New Gears of War game coming to E3

The next chapter in the Gears of War shooter saga is coming to the Xbox 360 and will be announced on Monday, according to the GameStop-owned Game Informer magazine. The announcement will be made during Microsoft's 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing, which is slated for 9:30 a.m. PDT on June 4.

Game Informer's July issue features art from the new game (at right), though at present, it is shrouded in blackness. Three characters are featured in the image, with the center figure bound by chains in a mysterious place. The series' familiar flying Reaver enemies are shown in the background cruising over a burning building.

The Gears of War franchise launched in 2006 with the praised original, which was followed by Gears of War 2 in 2008 and Gears of War 3 in 2011. A Gears of War Kinect project was reportedly in the works before Epic confirmed in April that this game had been canceled.

For more on the third-person shooter franchise, check out GameSpot's review of Gears of War 3.