20,000 midnight openings for Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 is released worldwide next Tuesday and Microsoft has announced that over 20,000 stores across the globe will open their doors at midnight.

In the UK 479 GAME and Gamestation stores will open at 00:01 on Tuesday September 20th, with GAME’s flagship London Oxford Street store hosting a special event with giveaways throughout the night.

In the US a marquee event at the Best Buy Theatre in New York will be broadcast live on GameTrailers TV, kicking off at 23:30 local time.

This is by far the biggest, most polished, and most ambitious game we’ve ever made,” Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski said.

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.”

Microsoft has also announced that any gamer who plays a Gears of War 3 match online between September 20th and 26th will unlock the Golden Lancer and Golden Hammerburst weapon skins.