Microsoft and Epic have to be very excited about the release of Gears of War 3 later this year now that they have word that the title has set the record as the fastest Xbox 360 pre-ordered title in history. Pre-orders for the title have already broken 1 million and the company believes that more will continue to order, particularly after those participating in the beta start telling their friends that didn’t do so.

Reports confirm that over 1.29 million players from 145 different countries played the multiplayer beta which provided Epic with valuable feedback to be incorporated into Gears 3 prior to release. During the beta, over 11 million matches were played, which is an incredible number.

Only 234,000 players were able to get the Gold Retro Lancer which will be able to be used in the release version of Gears of War 3 when it arrives worldwide on September 20th.