Epic Games will once again be handling development duties on Gears of War 3, which “plunges players into a harrowing tale of hope, survival and brotherhood” to complete the current story arc for the series. The last human city has been destroyed and the last remaining survivors are stranded, leaving Marcus and his comrades in a race against the clock to save the human race from extinction.

Here’s what Cliff Bleszinski, Design Director at Epic Games, had to say: “When we released ‘Gears of War’ more than three years ago, we set out to tell the world an unforgettable story of bravery and sacrifice in the face of insurmountable odds, and a year from now, players will get the chance to experience the final chapter in the story of Marcus Fenix and his companions in Delta Squad. This is definitely the biggest and most dramatic chapter yet in the ‘Gears of War’ saga, and we can’t wait to deliver it.”

Everyone assumed that Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski’s appearance on The Jimmy Fallon Show Wednesday night was to announce a third installment to the Gears of War franchise. But when he canceled and Justin Bieber had to take his spot, suspicions arose.

Gears of War 3, dubbed by the publisher to be the “biggest blockbuster game of 2011,” will be the “explosive finale to the landmark Gears of War trilogy” and will be available exclusively on the xbox 360 in April 2011.

Microsoft took the opportunity to throw a lot of descriptive phrases into the press release, including “spectacular conclusion to one of the game industry’s most memorable and celebrated sagas” and “epic story finale” to “one of the biggest franchises in Xbox history.”

Today, however, Kotaku reported that this advertisement showed up on the Xbox 360 Dashboard, stating that Gears of War 3 will be released sometime in April 2011. Oopsies, Microsoft!

The third installment is a follow up to 2008’s Gears of War 2, which broke sales records by selling over 2 million unites in it’s opening weekend. The game also set online records, as they clocked over 1.5 million players logging on to play the game at one time.

While the game hasn’t officially been announced by any other sources, rumors of the game have been abound for some time, including some new features like underwater combat and mech suits. Whatever the case, we’re sure to hear something when Bleszinski appears on Jimmy Fallon on April 12th.

Of course with over 12 million units of the games sold worldwide as well as toys, collectibles, apparel and an upcoming film, graphic novels and a book series, you can hardly blame them for choosing to blow their own trumpet a little.