Gears of War 3 DLC delayed

Halloween was yesterday, but Gears of War 3 fans are receiving a trick instead of a treat today, as Epic Games has announced a last-minute delay for the game's first downloadable content, the Horde Command Pack. Epic announced the delay late last night on its official forums.

"The scheduled Horde Command Pack release for Gears of War 3 is temporarily delayed due to a technical issue," announced an Epic community manager. "We apologize to those of you who are anxiously waiting to play. We know this is disappointing news as we've seen a lot of posts today showing excitement for this content. We have folks working around the clock to resolve this issue ASAP so you can all play and enjoy the Command Pack."

Originally planned to launch today, the 800 Microsoft points ($10) Horde-themed content includes three new maps, three new playable characters, new fortification upgrades, a pair of new weapon skins, and 250 additional gamerscore to acquire. The Horde Command Pack is the first of four DLC packs scheduled to arrive for Gears of War 3 in the coming months. The second DLC pack, RAAM's Shadow, will feature a single-player component and is set to debut for 1,200 Microsoft points ($15) on December 13. Players can purchase the Gears of War 3 Season Pass today for 2,400 Microsoft points ($30) on Xbox Live. If purchased separately, those packs will cost players 3,600 Microsoft points ($45).

[UPDATE]: The delay on the Horde Command Pack might not last very long at all. Microsoft representatives have since said the add-on will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace later today.

Gears of War 3 was released worldwide on September 20 and sold more than 3 million units during its first week. For more on Epic Games' third-person shooter, check out GameSpot's review of Gears of War 3.