Gears of War 3 sets Xbox pre-order record

Third-person shooter Gears of War 3 has been pre-ordered more than one million times – and hit the milestone faster than any previous Xbox exclusive.

More than 1.29 million gamers played the recently finished beta. Fans collectively logged more than 249 years worth of gameplay.

"An overwhelming success – we can't thank the fans enough," said Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski.

"While the beta was a fun way to give players an early taste of our game, it also provided us with invaluable feedback to help us refine and polish 'Gears of War 3' to ensure it's truly the culmination of the trilogy we promised to the fans."

Some more statistics:

• Over the course of four weeks, fans played more than 11 million multiplayer matches.
• 1.29 million people participated in the beta
• 145 different countries participated in the beta
• 249 years worth of matches played
• More than 11 million matches completed
• More than 927 million kills recorded
• More than 131 million executions performed
• More than 23 million deaths by chainsaw
• Nearly 23 BILLION bullets fired
• 460 million ribbons and 294 million medals earned
• 435 thousand people earned the beta exclusive Thrashball Cole skin to use in the retail game when it launches in September
• 234 thousand people earned the beta exclusive Gold Retro Lancer to use in the retail game when it launches in September.

Eurogamer recently sat down with franchise boss Rod Fergusson for an in-depth Gears of War 3 interview.