Microsoft allows Halo PC fan project to live
Put a ring on it.
Amid the seemingly relentless shutdown of fan projects by big publishers, here's one game that's not just thriving but has the blessing of its IP-owning overlord.
Halo: Reach
Spotlight
FeatureBungie bids Halo farewell
Eric Osborne looks back at 10 years of Master Chief.
VideoBungie celebrates 20th birthday
Waves goodbye to Halo franchise.
VideoMeet Halo's multiplayer announcer
It's veteran actor Jeff Steitzer.
VideoHalo: Reach Defiant DLC dev diary
Behind the scenes with 343 Industries.
Key events
28th November 2012
Bungie releases first Destiny concept art as story details leak
22nd May 2012
Bungie's MMO style sci-fi FPS Destiny out 2013 as an Xbox 360, next Xbox timed exclusive
15th June 2011
3rd May 2011
13th April 2011
29th March 2011
25th October 2010
14th October 2010
6th October 2010
21st September 2010
18th September 2010
16th September 2010
13th September 2010
12th September 2010
9th September 2010
9th September 2010
6th September 2010
26th August 2010
25th August 2010
17th August 2010
29th July 2010
23rd July 2010
16th June 2010
10th May 2010
4th May 2010
4th May 2010
4th May 2010
1st May 2010
1st May 2010
1st May 2010
29th April 2010
25th April 2010
25th April 2010
21st April 2010
16th April 2010
9th April 2010
6th April 2010
3rd March 2010
3rd March 2010
15th February 2010
11th February 2010
14th December 2009
14th December 2009
9th October 2009
1st June 2009
Portal, Halo: Reach, Fable 3 get Xbox One back compatibility
Plus: Braid, Deus Ex, Peggle, more.
A further selection of Xbox 360 titles have been added to the Xbox One back compatibility list today, including Halo: Reach, Fable 3 and Portal: Still Alive.
Monaco and Halo: Reach headline September's Games with Gold offerings
Xbox One users get Super Time Force.
Co-op heist game Monaco: What's Yours is Mine and Halo: Reach will be the latest free titles in Microsoft's Games with Gold promotion, wherein it offers free titles to Xbox Live Gold subscribers.
Bungie forced to pay $95k to ex-Halo, Destiny composer
Marty O'Donnell wins damages after departure from the company.
Halo and Destiny developer Bungie must pay $95,019 (around £56k) to former composer Marty O'Donnell, a US court has decided.
Veteran Bungie developer Joe Staten has announced his departure from the company.
Halo and Gears of War writer joins Amazon Games Studios
"I wouldn't be there unless something cool was brewing."
Sci-fi author and former writer and story consultant for Microsoft Game Studios, Eric Nylund, has joined up with Amazon Game Studios as its new director of narrative design.
Halo project Bootcamp outed by Korean Rating Board
But it has nothing to do with Xbox One.
A mysterious Halo-related project entitled Bootcamp has surfaced on the Korean Rating Board.
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp still keen on Halo movie - but only if given control
"I would really like to do that film."
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp is still keen on making a movie based on Halo - but only if given control over it.
Halo 4, 3, Reach, Wars sale on Xbox Live today
UPDATE: Week-long deals revealed - BioShock for £4.50!
Update: In addition to the daily deals there are a collection of week-long deals. They've been dug up by the handsome people of NeoGAF.
Bungie helps a boy find his smile again
Warning: this one's a tear-jerker.
Halo creator Bungie just made a boy's day - a five-year-old boy who spent nine hours in surgery having a liver transplant.
Bungie releases first Destiny concept art as story details leak
"Destiny is designed for your inner seven year old."
Bungie has released the first concept art of Destiny in response to a leak that spilled story details and other images.
Posting the image below on Bungie.net, the Halo creator said: “Go ahead. Take a peek. It's alright. We weren't quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can't wait to finally show you what we've really been up to.
