The Gears of War franchise is one of the Xbox 360's biggest exclusives, so despite the lack of any official announcement for a Gears of War 3, it was widely assumed to be in development. Sure enough, Edge is reporting that Gears of War 3 is well into development and will release April 2011.

Citing a “trusted U.S. publishing source,” the site says that a teaser trailer for Gears of War 3 will debut April 8, with the full reveal of the game coming in June at E3 2010. The reason why Gears of War 3 won't be releasing until next year has more to do with Microsoft’s other late 2010 releases than with Epic Games' own preparedness.

“Microsoft’s keen to avoid a clash with Halo: Reach and wants Natal to own Christmas,” said the Edge source. “That’s why we won’t be seeing Gears Of War 3 until next year, but expect a major marketing push ahead of its release.”