

Each mission is scored on several criteria including the number of kills by the player, head shots, and gibs, and up to three stars are awarded. Unlike the previous games in the series, which used very large, open environments, missions are self-contained portions of the overall story and returning to earlier missions' settings is never possible. The main campaign is divided into six chapters, each with several missions. Like its predecessors, Gears of War: Judgment is a third-person shooter, with an "over the shoulder" perspective and cover system. Gears of War: Judgment received positive reactions from critics, but underperformed commercially, selling 1 million copies by August 2013.

Prior to Microsoft's announcement, video game journalists had already determined that the chronology of events in Gears of War: Judgment would pre-date that of the other releases in the franchise, and that the prequel would feature Damon Baird and Augustus Cole as protagonists. Microsoft announced the development of Gears of War: Judgment at the company's press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 in June, before releasing a debut trailer and demonstrating the upcoming multiplayer features. It is a spin-off of the Gears of War series and a prequel to the entire franchise. It was released in North America and Australia on March 19, 2013, and in Europe on March 22. Gears of War: Judgment is a third-person shooter video game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360.