“Stick around, we haven't even started yet.”
Bungie's Destiny “still quite like Halo”
Sense of exploration rekindles memories of Elite.
Bungie's new game, Destiny, is “still quite like Halo”, according to someone who's apparently seen it in action.
Why 343 isn't ready to show us Master Chief's face
But is it prepared to kill Halo's iconic hero?
343 Industries, the developer charged with continuing the Halo franchise now Bungie has left it behind, isn't ready to show the world Master Chief's face.
Paul McCartney writing music with Bungie
"Halo, Goodbye."
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is writing music with former Halo developer Bungie, he's confirmed.
BBC News mistakes Halo UNSC logo for UN
UPDATE: BBC tells Eurogamer: "Very occasionally mistakes do happen."
UPDATE: The BBC has responded to its broadcast of a Halo logo during Thursday's News at One, admitting its mistake and apologising to viewers.
Bungie's MMO style sci-fi FPS Destiny out 2013 as an Xbox 360, next Xbox timed exclusive
Expansion packs codenamed Comet revealed. Marathon 2 in the works.
Bungie's next game Destiny will launch in the autumn of 2013 initially on Xbox 360 and the next Xbox, according to the former Halo developer's contract with new publisher Activision.
The contract, published by the LA Times and made public as part of the lawsuit between Activision and Call of Duty creators Jason West and Vince Zampella, reveals Bungie has signed up to make four "sci-fantasy, action shooter games" in the Destiny universe every other year from autumn 2013 to 2019.
On top of that, Bungie will make four downloadable expansion packs codenamed Comet every other year from autumn 2014 up to 2020.
Bungie closes Halo stats with eye-popping infographic
"We have followed your careers with great interest."
Bungie has closed its support for Halo stats and released a new infographic that shows just how popular the first-person shooter series has been.
GRAW lead turns to Kickstarter to fund hardcore tactical shooter
Fans have been "crying out for one for years".
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Halo: Reach lead designer Christian Allen has taken to Kickstarter to fund his resurrection of old-school, hardcore tactical shooters.
Bungie sets a date for final Halo handover
343 in full control of live data from 31st March.
343 Industries will be in total control of the Halo universe from 31st March, franchise creator Bungie has announced.
343 offers real-time player data and map info.
Multiplayer data-tracking smartphone app Halo ATLAS goes on sale from 10th December, 343 Industries has announced.
Enterprising gamer wants to be your virtual FPS bodyguard
£5 gets you 30 minutes of in-game protection.
An entrepreneurial gamer is attempting to sell his services as a virtual bodyguard in various popular Xbox 360 FPS titles.
Halo: Reach Anniversary Map Pack live
Saints Row Season Pass, NFS Time Saver pack.
The Halo: Reach Anniversary Map Pack is available to download from the Xbox Marketplace.
Halo Reach gets Anniversary map pack next week
1200 Points for seven multiplayer favourites.
Halo Reach owners not interested in next week's Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary release can still enjoy its revamped maps via a DLC add-on, Microsoft has announced.
Halo: Anniversary Achievements listed
Plus: more Halo: Reach Gamerscore coming.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition's achievement list has popped up online, courtesy of Xbox360Achievements.
Halo CE Magnum coming to Reach
Title update also brings multiplayer fixes.
Halo: Combat Evolved's beloved Magnum pistol is coming to Halo: Reach multiplayer as part of an upcoming title update for the game, Microsoft has announced.
FeatureBungie bids Halo farewell
Eric Osborne looks back at 10 years of Master Chief.
It's a big year for Bungie. Not only does it celebrate its 20th birthday but, with the impending release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, it's also formally signing off custodianship of Master Chief to 343 Industries.
Microsoft: "We lost our way" with Halo
"Master Chief the John Wayne character."
Microsoft has admitted losing its way with Halo following the release of Halo 3 in September 2007.
Bungie bids emotional farewell to Halo
"Halo is in great hands... yours."
