A set of solid start dates have just been announced for the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta, finally giving eager ‘Gear Heads’ (sorry, is that term already in use?) a chance to go hands-on with the game’s competitive online modes.

The beta was previously given a release window of ‘mid-April,’ although now it’s going to become available in ‘late April.’ But also ‘mid-April’…

Let’s clear this up:

If you pre-order Gears of War 3 at specific retailers around the world, you will be able to gain access to the multiplayer beta on April 25th and play through four new maps and three new competitive modes.

If you bought Bulletstorm Epic Edition, however, you’ll get into the beta on April 18th.

When the beta ends on May 15th, Epic Games will be kind enough to let us keep any unlockables accrued while playing the multiplayer beta for use in the full game, including different weapons, skins and special items.

Additionally, three versions of Gears of War 3 were announced, namely Standard, Limited and Epic.

Gears of War 3 is scheduled for release on September 20th worldwide, exclusively on Xbox 360. Rifle through El33tonline’s previous coverage of this amazing-looking title for tons of screenshots, videos and extra information.