Microsoft Confirms Gears of War 3 for April 2011

Cliff Blezinski might have announced that his appearance on the Late Night show with Jimmy Fallon had been delayed but it seems that someone working on the Xbox Live service failed to get the memo as the Xbox 360 dashboard began showing advertisements related to Gears of War 3, which were probably set to only play after the Epic Games representative had talked about his company's next project on live television.

The ads, which you can take a look at in a rather fuzzy image attached to this article, are showing the now all too familiar logo of the Gears of War series, with the text saying “The epic story concludes April 2011.”

As the advertising on the Xbox 360 is handled directly by Microsoft, it's safe to state that the console manufacturer itself has confirmed the launch window for the latest installment of one of its most highly rated franchises. Since it was launched, the Gears of War series has managed to sell more than 11 million units and replaced Unreal Tournament as the biggest franchise for Epic Games.

As an industry source leaked to Edge the exact same window, more rumored details related to Gears of War 3 have been leaked. A publishing source is saying that the third game will bring quite a bit of changes to the tried and tested formula of the first two iterations in the series.

There will be enemies that have tentacles and are able to assault COG soldiers even when they are in cover, mech-like units delivering firepower and cover to friendly forces and the signature gray look of Gears of War might give way to some greener sights in some levels. Of course, it would be nice to hear some comments on Gears of War 3 from the developers themselves.