Bungie has bid an emotional farewell to the Halo universe it created ten years ago.
VideoBungie celebrates 20th birthday
Waves goodbye to Halo franchise.
Waves goodbye to Halo franchise.
Bungie Mobile not iOS exclusive forever
But what is it?
You can only download the new free Bungie Mobile app if you own an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
But that won't be the case forever.
"We're not ready to announce phase 2 features at this time," wrote Bungie on its website. "That said, we hear non-iPhone users loud and clear. Same goes for feature requests covering forums, more robust stat integration and free puppies.
Acti game announcement a long way off.
What is Bungie Aerospace - a mysterious spin-off company, a mobile game or something else entirely?
FeatureBungie bans Halo: Reach AFK exploiters
Firefight is my idle.
Bungie has banned "several dozen" Halo: Reach players who "habitually" idle or exhibit "AFK behaviour" (go away from their console) while playing Firefight Matchmaking.
Single-player, multiplayer, co-op.
Microsoft has released a demo for Halo: Reach.
Kinect: MS to "serve hardcore" at E3
Kinect Sports 2, Dance Central 2, more.
At least 10 non-sequel Kinect games will be announced at trade show E3 next month, Eurogamer can reveal.
Bungie Aerospace trademarks "Crimson"
Global computer network and mobiles mentioned.
Mysterious Bungie spin-off company Bungie Aerospace has filed a trademark for something called "Crimson".
Halo marks 10th birthday with art book
Coffee table tome due out in October.
Microsoft is marking the Halo franchise's 10th birthday with a lavish 192-page hardback art book.
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?
Mona Lisa Halo motion comic release date
Microsoft to improve Halo Waypoint.
Microsoft will release Halo motion comic The Mona Lisa through Waypoint and the internet next Saturday, 23rd April.
It retells a story from the Halo Evolution anthology, set shortly after the events of Xbox launch title Halo: Combat Evolved.
"Sent on a highly-classified mission in the debris field of the Halo artefact, the crew of the UNSC Red Horse discover a derelict prison ship – the Mona Lisa – adrift in space," reads the official blurb.
How Halo's monk chant music came to be
Composer "bitter-sweet" now it's gone.
For millions of Halo fans the series' iconic monk chant introduction music is instantly recognisable – but it almost didn't happen.
Digital FoundrySource: Xbox new disc format gains 1GB
Big space upgrade for game developers.
A highly placed development source has confirmed to Digital Foundry that the new disc format being beta tested in a new dashboard upgrade adds 1GB to the storage of Xbox 360 game discs.
Bungie: Activision is "hands-off"
"They are the publishers."
Gamers concerned that Halo creator Bungie's 10-year publishing deal with Activision may affect its hotly anticipated new game need not – and that's because Kotick's crew are "hands-off".
VideoMeet Halo's multiplayer announcer
It's veteran actor Jeff Steitzer.
MS doing more Fable, Halo, Gears, Forza
Has other "surprises" for E3.
Panic ye not, for Microsoft shall make more Fable and more Halo and more Forza and more Gears of War.
MS justifies Games on Demand prices
£50 Reach tag covers "24/7 convenience".
Earlier this week Halo: Reach hit Xbox Live's Games on Demand service, priced at £49.99 – nearly twice the current Amazon asking price.
Halo: Reach hits Games on Demand
Only £50.
Bungie's blockbuster FPS Halo: Reach is the latest title to be added to Xbox Live's Games on Demand service, Microsoft has announced.
VideoHalo: Reach Defiant DLC dev diary
Behind the scenes with 343 Industries.
Behind the scenes with 343 Industries.
Bungie's GDC MMO comment was "a joke"
"Playfully riffing off of the recent rumours."
When Bungie said last week that its next project would be a "massively multiplayer action game", it was obviously joking - duh.
But it's not "WOW in space".
Bungie's hotly anticipated next game is a "massively multiplayer action game".
