Gears of War franchise tops 19 million in sales

Microsoft announces big numbers for Gears of War franchise sales.

Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad continue to beat the odds and make the Gears of War franchise one of gaming’s most impressive success stories. A new report has the sci-fi action series selling more than 19 million units since the first game hit shelves in 2006.

According to Joystiq, the Gears of War franchise has sold more than a million additional units in the time between a July report from Microsoft and a recent update from the company which trumpeted the series’ landmark sales. While specific sales figures haven’t been made available for the most recent release, Gears of War 3, the new tally suggests that there’s been quite a few more units sold since the game moved more than 3 million copies in its first week of release.

All told, the Gears of War franchise encompasses three games and a long list of DLC packages. A fourth game, Gears of War: Judgement, was announced in May of this year and is scheduled for a March 2013 release.

The new game will follow returning characters Baird and Cole and feature a few new characters, including “a straight-edge elite Onyx Guard and a refugee of the URI.” As we saw at E3, Judgment will be a prequel “told through a series of flashbacks, as the trial [of Baird and Cole] makes up the framework of the story. But beyond being part of the narrative, this actually becomes an integral piece of the gameplay itself.”