Microsoft announces Halo Fest

By Fred Dutton Published 3 May, 2011

New game reveal at August PAX blow-out?

Microsoft will mark Halo's 10th anniversary with Halo Fest, a three day event taking place during the annual Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle this August.

Billed as "the largest and most expansive live Halo experience ever" over on Halo Waypoint, you can expect tournaments, exclusive panels and prizes.

Could it also see a new Halo title announced? Perhaps that rumoured remake of Combat Evolved?

"See why the last ten years of Halo were just the beginning," notes the Waypoint post.

PAX takes place between 26th and 28th August at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. Entrance to Halo Fest is included with a PAX prime badge.

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About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (59) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MaFlippinHeadHurts #1 1 year ago

    I'm ready for a new Halo game playing as Master Chief again

    I did like Reach though....

  • TONYgr #2 1 year ago

    I'm curius.

  • Feanor #3 1 year ago

    Penny Arcade Expo, not Popcorn.

  • neosalad #4 1 year ago

    halo mondays = halofest!

  • matrim83 #5 1 year ago

    Do people still play this nonsense? Havent MS milked this franchise enough?

    I couldnt even bring myself to finish the first game and they have apparently released 10 more after that. O.o

  • TONYgr #6 1 year ago

    I don't think they milked it enough.1 game every 2 years.Call of dutys are milked...lol.

  • coolbritannia #7 1 year ago

    OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!! Best thing evar!

  • PastorJones #8 1 year ago

    I'm not too optimistic about the next Halo. They've been turd since the first two.

  • coolbritannia #9 1 year ago

    matrim you went too far, never go full Sony.

  • ninjasinthesnow #10 1 year ago

    Everyday is Halo Fest at my house!!!!

  • TONYgr #11 1 year ago

    @PastorJones
    Halo reach was superb.

  • M4RV #12 1 year ago

    Ignore the haters. People think themselves they are actually cool for bitching for the sake of... well, bitching.

    - - - -

    Announce the damn remake already; That and Halo Wars 2 please.

  • altitude2k #13 1 year ago

    Yes, Halo Wars 2. With Kinect support.

  • miiiguel #14 1 year ago

    Halo Wars 2. Or else!

  • Machiavellian #15 1 year ago

    Currently I am playing reach in legendary mode and I must say the game frustrate the crap out of me. Freaking Elites take who knows how many shots to drop. They are always dodging jumping out of the way. Flanking me every time I stay in one place. Running me down and killing me when I try to get away. Using their special abilities when they should just DIE. Hiding in cover when I drop their shields so they can recharge them. You know something, I wouldn't expect anything else from Bungie AI because it forces me to think outside of the box. Find new ways to get the jump on those bastards!!!

    Another thing I notice about playing Reach after playing Killzone3 is that Reach really is a beautiful game and I think it is very under appreciated. There are some really atmospheric moments and when things are blowing up all over the place for me looks better than playing Killzone3. Either way, I am looking forward to another Halo and I have to give props to Bungie for making Reach such a frustrating game, I hope MS studio can replicated the experience.
    Edited by Machiavellian at 03/05/11 @ 18:38

  • coolbritannia #16 1 year ago

    These comments need more Halo. Mix it up a little.

  • BlinkeredAxis #17 1 year ago

    @Pastor Jones and whoever else.

    Halo Reach was a fantastic return to form after the slightly less good ODST (liked it though). Most Halo fans don't think the franchise has been milked enough, really. The games always seem to come out a tear later than we'd expected. We've had to learn patience.

    I'm astonished that any fan of sci-fi shooters could have played it and not been blown away! Were you playing the same game? Really? I honestly don't know what Bungie could have done to improve it for me, I really don't.

    Look forward to the new release.

  • matrim83 #18 1 year ago

    Oh yeah. Lest we forget the upcoming remake.

    HELLO! YOU HAVE BEEN BUYING A REMAKE FOR 10 YEARS RUNNING NOW!

    And people say its not being milked. LOL.