Halo: Reach Defiant map pack dated
New maps will set you back 800 Points.
Halo: Reach's new Defiant map pack launches on Xbox Live from 15th March, Microsoft has announced.
Halo: Reach matchmaking goes down
UPDATE: It's back online.
UPDATE: All fixed. According to a post on Bungie.net, "The online team tells me the source of the problem was rooted out, physically destroyed, and tossed into a dumpster. Again, apologies for the early morning hiccups."
Bungie doing Destiny MMO for Activision?
It's "WOW in space" - report.
Halo creator Bungie is making a first-person MMO for Activision that will be called Destiny, according to a new report.
Age of Booty dev helped make Halo DLC
And Black Ops DLC, Halo Waypoint.
It is a little-known US developer, but it is behind the downloadable content of some of the biggest videogames of this generation.
Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack date
And price.
The Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack has been made official.
BAFTA GAME Award shortlist revealed
Vote for your top title of 2010.
The 10-game shortlist for this year's public vote prize at the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards was announced this morning.
Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack leaked
Includes three maps.
Images of what appear to be an upcoming map pack for Xbox 360 exclusive first-person shooter Halo: Reach have leaked onto the internet.
Channel 4 news report shows Halo 5
And Project Gotham Racing.
Microsoft has flashed a cheeky glimpse of Halo 5 to the Channel 4 news team - what happened to Halo 4?
Rumour: TimeShift dev remaking Halo 1
Reportedly has online co-op.
The heavily rumoured Halo: Combat Evolved HD remake is being created by TimeShift developer Saber Interactive, according to a new report.
No more Halo side-stories planned
343 Industries lays out franchise's future.
There are currently no side-story titles planned for the Halo franchise, new custodian 343 Industries has revealed.
Microsoft Halo Kinect game clue found
Is it Milo and Master Chief?
The first rumblings of a Halo game for Kinect have been heard.
2010 the biggest year in Xbox history
"It's official," cheers Microsoft.
Five years after the 360 arrived, Microsoft has crowned 2010 as the biggest year in Xbox history.
Bungie trademarks reveal new game?
Osiris? Monarchy? Seraphs? Dead Orbit?
Which of these trademarked and domain-registered titles will Bungie use to name its next and still mysterious new project?
The Forerunners' past revealed.
Microsoft has further expanded the gargantuan Halo universe with a new novel that reveals the truth behind the mysterious alien race known as the Forerunners.
1.3 billion Halo: Reach games logged
Plus, Bungie staff lose 23,000 matches.
A staggering 1.3 billion games of Halo: Reach have been played since launch, according to a new set of stats from developer Bungie.
VideoFallout 3's Megaton in Halo: Reach
Recreated without vault.
Recreated without vault.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach in 16 minutes, 34 seconds
Time-lapse video of the entire single-player campaign.
Time-lapse video of the entire single-player campaign.
Digital FoundryTech Interview: Halo: Reach
An exclusive, in-depth chat with Bungie on the making of Reach.
Stop us if we're getting too technical... on the other hand, don't bother! When the opportunity arose to talk tech with Bungie on any topic of our choosing, let's just say that we didn't hold back. And luckily for us, neither did the studio. What we have here is a titanic 6000 word insight into the technical make-up of the Xbox 360's biggest exclusive of the year.
MS responds to Halo 1 HD remake rumour
Speculation set to continue.
Microsoft has responded to the exciting rumour that it is set to release a high definition remake of Xbox classic Halo: Combat Evolved with a statement that will do nothing to quell current speculation.
VideoBungie shows off Reach's Breakpoint
Final walkthrough from Noble Map Pack.
Final walkthrough from Noble Map Pack.
Bungie toyed with Reach space combat MP
Decided game was ambitious enough.
Bungie has revealed that it mocked up a multiplayer version of the Sabre orbital attack ship level used in Halo: Reach during the game's development.
