Scholastic Books' How to Get into Videogames, Prima Publishing's Madden: Twenty Years of Videogame Football and Electronic Arts: The Official History.