[RUMOR] Gears of War 3 out in April 2011?

I’ve not done a rumor post for a while, but when a well-respected source like Edge magazine reveals a speculative nugget, it’s usually worth listening. According to the mag, a “trusted US publishing source” has said Gears of War 3 will launch for Xbox 360 (and presumably PC) in April 2011.

Edge‘s mole even pinpointed a debut date for the first teaser trailer for the game: April 8th, exactly one year ahead of the game’s launch date. A full reveal will be made in June.

Interestingly, Edge’s source reports that Microsoft is against Gears of War 3 launching in 2010, as it may clash with other big Xbox 360 product launches:

“Microsoft’s keen to avoid a clash with Halo: Reach and wants Project Natal to own Christmas. That’s why we won’t be seeing Gears Of War 3 until next year, but expect a major marketing push ahead of its release.”

All of which is … actually totally believable.

If you’re new to the series (and I do hope you enjoyed your break under the rock), the Gears of Wars franchise is about big, dense, muscular men from the future shotgunning and bloodily chainsawing the crap out of aliens. Both games contain some serious eye-candy, but they also bore me silly. Probably because I’m absolutely rubbish at them, but still.

[Via Edge]