VideoWelcome to Halo: Reach's Tempest
Bungie walkthrough Noble Map Pack level.
Bungie walkthrough Noble Map Pack level.
I say goodbye.
In this new series of opinion pieces, some of Eurogamer's favourite writers reveal how they really feel about some of the world's most renowned, or most reviled, videogames.
VideoTake a tour of Halo: Reach's Anchor 9
New arena for Noble Map Pack.
New arena for Noble Map Pack.
Microsoft still committed to Halo movie
"Maybe we'll even fund it ourselves."
Microsoft remains adamant that a Halo movie will be made at some point – and it may even fund production itself.
PSP "biggest disappointment" of 2010
Retailer: Halo: Reach "biggest surprise".
Sony's PSP strategy has been the biggest let-down of the year, according to top US games retailer GameStop.
New rank and armour options available.
As promised last month, Bungie has lifted the level cap for Halo: Reach.
Halo: Reach bloats global 360 count
Plus: MS research spend up $65 million.
The global total of Xbox 360 consoles sold now stands at 44.6 million, Microsoft has announced. And the game-per-console attach rate has risen to 8.9.
Ex developer: Apple nearly bought Bungie
"Steve said yes."
A former Bungie developer has claimed that Apple was on the verge of buying the Halo developer just before Microsoft did back in the late nineties.
Apple boss furious at MS Bungie buy-out
Steve Jobs threw toys out of pram.
Microsoft's purchase of Bungie back in 2000 made Steve Jobs so angry that a special deal had to be brokered to appease the aggrieved Apple despot.
VideoHalo: Reach Noble map pack trailer
A trio of new levels for next month.
Halo: Reach biggest US game of 2010
Doubled Halo 3: ODST's sales.
Halo: Reach is already the biggest-selling game in North America this year - bigger than Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Madden NFL 11.
Halo: Reach level cap going up
Expect the bump in November.
Halo: Reach is all set to get a level cap increase, Bungie has announced.
Reach campaign matchmaking goes live
Plus more playlist changes tomorrow, soon.
Bungie has released the campaign matchmaking playlist for Halo: Reach and also plans to add new playlists and tweak other elements of the multiplayer experience tomorrow, 19th October.
VideoThe making of Deliver Hope
Behind the scenes of Reach ad.
Behind the scenes of Reach ad.
First Halo: Reach map pack revealed
Three new maps and new Achievements.
Halo: Reach's first map pack will be released on 30th November, Bungie's announced.
First Halo: Reach DLC announced
Noble map pack out 30th November.
Reach campaign matchmaking next week
Level cap may be lifted in a "month or two".
Bungie has said that the Campaign Matchmaking playlist for Halo: Reach is scheduled to go live on "approximately 10/19" (19th October in old money) pending final testing and review.
Spielberg goes shopping for Halo novels
Big screen adaptation back from the dead?
Legendary movie director Steven Spielberg is contemplating snapping up the film rights to the Halo franchise, if Hollywood chitter-chatter is to be believed.
Playlists, maps, gametypes tweaked.
Bungie's updated science fiction shooter Halo: Reach.
Changes have been made to the core gametypes and playlists and "a variety of issues" have been addressed.
"Please note that this is just the first of many updates," wrote community head honcho Brian "Sketch" Jarrard on Bungie.net.
Bungie bans 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters
This is just the beginning, soldier.
Bungie has banned a whopping 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters – and promised more is to come.
Halo: Reach DLC already on the way?
Inflated Achievements total sighted.
Bungie may well be preparing Halo: Reach downloadable content already, judging by images of the game posted on the official site that show 1250 available gamerpoints rather than the box-standard 1000.
Halo: Reach played 70 million times
It's quite popular.
Bungie has just released some insane play statistics for Halo: Reach's first week in the wild.
Analysing Halo's launch.
"Interactive entertainment will never be the same, with the launch of one title that has changed the way the world thinks about video games."
