Halo is King of the platform exclusives, rules Xbox global marketing director, Steve Beinner. End of discussion. Aren't that many that have "broken through and sold that much." Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are big boy series, but they aren't platform exclusives - Halo is. The return of Master Chief is a "strong focal point" for fans to come back to.
Microsoft admit there's a "tremendous amount of pressure" on the new 343 Industries team working on Halo 4, but the devs know they're following in the "footsteps of giants". They promised gameplay would step forward but they're "definitely not creating Mirror's Edge" but with Halo slapped on. It won't be unrecognisable to fans - it'll have that 'true Halo feel'.
Microsoft has unveiled a new offer on the Xbox Live Dashboard, offering four free titles in exchange for a six month Xbox Live Gold membership purchase. The games being offered include Halo: Reach, Fable III, Kinect Sports and The Gunstringer.
343 Industries has released some concept art for one of the maps for their highly anticipated shooter Halo 4. The map is called "Warhorse", which is comprised of a half-finished structure on a gas-mining ship. The map is full of tight corridors, with a symmetrical shape with plenty of landmarks. This is to prevent players from getting lost in the level.
Bungie started a hip-cool trend when it began offering fans of Halo some serious stat-tracking numbers to crunch but now that's all come to a close for the developer - they're moving on. Before they ride off into the sunset though they've put together a tributary set of infographics to commemorate the "mountain of heroic moments" fans provided the community.
It looks like something is going on with Halo, as MarkMonitor, Microsoft's usual proxy for claiming domain names, has started registering domains that all revolve around the phrase "Halo Infinity".
It seems that Cortana is getting an interesting upgrade for her role in Halo 4, one that's shaplier and more life-sized, as seen in new concept art for the highly anticipated Xbox 360 shooter coming later this year.
The upcoming May issue of Game Informer will be spilling a ton of details on the upcoming Microsoft shooter Halo 4, and some of the info is quite eye-opening and sure to create some strong opinions from Halo fans.
US media research group Nielsen is reporting that the most anticipated games for American gamers were Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4. Other games hotly anticipated include Madden NFL 13 and Resident Evil 6.
Game Informer has blabbed in their cover story of 343 Industries' Halo 4 and revealed some details about the game's online direction. Multiplayer will relate to single player events. There's the usual rank ups, but also mid-match weapon drops and medal awards. Spartan Ops is a co-op mode for up to 4 players and will get weekly instalments. These will be free.
When Bungie left Microsoft for greener pastures, the series lost its iconic composer Martin O'Donnell, who created some of the most famous scores in videogame history. 343 Industries, which has taken over in Bungie's stead, has the unenviable task of creating a new, memorable score.
Microsoft will announce a 6th November release date for Halo 4, according to The Verge.
Xbox 360 fans now have a firm date to circle on their calendar as Master Chief will be coming out of cryonic stasis on the 6th November 2012 in Halo 4. This game will be pivotal in several ways, not the least of which it is the first shooter in the series to be developed by someone other than Bungie.
Late night sensation Conan O'Brien showed off a few seconds of gameplay of Halo 4 on his late night television show, while meeting with the development team at 343 Industries and giving them some fairly dubious suggestions, as well as doing some voiceover work for them.
For gamers who were eagerly awaiting the Halo movie, a new book by Jamie Russell, Generation Xbox: How Videogames Invaded Hollywood, revealed why the film was never produced. In short, Microsoft refused to play ball with Hollywood, due to their "unfamiliarity" with the studio system.
A live action Halo web series will launch ahead of Halo 4's release this year.
Tor Books has announced the next Halo novel is to tie-in with Halo 4. Set to be written by esteemed Halo and Gears of War writer Karen Traviss, the book will set up the events of Halo 4. Fans can purchase the book on 2nd October, slightly before Halo 4's worldwide release on 6th November.
Xbox Live members on the 14th May were sent "a piece of the Halo 4" puzzle, getting one of 32 images. An hour later, NeoGAF member spawn031 took all of the pieces and put them together, revealing the finalized Halo 4 box art.
While a Limited Edition of Halo 4 was a foregone conclusion, Microsoft has revealed what the $100 premium edition of the game would look like and include. Among the bonuses are nine maps, early access to six specializations, and a feature length film.
Gameplay footage of an internal multiplayer beta for Halo 4 has been leaked onto the internet, although the clip itself is incredibly poor in quality. Then there's the awful sound over. The clip shows off some new features, like the chance to instantly respawn. Microsoft's response to the leak? They confirm there's an "internal beta test of Halo 4" currently running.