In approximately six months time we were supposed to be fighting alongside Marcus, Dom and the other last remnants of humanity as they attempted to pull humanity back from the brink of extinction. Now it seems that the battle will have to wait, as Epic and Microsoft have announced that Gears of War 3 is slipping from its April 2011 launch date to simply sometime next fall. That means a wait of at least five months, possibly longer, to find out how the story ends.
“Gears of War 3 promises to be the biggest entertainment launch of 2011,” said Microsoft in a statement. “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 3 executive producer Rod Fergusson also took a moment to apologize to fans for the game’s delay.
“I know fans are going to be disappointed with the new release date, but rest assured that this is a business decision between partners, and not a quality issue,” he said. “Gears 3 was on track to be the most polished Gears of War game ever when it released in April, and this additional time allows us to polish it that much more before it hits shelves next fall. Next week we have a major multiplayer press visit at Epic HQ, and I’m really looking forward to the fans getting to see and hear about Gears 3 Versus multiplayer for the first time. Lots more exciting news to come.”
Fergusson’s comments seem to suggest that the game is practically done, but Microsoft wants to hold it back until the holiday season and make Gears 3 the marquee title in the annual scuffle for consumers’ wallets. We’re somewhat curious about this decision, as Gears is set to make serious bank regardless of when it’s released, so it’s unlikely Microsoft is worried about poor sales if the game launches in April. What seems more likely is that Microsoft doesn’t yet have a major first-party exclusive nailed down for next holiday season, and thus is planning to use Gears as its ace in the hole to make sure Sony or Nintendo don’t steal all the sales thunder. While it’s a shrewd business move it’s also one that will undoubtedly bum out gamers who now have to wait another half-year to play a game due to earnings forecasts and other corporate hoo-haw. Resume using your Lancers to trim troublesome tree branches, looks like you won’t be needing them for anything else for a while.
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