MS debating "a more persistent" Halo
To turn it into an "ongoing relationship".
Phil Spencer's Microsoft Game Studios is trying to figure out how to make Halo "a more persistent engagement" that doesn't go "dark" for a period while a new pillar release is developed.
Halo: Reach doubles UK 360 sales
Chart-Track sees 99% jump.
The widely-publicised launch of Halo: Reach helped double sales of Xbox 360 in the UK last week, according to official chart monitor Gfk-ChartTrack.
Bungie's shooter had a "marked effect on hardware sales", with Xbox "up 99 per cent" for the week ending 18th September, director Dorian Bloch revealed to Eurogamer this afternoon.
Halo: Reach, which launched last Tuesday, 14th September, shifted an estimated 300,000 copies in its first 24 hours at UK retail, and went on to enjoy the fifth biggest-selling launch week ever.
Bungie outlines Halo: Reach changes
Betrayal! Campaign matchmaking!
Bungie will tweak Halo: Reach's betrayal system and implement campaign matchmaking in early October, the developer has announced.
UK chart: Halo: Reach rockets to top
As PlayStation Move arrives.
Bungie's final Halo game - Halo: Reach - has stormed to the top of the UK all-formats chart, becoming Microsoft's biggest ever launch title and the fifth largest UK release ever.
Halo: Reach played for a millennia
Bungie deploys statistics.
Bungie has revealed that Halo: Reach owners have collectively ploughed more than a millennia into the game's campaign mode.
VideoHalo: Reach firefight - 15 mins
Another mode detailed.
Another mode detailed.
The long wait is finally over. It's been three years since the mighty Master Chief bowed out in 2007's epic Halo 3, and while last year's ODST exhibited plenty of minor tweaks and improvements to the base tech, there was little doubt that the vast majority of the Bungie engine had remained untouched. While the gameplay delivered, core gamers spoiled by the cutting-edge graphical techniques seen in titles like Killzone 2 really wanted to see what a next-generation Bungie game could deliver.
FeatureMicrosoft's Phil Spencer
Japan? Yes we can! Etc.
You've got to admire Microsoft's determination. Millions of dollars spent on marketing, years of work spent on promotion, and still only 12 people in Japan own an Xbox.
Halo: Reach "biggest" MS game ever
Bigger than all the Halos, GOWs and Fables.
Bungie's Halo: Reach has achieved the astonishing feat of becoming the biggest game Microsoft has ever released.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach cut-scenes showcase
Showing off - and analysing - our favourite cinematics.
Showing off - and analysing - our favourite cinematics.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach general performance analysis
A montage of high action scenes get the FPS treatment.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach draw distance showcase
Engine analysis on long draw distance sections.
Engine analysis on long draw distance sections.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach orbital shooting section
Halo's space combat sequence analysed.
Halo's space combat sequence analysed.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach AI stress test
Does the game's most AI-packed level impact performance?
Does the game's most AI-packed level impact performance?
Bungie had no choice but Activision
Big online element hinted for new project.
Bungie had no option but to sign with Activision, the publisher's CEO has suggested.
Reach generates $200m in day one sales
More than any entertainment launch in 2010.
Bungie's blockbuster science fiction shooter Halo: Reach generated $200 million in day one sales, Microsoft has announced.
The impressive figure means Reach earned more money on day one than "any entertainment launch in 2010", Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer said during a keynote presentation to press at the Tokyo Game Show.
Reach also surpassed the all-time Halo 3 record for simultaneous Live users.
MS fixing Reach campaign co-op issue
Hard drive required to play campaign co-op.
Microsoft has reassured Halo: Reach fans that it's trying to fix an issue that prevents 4GB Xbox 360 owners from playing Reach's campaign cooperatively, Eurogamer has been told.
VideoHalo: Reach slayer multiplayer - 15 mins
We take Bungie's latest online.
