It appears as if Microsoft’s kid gloves are off for the battle leading into the next holiday season, as they have officially announced the release date of the third sequel to their best-selling Halo franchise. Having Halo 3 release earlier in the year rather than alongside other big titles, like GTAIV, would undoubtedly widen the install base gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3 as it moves into the holiday season. Expect to find Halo 3 will be available in stores on September 25th in the US and September 26th in Europe for the Xbox 360. In anticipation of the game’s release, Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business has said:

“Halo 3 is much more than a video game release—it’s the biggest entertainment event of the year. On September 25, we intend to deliver a finale that will go down in entertainment history and leave people around the world with an experience that will be shared and enjoyed for years to come.”

Let’s not forget that the Halo 3 beta launches today for those have already received their invitations or have copies of Crackdown. Just jump on Xbox Live to begin downloading the beta client and start fragging online.