Wow, it seems like only 24 days ago we were telling you about Gears of War selling 1 million copies, and now Microsoft and Epic have announced that it's gone and sold double that. Yes, Gears of War has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, having broken the 1 million mark in the U.S. alone, making it the fastest selling next-gen console game so far.

"'Gears of War' clearly has won the battle for the title of the must-have game of the year," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. "Its phenomenal success is one of many reasons why Xbox 360 is the ultimate place to get together with friends to play this holiday."

That's a lot of killing going on right there. Gears of War has managed to completely screw my chances in any other online shooter, with the exception of maybe Rainbow Six. I can't stop trying to hide behind things. You won't last long in Halo 2 if you're trying to press yourself against a pillar.

As always, hit the jump for the full press release.

Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games, Inc. Announce 'Gears of War' Surpasses 2 Million in Unit Sales Worldwide, Becoming the Fastest-Selling Next-Generation Console Game

REDMOND, WA USA 02/18/2005

Xbox 360 exclusive surpasses 1 million units sold in the U.S.

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — A video game champion
has been crowned; "Gears of War" made history today by becoming the
fastest- selling next-generation game of 2006 and the fastest-selling
exclusive Xbox(R) game ever.

Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games, Inc., today confirmed that
"Gears of War," the Xbox 360(TM)-exclusive title, has sold more than 2
million copies worldwide since its release six weeks ago, with a stunning 1
million copies sold in the U.S. alone.

"'Gears of War' clearly has won the battle for the title of the
must-have game of the year," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of
global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft
Corp. "Its phenomenal success is one of many reasons why Xbox 360 is the
ultimate place to get together with friends to play this holiday."

"We've always held high hopes for 'Gears of War,' but we never expected
such an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and gamers all over
the world," said Michael Capps, president, Epic Games. "I can't describe
how stoked our team is right now. Our fans can absolutely count on Epic to
keep delivering new gameplay through Xbox Live(R)."

In addition to being the must-have video game of the holiday season,
"Gears of War" continues to rage on the Xbox Live battlefield as well, with
more than 1 million unique gamers engaging in 10 million online gameplay
sessions and unlocking an impressive 7 million achievements.* On top of
being the No. 1 title on Xbox Live, "Gears of War" has driven new members
to the network; paid registrations per day have skyrocketed more than 50
percent since the game's launch.

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I lied, it's not the full press release. I clipped it when they started up with the long and boring 'abouts' section. That's well and good for normal news sites, but I am going to go out on a limb here and assume you all know who Microsoft is. Michael Fahey

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