It's been less than nine months since the epic (in more ways than one) Gears of War trilogy concluded in Gears of War 3, but Epic will have a new game in the franchise to show to the world at next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo. According to Game Informer (who will be featuring the game on the cover of their next issue, shown below), the game will debut during Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, which is set to kick off this Monday at 9:30 PST/12:30 EST.

Few other details are known, though Game Informer’s teaser image shows a hulking center character in chains (who seemingly has the same build as Marcus Fenix and his platoon of buffed-up brothers in arms) being led down a hallway by Gears infantry soldiers. The original Gears of War began with Marcus breaking out of prison, so could this new game tell a prequel story showcasing Emergence Day and the start of the war against the locust? Regardless of the form this new Gears game takes, keep an eye on OXM Online next week as we present our impressions of the game as we check it out during E3!

SOURCE: July Cover Revealed: The Next Gears Of War [Game Informer]