Gears of War spins a million worldwide

Epic Games' shooter overruns international sales milestone in just two weeks to become the fastest-selling Xbox 360 game ever.

By now, virtually anyone with even a slight interest in games knows about Gears of War. In the midst of the PlayStation 3 and Wii launches, the Xbox 360 game has made many-a-headline, thanks to its widespread critical acclaim. It earned a 9.6 from GameSpot--tying the Xbox 360 edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as the site's highest-rated game of 2006. Epic Games' shooter also enjoys an impressive 95 metascore on Metacritic, which aggregates dozens of game-reviewers' ratings.

This week, Gears made news due to its popularity as well. Within hours of the shooter topping Halo 2 as the most-played game on Xbox Live, Microsoft announced that the game has sold more than 1 million units worldwide. The rapid pace at which Gears hit the milestone, just two weeks after its release, makes it the fastest-selling Xbox 360 game to date, besting such heavyweights as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Call of Duty 2.

Microsoft dropped some other statistics as well, saying "more than 850,000 unique gamers have engaged in 10 million [Gears of War] gameplay sessions while unlocking an impressive 7 million achievements." Since the game went on sale November 7, the rate of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, which are required for online play, has increased more than 50 percent. According to Microsoft, the impressive subscription rate is because more than 85 percent of Gears players play one of the game's various multiplayer modes, which include full campaign co-op.

293 Comments

  • Tombackman_5

    Posted May 23, 2007 11:03 am PT

    Death

  • bakasora

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 11:04 pm PT

    Wow Resident Evil 4 was great!!
    but after a while it gets boring.
    same goes for this game.
    which also happens to all game! wahahahaha

  • ps2fanboy91

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 2:16 pm PT

    christmas FTW

  • bsquared20

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 11:14 am PT

    Other than the relatively short campaing mode this game is flawless, it more than deserves its near perfect reviews.

  • racerx737

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 4:59 pm PT

    daammnn, looks like I need to go buy myself a copy of this game ASAP.

  • JaFFaMaN94

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 12:05 pm PT

    94 on metacritic, so gamespot acknoweldges the site as being representative of the true score. Hmm what did zelda get on metacritic :p .. 96...

  • stain1ess

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 11:15 am PT

    I hope this game will translate well to the pc. the duck and cover system seems a bit more tedious (or strategic, if you will) than the run, fun, and gun of the Unreal Tournament games. I'll just have to wait and see, but I admit, this game is a system seller and for M$ it came at the perfect time. This game will sell a ton of 360's this holiday season with PS3's so scarce. I was soooooo close to buying one just to play this game..

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 10:59 am PT

    teh halo killa???

  • mskittykat

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 9:40 am PT

    Wow. I knew the game was doing well, but this is exceptional. I just finished watching the extras on how the game was made...some pretty interesting stuff. Would you believe Microsoft was trying to move away from teh promition of the chainsaw gun?? It's the games best part! Good job Epic for upholding it..pushed the game way over the edge!

  • OPOLO

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 9:18 am PT

    GREAT GAME - good job

  • nem1

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 6:00 pm PT

    i got my 360!!! but i cant play it till christmas

  • joskilive

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 2:37 pm PT

    I GOT MIIIIIINNE just didnt open it yet

  • EvanO_O

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 2:29 pm PT

    Bill gates was right. It may not be Halo, but Microsoft launched a game just as good as Halo to really combat the PS3 launch. Hell, who really even owns a PS3? 300, 000 consoles out and Resistence flopped.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 1:41 pm PT

    I still haven't played it yet

  • gagan21

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 12:41 pm PT

    i am in love with gears of war , its the best game out there on any console

  • HenduKnight

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 11:54 am PT

    A great game for the 360 and exclusively for one system. This comes through in the ease of devolpement. Now MS has a lockdown on a trilogy, GOW. Making money is business and business, for MS, is good. Sony is trying to get ahead by locking in this exclusive contract agreement with developers, but most developers aren't happy. The more Sony tries to tighten their hold on developers, the more developers will just slip through their fingers.

  • Kirin_696

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 9:09 am PT

    notice mabe a halo perception series?
    I thinks so it will be and IT WILL BE MINE!
    (after i get he nintendo revolution on the other hand....)

    -------------------------------------------------
    I refuse to call IT a wii i see no "wiing" do you see any "wiing"? I THINK NOT!
    -Kieran

  • Sir_Sleepsalot

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 8:23 am PT

    Grats for Epic. One of the best games I've ever played.

  • forakiller

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 7:56 am PT

    dumb and totlay overrated. we took it back it was that mind numbing,and the grphics did absolutly nothing for us despite how technically good they may be

  • Bathyj

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 2:53 am PT

    Make that 1 million and one. I just got home from holidays and went straight from the airport to EB games and got my Collect Ed. Man, what a sweet game. Congrats Epic.

    PS.
    U2+Melbourne Telstradome= F***ing Sweet.

  • knucks91

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 10:07 pm PT

    Well it looks like Microsoft just become a lock for the Number 1 spot

  • Waskallywabbit

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 9:05 pm PT

    Finally, a real "next-gen" title! This is the first 360 game I have really gotten excited about.

  • Archetype_PS3

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 7:30 pm PT

    recommended maybe the game of the decade? nah just kidding

  • Bronson2k3

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 5:42 pm PT

    Yep got mine great game.

  • whitey618

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 3:21 pm PT

    Just think about how good the other two GOW are going to sell.

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 9:58 am PT

    I'm getting the CE today at Best Buy

  • metal_assassin

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 8:55 am PT

    WOW Gears of War ROCKS !!!!!!

