The planned Halo: CE Anniversary pack and Halo 4 have the "opportunity" to win over today's 18 year-olds who "probably didn't play" the original Halo.
"The tenth anniversary is huge and is a product of great passion. It’s important we celebrate this – the game itself was a huge milestone for us and kickstarted the platform in a lot of ways,” said Microsoft UK's Xbox & Entertainment director, Stephen McGill.
“But the platform has evolved dramatically in that time, so it’s worth going back to show how it still stands up as a product made today.” The Anniversary release is "very much for those who grew up with the franchise”, and it'll help build more excitement for Halo 4.
"One of the key things with Halo 4 is going back to what made it amazing for people playing the first Halo," continued McGill. “But the people who are 18 years old now were only eight when Halo appeared. They probably didn’t play it. That’s the opportunity the Anniversary pack and then Halo 4 have.”
Microsoft doesn't see Halo as directly competing with other major shooter franchises. "It’s different to Gears of War, it’s different to Call of Duty. So it stands alongside them.” Halo 4 is the first full release in the series not handled by creator Bungie.
Halo 4 releases exclusively on Xbox 360 in late 2012.