Data leaked from analyst firm Cowen and Company indicates Halo 4 sold 3.2 million copies in the US during November. Microsoft's title was the second highest selling game of the month, with Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops II shifting 7.5 million.
Major Nelson has announced that the Crimson Map Pack is now available for Halo 4. The DLC weighs in at 528.48 MB and costs 800 Microsoft Points. The DLC is free for those who purchased the War Games Pass, and it is advised that gamers who own the pass not purchase the map from Marketplace or they will be charged twice for it.
Microsoft and 343 Industries is "currently investigating" the situation where Halo 4 gamers have found themselves banned after having got hold of the Crimson Map Pack following the 'leak debacle'. The Crimson DLC appeared on the Xbox Live Marketplace at no cost, before Microsoft moved in. Those banhammered blame Crimson, but 343 Industries say it isn't at fault.
Microsoft's 343 Industries is the internal development studio responsible for the Halo brand. Franchise development director Frank O'Connor says while it was the 8th game, it was their 1st. He admits the studio has "a lot to learn," citing "a lot of mistakes" were made in Halo 4's development. O'Connor is adamant that it "wasn't half bad" for a first effort at Halo.
Buried under a lengthy blog post on Halo Waypoint is the announcement that next month multiplayer for Halo 2 on PC will forever more be restricted to LAN as Microsoft switch off servers. They've monitored online activity and numbers have been "peaking consistently" at around "20 players or less." All Halo 2 network services for PC will terminate as of February 15th.
The latest episode for Spartan Ops has been trailered, and it's promising some tense drama with Lasky confronting Halsey for her decisions. It's all about the 'Librarian', and his late book fee treasure horde. Well, that's what it's presumably about. I guess you'd have to be playing 343 Industries' free Spartan Ops episodic DLC to know what's actually happening. Got any overdue books?
The guys at NeoGAF have uncovered a bounty of unannounced games once again in the Steam registry, including PC versions of such titles as Second Life (!), Cut the Rope and Fez. The most intriguing, however, is not only the inclusion of Halo 2, but of Halo 3, which was never developed on PC.
Yesterday, the Steam registry showed Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 being upcoming content to be released on Steam, which raised a few eyebrows since Halo 3 had not publicly been developed on PC, and that Microsoft would be using rival Valve's digital distribution.
343 Industries has revealed that many Easter Egg surprises put in by the development team remain undiscovered in Halo 4's campaign. The team thought many would be found within days of launch. Not so. The developer is now providing "some hints" to find these secrets, and warn time is running out for people to claim they found them first. Future Halo Waypoint bulletins will tease clues.
It seems that Microsoft won't be pulling the plug on Halo 2 PC yet, as 343 Industries' David Ellis has stated that the multiplayer has been extended to June. Halo 2 PC multiplayer was supposed to be pulled on the 15th February.
343 Industries will be releasing three new maps with the Majestic Map Pack for Halo 4 next week. They also include ten new achievements to earn and a new free-for-all playlist: Infinity Rumble. The new maps are Landfall, Monolith and Skyline. The map pack ranges from small close-quarter confines to more 'classic arena-based' action. The DLC is priced at 800 Microsoft Points.
343 Industries has announced an update on the title update. It's due "sometime this week," but they can't provide a concrete time for fans. There's plenty of "bugs, glitches and issues" taken care of. They've provided a changelog for the tweaks imminently due which practically touch everything. 343 also give apologies for an "accidental troll of epic proportions" over the Majestic Map Pack.
343 Industries have the keys to cars of Microsoft's flagship Halo series, but according to Kiki Wolfkill, not all of the games in the series will star Master Chief.
The most expensive game Microsoft ever invested in, Halo 4, has posted some impressive since its launch last November 2012, which 343 Industries revealed at a PAX East panel.
If you played co-op in Halo it didn't feel like much of a joint effort during cut scenes, as your team mate got shoved to the sideline. Bungie are approaching it differently with Destiny, as your heroics carry over. The studio also wants to present players a lot more choice, small and big. Destiny's world is to continue evolving much like a typical MMO's world would, but they're still figuring it out.
Steven Spielberg producing a live-action Halo series for Microsoft's entertainment company, Microsoft Entertainment Studios. No other details are known as of yet, save it'll be a feature on Xbox Live.
A listing for Halo Bootcamp appeared in the Korean Ratings Board, leading to speculation about just what it was.
Microsoft announced on the Halo Waypoint that the weapons in Halo 4 multiplayer would be retuned on the 3rd June.
A very arcade twin-stick shooter affair is the newly revealed Halo: Spartan Assault, which is being released by Microsoft Game Studios as a Windows 8 exclusive, meaning it will support mobile devices. This is not your typical FPS Halo, so PC gamers still aren't necessarily getting much Halo love. That it's Windows 8 exclusive will definitely keep its audience small time.
Microsoft released a teaser for a new Halo game for the Xbox One, showing off what appeared initially to be a Dune-style desert planet game, but dramatically revealing Master Chief - in yet another new armor change.