    At least I hope they will learn from other good shooters like CoD. Aim down the sights mechanics would be nice for a start.

  • Phishfood #19 1 year ago

    After 4 halo games I'm gonna have to call it quits unless its radically different from what has come before, because looking back none of them were anything spectacular.

  • altitude2k #20 1 year ago

    NO BLOODY IRON SIGHTS!

  • evild_edd #21 1 year ago

    More Halo is always welcome. Every game has beena real contender for GotY in their respective release window (with the possible exception of ODST, which did feel a little 'slight' on quantity). Reach really is an amazingly solid SP and MP experience, and amongst the best of this generation.

    I personally do like the 'every other year' release windows of Halo (FPS wise). Keeps it feeling a little fresher when a new release comes along.

    As for a remake of the original. If it's a budget (£20) release then I'd be tempted. I'd prefer a completely new game, but would happily snack on a remake of the original to tide me over....

  • SPKRFCKR #22 1 year ago

    Not really much to announce, is there?

  • coolbritannia #23 1 year ago

    matrim, you're a classic example of how playing sub standard FPS games can affect your judgement. let some Halo in your life, feel the love of Installation 4.

  • Ror1984 #24 1 year ago

    SON, I AM EXCITE.

    Also, iron sights in a Halo game? I think they should also set it in current times. And make the Covenant some kind of generic middle-eastern people. Oooh oooh oooh, and make everything brown please!

    /sarcasm

  • Malek86 #25 1 year ago

    @machiavellian: playing Reach on legendary mode felt like a chore, to be honest. Halo on legendary was way more fun. I think the problem is that Halo was a game where you had many options to take on the enemies, due to the abundance of open areas and small closed zones. Reach felt like it had too many "long corridors" where ranged weapons were pretty much the only sensible choice. In the end, I liked Reach definitely a lot better than 2, but still nowhere as much as Halo.

    I'll be looking forward to this remake, though.
    Edited by Malek86 at 03/05/11 @ 19:05

  • darkmorgado #26 1 year ago

    @matrim83

    At least I hope they will learn from other good shooters like CoD. Aim down the sights mechanics would be nice for a start.

    You're a moron.

  • PseudoDuck #27 1 year ago

    I don't see why they'd announce another Halo game at PAX rather than at E3. Surely it would be best to announce at E3 then make it playable at PAX Prime.

    Also: I fully support Halo Wars 2 with Kinect support. Curious why no one seems to have jumped on motion control as a suitable candidate for RTS games.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #28 1 year ago

    It better include welcome home John 117.

  • altitude2k #29 1 year ago

    Who's the knob who's gone through and negged every pro-Halo comment?

  • Scritti #30 1 year ago

    "Who's the knob who's gone through and negged every pro-Halo comment?".

    Well, it wasn't me but I might do that anyway for a laugh just 'cos I can't play any FPS 'cos I get terrible, stomach-emptying motion sickness so I'm out in the cold when it comes to Halo, Half-Life, Portal, Metroid Prime, Timesplitters, Call Of Duty, Deus Ex, etc. Loads of what are apparently some of the best games ever made. It's not fair.

    Still, I can play Ty The Tasmanian Tiger for hours with no obvious side effects.

    Bah.

  • Armoured_Gideon #31 1 year ago

    @matrim83

    What's your problem? No one's making you play Halo games, or even read articles about Halo.

    Bugger off.

  • RodHull #32 1 year ago

    Look forward to any new Halo game as I've been a huge fan of every installment (especially the maligned ODST which was a noir highlight for me).

    A remake of CE would be most welcome, especially if they included the Reach control system. However I'd treat any new game sans Bungie cautiously largely due to the like absence of Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori whose music and sound design has always been a major draw.

  • RodHull #33 1 year ago

    @Matrim83

    "I couldnt even bring myself to finish the first game and they have apparently released 10 more after that. O.o"

    "Oh yeah. Lest we forget the upcoming remake."

