Gears of War 3 Pre-Orders Break One Million Units; Fastest on Xbox 360 History

Public multiplayer beta enlists more than 1.29 million players, helping shape the biggest blockbuster of 2011.

Cary, NC, May 18, 2011 — Microsoft and Epic Games today announced “Gears of War 3” surpassed one million worldwide pre-orders, making it the fastest pre-ordered Xbox exclusive title to reach this milestone in the history of the platform. Launching Sept. 20, 2011 , “Gears of War 3” marks the conclusion of one of the most renowned sagas in video game history, and fans are already lining up to join Marcus Fenix and his fellow COG soldiers in humanity’s final stand against the parasitic Lambent and savage Locust threats.

“Consumer demand for ‘Gears of War 3’ has been incredible,” said Bob McKenzie, Senior VP of Merchandising at GameStop. “It is one of the few times in our history that we’ve seen a title hit this level of pre-order numbers four months out from launch, putting ‘Gears of War 3’ on track to be one of the year’s biggest blockbuster gaming hits.”

Helping propel “Gears of War 3” pre-orders worldwide, 1.29 million fans from more than 143 countries answered the call to join the “Gears of War 3”public multiplayer beta. Featuring three distinct gameplay modes across four news maps while running on dedicated servers for the first time, the multiplayer beta concluded on Sunday, May 15 with fans collectively logging more than 249 years worth of gameplay over Xbox LIVE.

“An overwhelming success – we can’t thank the fans enough,” said Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski. “While the beta was a fun way to give players an early taste of our game, it also provided us with invaluable feedback to help us refine and polish ‘Gears of War 3’ to ensure it’s truly the culmination of the trilogy we promised to the fans.”

Over the course of four weeks, fans played more than 11 million multiplayer matches, earning ribbons and medals, unlocking weapon skins and finishing off enemies with countless new execution moves, among other incredible feats:

• 1.29 million people participated in the Beta
• 145 different countries participated in the beta
• 249 years worth of matches played
• More than 11 million matches completed
• More than 927 million kills recorded
• More than 131 million executions performed
• More than 23 million deaths by chainsaw
• Nearly 23 billion bullets fired
• 4.9 billion ribbons and 291M medals earned
• 435K people earned the Beta exclusive Thrashball Cole skin to use in the retail game when it launches in September
• 234K people earned the Beta exclusive Gold Retro Lancer to use in the retail game when it launches in September

Developed by acclaimed studio Epic Games, “Gears of War 3” is available for preorder today in three distinct editions – Standard ($59.99 USD), Limited ($79.99) and Epic ($149.99). For additional details on the game and the beta, please visit http://gearsofwar.xbox.com.

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