Gears of War 1 included with Judgment

Epic Games today announced that a download token for the 2006 original Gears of War will be included with launch copies of March's Gears of War: Judgment. The original Gears of War was not sold in Germany due to ratings restrictions and will thus not be part of the promotion.

Gears of War is currently available through Microsoft's Games on Demand platform for $20.

In addition, Epic Games provided insight into users' Gears of War play habits. Citing unspecified research, Epic Games said more than half of all consumers who played Gears of War 3 did not play the original.

Gears of War: Judgment is due out exclusively on Xbox 360 March 19, 2013 and is the first entry in the series since 2011's trilogy-capping Gears of War 3. Developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Bulletstorm studio People Can Fly, the project focuses on series soldier Damon Baird and will not use the Kinect.

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