Gears of War 4 gets an October release date

Gears of War 4 might have only been officially announced not even an entire year ago, but Microsoft is wasting no time on getting word out to the masses about it. We had that grand unveil of a lot of new info on the third person shooter sequel a few weeks back, and now Microsoft is capitalizing on that new momentum by announcing when fans can actually get their hands on the game.

Previously Microsoft had slated the game for a vague release window of "Fall 2016," but now has given the game a release date proper: October 11th, 2016. It's clear Microsoft is finding success launching their first party games during this season, with both Sunset Overdrive and Halo: Guardians launching in the month as well. Its timing is close enough to the holiday season but far enough from the usually packed November game rush which seems to be working in their favor.

Coming before than the actual release of the game itself is the multiplayer beta, which will be available on April 18th for those who purchased the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on either Windows 10 or Xbox One. It will then go into open beta for Xbox Live Gold members on April 25th. To get a better look at the game, make sure to check out the big E3 unveiling from last year:

Also check out the cover art for the game, officially revealed by Entertainment Weekly: