The “Never Fight Alone” beta phase of Gears of War 3 kicks off on the 8th of May and Epic Games invites everyone that has already enlisted in the game’s beta test to recruit their friends for this phase.

Starting today, everyone who’s played at least one game in the beta will receive a “buddy token” to share with a friend on Xbox LIVE, giving them access to the Gears of War 3 beta. The buddy tokens will be distributed via e-mail starting 8 May when the “Never Fight Alone” phase begins, giving beta participants and their friends a full week to enjoy the multiplayer mayhem together.

Players entering the GW3 beta testing on the 8th of May will have the chance to try out three new Gears of War 3 competitive modes (Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader and King of the Hill), all available on four multiplayer maps: Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches and Old Town. Participating in this stage of the beta test comes with its share of rewards as players can unlock exclusive content which can then be carried over to the Gears of War 3 retail copy when it launches on September 20th. The content that’s up for grabs includes medals, weapons skins and character variants like the fan-favorite Thrashball Cole. More info on this phase of the beta test can be found here.

Powered by dedicated servers, Gears of War 3” offers the series’ most feature-packed versus multiplayer experience yet, and raises the bar with new game types, weapons, visceral executions, playable characters, squad communication tools, a deep player rewards system, and more. New players will enjoy the finely balanced gameplay and streamlined game types, which make “Gears of War 3” deeper and more accessible than ever before, allowing anyone to instantly jump into the action.

Developed by acclaimed studio Epic Games, Gears of War 3 is available for pre-order today in three distinct editions – Standard (£49.99), Limited (£59.99) and Epic (£99.99). For additional details on the game and the beta, please visit the game’s official site.