Gears of War 3 $30 season pass to include first four DLC packs

Gears of War 3 may have gone gold last week, but the game is far from finished. Epic Games and Microsoft today detailed downloadable content plans that will keep the development cogs turning for some time.

The third-person shooter will receive at least four expansions in the next year, with the first arriving in November. If purchased separately, those packs will cost players 3,600 Microsoft points ($45). However, starting on the game's September 20 launch, players can enlist for the long haul, purchasing a "Season Pass" to preorder all four packs at the discounted price of 2,400 Microsoft points ($30). In addition to the DLC add-ons, Season Pass holders will receive an exclusive "liquid metal weapon set."

Originally pegged to debut in April, Gears of War 3 begins with the last human city having been obliterated. The game follows series hero Marcus Fenix as he attempts to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde as well as from the newer, deadlier foe, the mutating Lambent.

Gears of War 3 will be available in three versions this September: standard ($60), Limited ($80), and Epic ($150). The centerpiece of this year's $150 Gears of War 3 Epic Edition will be a limited-run Marcus Fenix statue. Between the three versions, Gears of War 3 has drawn more than 1.3 million preorders to date.

For more on Gears of War 3, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.