    "HELLO! YOU HAVE BEEN BUYING A REMAKE FOR 10 YEARS RUNNING NOW!"

    So you've only played a percentage of one game and yet you're able to dismiss an entire series based upon it? Wow. You must be a gaming genius. Or a dick.
    Edited by RodHull at 03/05/11 @ 19:58

  • PastorJones #34 1 year ago

    @TONYgr, BlinkeredAxis, and everyone else who contributed to -14 next to my comment,

    perhaps reach wasn't turd, I would say it was good, but mind blowing? Not in my opinion. 1&2 (especially 1) were mind blowing, I didn't think reach was AS GOOD. Sorry if that upsets big halo junkies, but who can honestly say it was?

    p.s. RodHull, I would say dick.
    Edited by PastorJones at 03/05/11 @ 20:01

  • miiiguel #35 1 year ago

    Halo Reach is mind blowing.

  • Syrette #36 1 year ago

    Get a new (non-Kinect) IP out already, for the sake of fudge.

  • waggy79 #37 1 year ago

    @rodhull
    I would say the latter also.

  • Half-assed #38 1 year ago

    Halo Reach is mind blowing.

  • BlinkeredAxis #39 1 year ago

    @Rodhull

    I agree, it is so important to get the music right in Halo. Reach sounded a bit wrong to me to start with, but once I'd played through a bit longer, it really grew on me. Now after legendary I can see how subtle and well crafted it is. You can't beat the da-da-da-daaa! of Halo:CE though!

  • BlinkeredAxis #40 1 year ago

    @PastorJones

    Didn't mean it to be personal, so apologies. However, I think you just walked into a fan thread that feels a part of something big, and can maybe get defensive when wierd criticisms come up. The one about COD being better was a bit obvious, so I ignored it.

    Yours at least had some substance (likes 1+2), so I felt it important to provide an alternative view based on my great expereince had playing Reach especially.

    I've removed my neg. Hope this helps!

  • WinterSnowblind #41 1 year ago

    @matrim83
    In the past decade there have been four Halo games, an RTS spin-off and an expansion pack. It's not close to being a yearly release series and almost every other major franchise has had a lot more games than this.

    And personally, I love the gameplay of Halo. It's frantic, and every time you play through a level the A.I. reacts differently to your tactics, in my opinion, it's just a completely unmatched experienced.. Especially when every other FPS takes the CoD approach.. scripted events, aiming down the sights, cover, etc.

    If you're complaining about so many Halo games, why on Earth would you want them to be exactly the same as every other FPS out there?

  • coolbritannia #42 1 year ago

    @RodHull, exactly, ODST was a Noir classic.

  • azic #43 1 year ago

    Can never have enough Halo. The only thing than annoys me about it is the fact Halo was originally a PC game and MS still deny the PC the game that really started as new IP for the PC. I can only imagine how good Halo 3, ODST and Reach would look and play on PC.
    /dreams

  • TONYgr #44 1 year ago

    @WinterSnowblind

    I couldn't agree more.

  • Pehmu #45 1 year ago

    I like Halo. Halo is good.

  • king26 #46 1 year ago

    Just because you don't rate the halo games highly doesn't make you a Sony fanboy! They have been average re-skins since H1

  • TONYgr #47 1 year ago

    @king26
    As the dude would say....Yeah?Well,you know,that's just like,your OPINION,man.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdd6_ZxX...
    Edited by TONYgr at 03/05/11 @ 21:58

  • charming_fox #48 1 year ago

    Don't mind peoploe disliking halo out of personal taste but the series is great for me.

  • darkmorgado #49 1 year ago

    Disliking Halo due to personal preference is fine.

    Calling every iteration a simple reskin is ignorance though.

    Halo 2 introduced dual wielding, which completely changed the balance of the game.
    Halo 3 introduced equipment.
    Halo: ODST introduced an openworld hub.
    Halo: Wars was an RTS
    Halo: Reach introduced armor abilities, and a massively improved matchmaking system.

