If you were under the impression that the launch of a new Gears of War game is in any way less of an event than the release of anything else you might care to mention, then get ready for some knowledge.

When the second World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, released in 2008, a very impressive 15 000 retailers around the world opened their doors to hold midnight launches for the game to celebrate its arrival. Last year, StarCraft II enjoyed the support of 8 000 stores which similarly held midnight launches to give gamers the chance to pick the title up as early as possible.

Microsoft has announced, however, that a monstrous 20 000 stores around the globe will commemorate the release of Epic’s Gears of War 3 next Tuesday (September 20th) by holding midnight launches of their own.

20 000!

Retailers such as GAME and Gamestation in the UK, Best Buy and GameStop in the US, and BT Games in South Africa will all open their tills at 00:01 on September 20th to let us grab Gears of War 3 and hurry back home to jump into the game, and Microsoft has additionally revealed that if you happen to play online between September 20th and September 26th, you’ll unlock the Golden Lancer and Golden Hammerburst weapon skins as a reward!

Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski said of the planned festivities:

“This is by far the biggest, most polished, and most ambitious game we’ve ever made. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some big games throughout my career, but Gears of War 3 represents a crowning achievement for our team, and we can’t wait to share it with fans next Tuesday.”

Will you be attending a midnight launch event for Gears of War 3 in your neck of the woods?

South African gamers can look at the events that BT Games has planned over here, with times and location details included.

Look forward to it!