Original: On November 7, 2006 â "the day that it was releasedâ" it became the most popular game on the Xbox Live service, until the release of Halo 3, overtaking Halo 2 which had held the spot since its launch in November 2004. Gears was the second most-played game on the Xbox Live service throughout 2007.
Simplified: It was the second most played game on the Xbox 360's online service, Xbox Live, in 2006 - only beaten by Halo 3.