We take Bungie's latest online.
Analysts doubt Reach can beat Black Ops
Either across all platforms or just on 360.
A handful of the world's leading videogame analysts have questioned Microsoft's confident claim that Halo: Reach can and will outsell Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Bungie creating new engine for Acti game
Halo studio spills the beans on new tech.
Halo: Reach developer Bungie's begun work on a new game engine for its recently announced collaboration with Activision.
Halo Waypoint refreshed for Reach
New social features and exclusive armour.
343 Industries has given Halo Waypoint a makeover just in time for Halo: Reach's much-touted release.
VideoSpartan jetpacks into Trafalgar Square
Bungie announce pigeon scaring project.
Bungie announce pigeon scaring project.
VideoHalo: Reach - first 15 minutes
Meet the Spartans.
Meet the Spartans.
MS: No game is bigger than Halo
Predicts Star Wars: Episode 1-esque launch.
Microsoft has confidently proclaimed "no game is bigger than Halo" just hours before Bungie's last entry in the science fiction shooter series, Halo: Reach, goes on sale around the world.
HMV doing midnight Halo: Reach launch
Retailer hopes to turn a Prophet.
70 HMV stores will open tonight across the UK to welcome the arrival of Xbox 360 game Halo: Reach.
HMV's flagship Oxford Street London store will be among them. There's no mention of face-painting or a dressing-up competition (which doesn't mean you shouldn't).
Copies of Halo: Reach will sell from one minute past midnight.
Halo: Reach credit wipe, bans begun
Bungie fires the starting gun.
Bungie's final weekly update before the launch of Halo: Reach mentions that it has already wiped Credits early players have earned in the game, and begun banning online cheaters.
The long goodbye.
"Remember Reach." The marketing slogan for Microsoft's latest sci-fi blockbuster is so very Halo. Portentous, epic and heavy with martial sentimentality, it also has a slightly overconfident belief in the resonance of the fiction behind these excellent shooters.
Reach, it is assumed you'll know (and care), is the name of the planet where humanity's war with the Covenant - in full swing by the time Master Chief's adventures began in Halo: Combat Evolved - started. Reach was invaded and catastrophically wiped out by the zealous aliens in their search for the artefacts of a lost civilisation. This genocide and the doomed struggle to stop it are the events portrayed by this, Bungie's fifth Halo game (and its mawkish advertising).
Reach is also what people will call this game, though, and that slogan sounds as though it's inviting you to venerate it before the fact. After Halo 3: ODST's flat stop-gap, Bungie and Microsoft are fervently willing this game to be a classic, and its position as a prequel and as Bungie's last Halo has infected both publisher and developer with a kind of backwards nostalgia for a brand new game. Remember Reach; this is where it all began; this is the game we were always trying to make; this is a monument to Halo's greatness. Gaze on it and be humbled, and think of the non-existent millions who died to bring it to you.
MS: Halo: Reach will outsell COD: Black Ops
"We have huge expectations."
Microsoft honestly believes that Halo: Reach will outsell Call of Duty: Black Ops this autumn.
Halo: Reach launch celebs named
Tonight's London party will be busy.
The Halo: Reach launch party guestlist has been revealed.
Among the celebrities are Rio Ferdinand, Jason Bradbury, Jameela Jamil, Ben Cohen and Mr Hudson - a group better known as the Elite Spartan Squad. But there are many more well-known faces besides: pop stars Pixie Lott and Amelle Berrabah from Sugababes, for example.
Boxer Joe Calzaghe is going, as is tennis player Andy Murray and smiley hurdles champion Colin Jackson. Other sporty types include retired footballer Lee Sharpe, Rugby player Dominic Waldouck, sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and 400m hurdler Perry Shakes-Drayton.
VideoHalo Reach co-op campaign gameplay
Climb every mountain higher!
MS "still eager" to make a Halo film
But will a Halo TV series come first?
