Gears of War takes top spot in Xbox Live chart

Xbox Live's director of programming, Larry Hryb, has revealed that Gears of War has finally overtaken Halo 2 to become the most popular game on Microsoft's multiplayer service.

Even with Call of Duty 2 and titles like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter attracting huge crowds in the Xbox 360's early months on sale, Halo 2 has always managed to maintain its position on the top of the pile - and its ousting in favour of a new, 360-exclusive property is likely to be seen as significant.

Elsewhere in the most-played charts, Call of Duty 3 overtook its predecessor to slot in behind Gears of War. Contra is the third most-played 360 game amongst connected users, despite the release of Midway's Defender last Wednesday.