Recruit Your Friends for the “Gears of War 3” Beta and “Never Fight Alone” Starting 8 May

London — 4 May, 2011 — Legions of fans worldwide have enlisted in the fight to help test and polish the most anticipated blockbuster of the year, but the battle is poised to heat up even more as Epic Games invites you to recruit your friends for duty when the “Never Fight Alone” beta phase for “Gears of War 3” kicks off on 8 May.

Starting today, everyone who’s played at least one game in the beta will receive a “buddy token” to share with a friend on Xbox LIVE, giving them access to the “Gears of War 3” beta. The buddy tokens will be distributed via e-mail starting 8 May when the “Never Fight Alone” phase begins, giving beta participants and their friends a full week to enjoy the multiplayer mayhem together.

New players entering the beta on 8 May will have a chance to cross chainsaws with their buddies in three new “Gears of War 3” competitive modes (Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader and King of the Hill) on four stunning multiplayer maps (Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches and Old Town). Additionally, beta recruits can unlock an array of exciting content such as exclusive medals, weapon skins and character variants like the fan-favourite Thrashball Cole, which they can carry over to their retail copy of “Gears of War 3” when it launches on 20 September. For additional details, please refer to the official Epic Games FAQ:http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=767359.

Powered by dedicated servers, “Gears of War 3” offers the series’ most feature-packed versus multiplayer experience yet, and raises the bar with new game types, weapons, visceral executions, playable characters, squad communication tools, a deep player rewards system, and more. New players will enjoy the finely balanced gameplay and streamlined game types, which make “Gears of War 3” deeper and more accessible than ever before, allowing anyone to instantly jump into the action.

Developed by acclaimed studio Epic Games, “Gears of War 3” is available for pre-order today in three distinct editions – Standard (£49.99), Limited (£59.99) and Epic (£99.99). For additional details on the game and the beta, please visitgearsofwar.xbox.com.