    Complaining about oversaturation is just ignoring the facts as well. 5 releases (one of which was a budget-price standalone expansion) in the decade since the original, one of which was a completely different genre, is not oversaturation. Oversaturation would be GH or COD.

  • Ror1984 #50 1 year ago

    The claims of Microsoft 'milking' Halo is just nonsensical fanboy rubbish. There have been 6 Halo games since 2001. There have been 5 God of War games... since 2005.
    Edited by Ror1984 at 03/05/11 @ 23:42

  • Machiavellian #51 1 year ago

    @machiavellian: playing Reach on legendary mode felt like a chore, to be honest. Halo on legendary was way more fun. I think the problem is that Halo was a game where you had many options to take on the enemies, due to the abundance of open areas and small closed zones. Reach felt like it had too many "long corridors" where ranged weapons were pretty much the only sensible choice. In the end, I liked Reach definitely a lot better than 2, but still nowhere as much as Halo.

    I do agree that Reach lendendary mode is more chore until I stop trying to play it like Halo. I started to use the stealth, clone and shield thing alot and found interesting ways to stop dying so much. Now, I have warned up to it a lot though the first Halo still holds the crown in my eyes.

  • king26 #52 1 year ago

    darkmorgado- Even COD franchise whch is also overrated have made minute improvements similar to improved matchmaking and dual wield.
    Ror1984- Why point out the GOW games? Is it coincidence that they are Sony exclusives or are you another sad little fanboy on the internet?

  • handsonhips101 #53 1 year ago

    Who is developing it? Not bungie? I don't like it when other developers get their mits on franchises and make them their own, you never know what you're gonna get. Though it can be a hit like fallout 3 or a miss like poor old crash bandicoot or somewhere in the middle like the once poster girl that is Lara croft.

    Hope it is good. We still dust off halo 2 and play split screen when having a drink, can't say that about newer fps's, not even my favourite which is borderlands.

  • Petulant_Radish #54 1 year ago

    @king36, why not point out the GOW games? Does that annoy you because they are Sony exclusives or are you just another sad little fanboy on the internet?

  • WinterSnowblind #55 1 year ago

    @king26
    CoD has had almost double the amount of games as Halo and the additions have been far less noticeable. God of War was pointed out as an example of another franchise that's had more games than Halo in half the amount of time.

    Basically, claiming that the Halo series has been "milked" is completely ridiculous, unless you apply the same standards to everything else.. In which case, Halo isn't that bad, unless you're comparing it to a Valve or Blizzard series.

  • geeza2020 #56 1 year ago

    "See why the last ten years of Halo were just the beginning," notes the Waypoint post.

    sounds like they are going to use Halo to take over the world :)

    I havent played a Halo game since the third one when I got a little bored, but thats just me. I dont really find the particular sci-fi universe in Halo that interesting, therefore its just a highly polished shooter to me, and in a market saturated with highly polished shooters, it fails to stand out IMO.

    But they must be doing something right, I find it hard to believe that millions of gamers are just being duped by the marketing machine into buying every Halo game. Hopefully when/if they announce this next installment there'll be something to drag me back into it.

    - Thinking about it now, I think one of the reasons I dont like Halo is the Chief himself. He's just a bit bland. I havent played ODST or Reach, but I have heard they gave the characters a bit more personality in those two, maybe I'll give em a go.

  • Ror1984 #57 1 year ago

    @king26 - Your argument may have held some water if I didn't actually own four of the five God of War games. I was simply stating a fact. If that's too much for you to take, or you somehow read some non-existant negativity into my comment, that says far more about your status as a "sad little fanboy on the internet". Well done!

  • Machiavellian #58 1 year ago

    As the old term says, haters gonna hate. No matter how good a game is, there is a hater who feels their opinion is the law. They feel they need to tell you their hate but really do not understand it themselves. I usually do not waste time reading what they have to say which I suggest the rest of you also do the same.

  • chrisjm #59 1 year ago

    any EG'ers going to Seattle then?