We all know that Gears of War 3 will be released, probably at some point in late 2010. But any new tidbit of information related to the third title in the franchise is still welcome news for the fans that have finished Gears of War 2 and all the extra content that developers Epic Games have put out since release.

A presentation at the 2007 edition of the GDC and various statements from Epic developers were the most telling in relation to the intentions of Epic, until now.

Cliff Blezinski, one of the biggest driving forces behind the franchise, recently sat down with the people at the Official Xbox Magazine UK and told them about the projects he was working on.

He said that “There's only been two Gears games, man. There's still plenty of opportunities for things you can do in a cover-based shooter, and there's still a lot of stories to tell in the Gears universe. I'm not burned out on that at all.” The developer added that recent rumors that his company was working on a survival horror title were unfounded.

On July 28, gamers are set to receive a new content pack for Gears of War 2, titled Dark Corners. It will offer players a new chapter in the single player story, which did not make it in the initial release of the game, called Road to Ruin. The package, which will be available as a download from Xbox Live, is also set to offer seven new multiplayer maps and will be sold for the low price of 19.99 dollars.

Gears of War has single handedly managed to make the cover-oriented shooter one of the most important genres for console games and has managed to become Epic's most important franchise, with the previous star, Unreal Tournament, turning into a shadow of its former self.