  • King_Jeremy_77

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 6:11 am PT

    Deservedly so, Gears of War is an awesome game!

  • RogerC44

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 3:13 am PT

    That's cool!

  • 5telio5

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 12:07 am PT

    WOW
    DEFINETELY BUYING THIS
    BUT RE5 WILL ROCK ALL GAMES MAN!!!!!!!
    ------------------------------------------------
    RESIDENT EVIL RULES!!!!!!!!

  • thekey

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 8:33 pm PT

    Gow is going to reach at least 7 million by 2008!!!! Hopefully GoW 2 will be out by then.

  • GTAPsychoFan

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 5:47 pm PT

    GoW is the amazing **** we need more games like this.

  • jazreal

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 1:19 pm PT

    RE:RaiKageRyu
    Only 1million throughout two weeks? Not good enough.%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%hey sorry if your just joking, but if your serious, please remember that HALO 2 is in the genius book of world records for that very feat, and not just in gaming, but ALL things media(games, music, movies both rental and theater, concerts, its the biggest selling media item of all time), and if im not mistaken, gears just broke that record, which means you have two MS exlusive games in the history books. they say that the victors right history.............

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 12:05 pm PT

    Only 1million throughout two weeks? Not good enough.

  • LIMEBOB

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 11:27 am PT

    just finished the single player campaign.... oh yegh by the way it rocks!!!

    its been a while since i played a game from start to finish and still wanted to play it again and again and again and ag.... well you get the point. well done Epic hold your head high this is truly the first next gen FPS

  • Strag3n

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 11:17 am PT

    dang this game is crazy good

  • K1LLSWITCH

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 11:12 am PT

    Congrats to Epic Games for making a fantastic shooter that once again rewrites the rules of the shooter genre. Yes such ideas as the stop-and-pop feature was used in KillSwitch and G.R.A.W before but not as impressive as Gears. I am happy that Halo 2 has been bumped out as I'm sick and tired of hearing how great that game is by the Xbox fanboys. It's a decent game but not that great. I've played better. Gears keeps things fresh and new within the genre and the gamers obviously felt the same way as this game is the top most played game on XBL. We wanted something new and Epic delivered. A next-gen console deserves a next-gen shooter. And Gears of War is that game.

  • Shado_Man

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 7:38 am PT

    Haha. Where are all those moronic PS3 fanboys now? "itz not amazin itz jus a fps anuda dum fps datz no fun no 1 wil lik it" Suck on that.

  • ra7krz

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 11:32 pm PT

    wow thats awsome, gow is fn insane

  • Incubus420

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:41 pm PT

    Yeah thats amazing 50% increase is kinda weird...But i have gears and that game is really sick prolly one of the best i have ever played. If you want to get rocked my gamer tag is Lordincubus8

  • JLCrogue

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:03 pm PT

    Wow!! Gold subscriptions increased more than 50%!!!!11

  • chokehead

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 7:21 pm PT

    co op is brilliant.

    more games developers should take notice.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 6:33 pm PT

    wow, i have the collectors edition of this game, not opening it til christmas though! Look up my profile on here for my gamertag! add me, whoop me, i am sure like 1 million people will be able to whoop me! haha. My gamer tag is "Comic Sausage"... lol. I havent even opened my 360 yet.. will do christmas day! Cant wait to play this game!

    I hope that those 1 million people aren't idiots, in one resect the smaller the community, the better the experience.. but who knows, more people could just mean more potential.
    What i DO know is, is that this game will have an even bigger budget for the second one! and this means an updated online system... and loads of other stuff probably.
    Cant wait to get my teeth into this game! Now if i can only get the "faces" song out of my head, lol

  • neoand12

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 5:16 pm PT

    I loved the co-op on Gears...Even buying another 360 for my cuz, 360 is a very good system. the PS3 is too (I got one) But the PS3 just need some time, the 360 is now.

  • too_cool_craig

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 4:38 pm PT

    orionamra

    umm PS2 has 100m installed base and FF12 is the 12th game in the series GOW is a new franchise, and it was just realeased in europe 850k of those 1m were sold in USA. this is more like Halo, sells lots over longer period of time 360 only has 7m installed base and GOW will have sold 3m by years end. GOW will total 8m+ units sold and the trilogy will sell more units than the Halo trilogy

    god i hate sony zombies

    @ Andres757

    Halo sold about 1m in 3 months and it launched in November. Halo 2 sold 2.4m copies in NA/Canada in one day with an installed base of 18m

    GOW at the least will sell as well as Halo 1 (6.5m copies) and GOW 2 will be just as mega hyped and when it is released (200 the installed base of 360 will be 26 - 28m, so i guess it will sell 1m in about 6hrs WW that is. 2.8m in NA/USA alone day 1

  • too_cool_craig

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 4:33 pm PT

    orionamra

    umm PS2 has 100m installed base and FF12 is the 12th game in the series GOW is a new franchise, and it was just realeased in europe 850k of those 1m were sold in USA. this is more like Halo, sells lots over longer period of time 360 only has 7m installed base and GOW will have sold 3m by years end. GOW will total 8m+ units sold and the trilogy will sell more units than the Halo trilogy

    god i hate sony zombies

  • too_cool_craig

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 4:30 pm PT

    troopa_26

    its published my M$ der, thats like saying there will be a X360 version of God Of War or SOTC there both by sony, just buy a 360 you zombie

  • tr00pa_26

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 12:02 pm PT

    hmmmm....PS3 version?

  • danihavok

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 9:48 am PT

    Can't wait to get my xbox 360 to play this game!

  • kampz1

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 7:47 am PT

    GOW 0wns, Anime-Beast go play a Wii

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