Gears of War is a 2006 military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is the first installment of the Gears of War series. It was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 in North America, Australia, and most of Europe. A Microsoft Windows version of the game was developed in conjunction with People Can Fly and released a year later, featuring new content including additional campaign levels, a new multiplayer game mode, and Games for Windows – Live functionality.