Epic set to announce new Gears of War title at Microsoft conference

Epic Games is set for a big E3 now that it has added yet another major announcement to its lineup. Already promising to unveil the highly anticipated Unreal Engine 4, it is now confirmed that Gears of War will be coming back to the stage as well.

While Gears of War just saw the end of a trilogy last year, it was a foregone conclusion that the franchise would continue. The new game has only one screenshot to its name so far. The reveal came thanks to Game Informer, who teased a single image for next month's cover.

A new title leaves much to the imagination for the franchise, which has seen major universe expansion through books, comics and other multimedia. The 16 million copies sold for the first three titles is good indication that a new title is just what many fans have been hoping for.

A cursory look at the image does show some familiar enemies, such as the Locust. The world burns behind three silhouetted figures, with a shackled prisoner bearing close resemblance to series protagonist Marcus Fenix. One might guess that this game could very well serve as a prequel to the main series, delving into the Pendulum Wars leading up to Emergence Day.

News will be coming at the Microsoft press conference, to be held on Monday.