Epic Games and Microsoft have announced the 'Never Fight Alone' phase of the Gears of War 3 beta, which will allow current participants to invite their friends to take part.

According to the press release from Microsoft, everyone who's played at least one game in the Gears of War 3 beta is in with a chance to receive a "buddy token", which they can then pass on to a friend on Xbox LIVE. This buddy token, when redeemed, enables access into the Gears of War 3 beta. These tokens will be distributed via email from May 8th, the start date of the 'Never Fight Alone' phase and the final week of the Gears of War 3 beta.

The final week of the beta will consist of three competitive modes (Team Deathmatch, Capture the Leader and King of the Hill) on four maps (Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches and Old Town). The beta also gives participants the chance to unlock certain in-game items (character skins, weapon skins and more) that will carry over when the full game launches on September 20th this year.