Microsoft still wants to make a movie based on the Halo franchise, but is said to be "intently watching" the TV landscape as a potential outlet for a TV series.
Bungie to reset Reach Credits at launch
"It's nothing personal."
Credits earned by gamers before Halo: Reach's official launch will be removed, Bungie has warned.
Bungie will reset Credits earned and any gear bought ahead of the Xbox 360 exclusive's 14th September launch.
"Some of you are playing Halo: Reach a little bit early," communications man Eric Osborne wrote in Bungie's forum.
MS selects celebrity Reach team leader
17yo captain immediately lays down law.
Microsoft has finally chosen the guy who will teach Rio Ferdinand and a galaxy of other sort-of celebrities to play Halo: Reach so they can get thumped by experienced players at the game's UK launch event.
VideoHalo: Reach - Deliver Hope Trailer
If Michael Bay made game trailers...
Bungie: Reach leak won't spoil game
Creative director cites replay value.
Bungie's Marcus Lehto has said that Halo: Reach will still be great fun for people despite the fact the game leaked earlier this week.
VideoHalo Reach live action trailer
Headshots Microsoft's ad budget.
MS: "Unauthorised" Halo: Reach risks ban
"We have ways of knowing."
Microsoft has issued a stark warning to those playing the leaked version of upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Halo: Reach.
Fans urged to "go dark".
Halo: Reach fans have been urged to "go dark" following the leak of the Xbox 360 exclusive onto the internet weeks before its official release.
Master Chief's voice in Halo: Reach
More chatty than he was in Halo trilogy.
The Halo series' iconic faceless hero Master Chief is in Halo: Reach, Bungie has revealed.
Bungie quashes Halo: Reach 3D rumour
"It terrified us when we heard about it."
Bungie has destroyed a rumour swirling around German expo gamescom that upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive Halo: Reach is playable in 3D.
Say Halo to the Spartans.
Over 40 assassinations in Halo: Reach
Beta provided "a mere sampling".
Halo: Reach features over 40 custom assassinations, Bungie's revealed.
Midship and Tower re-imagined.
Bungie has remade Halo 2 maps Ivory Tower and Midship for upcoming game Halo: Reach.
EA admits COD and Halo will rule 2010
But has FPS crown in its sights.
EA COO John Schappert has admitted Activision Blizzard's behemoth Call of Duty and Microsoft's all-conquering Halo will remain top FPS dogs this year - but insisted they won't be so for long.
Halo: Reach quitters to be "penalised"
You have been warned.
Bungie has warned budding Halo: Reach quitters that it intends to punish them for their transgressions.
Who's laughing now?
"You are a cybernetic warrior in the future." Who can forget the words of Bungie, introducing Halo during the first Xbox E3 press conference in 2001? And, oh, how we sneered. Could you make it sound any more generic? What's that? You're "fighting with a small group of human soldiers against the group of aliens"? Next!
Bungie not bothered by Activision's rep
Doesn't matter who brings game to market.
Halo creator Bungie has dismissed concern that new publisher Activision's current negative reputation will impact upon its next game.
Bungie talks Activision, Halo 4 and more.
It's been an interesting year for Halo creator Bungie. In April the US studio signed a mammoth 10-year publishing deal with Activision for the worldwide rights to "bring Bungie's next big action game universe to market".
Teach Rio Ferdinand how to play Halo
And other celebs.
Microsoft's launched a competition to find the best Halo: Reach gamers in Britain, one of which will lead five celebs as part of the Elite Spartan Squad.
VideoHalo: Reach campaign trailer unleashed
The Spartan back-story to be told at last.
Halo console's custom sounds explained
Makes appropriate noises when prodded.
Bungie has explained what it was on about when it said the new Xbox 360 bundle for Halo: Reach would have "custom sound effects from the Halo universe".
Forge World, Versus Firefight in Reach
Halo sequel shows new modes at Comic-Con.
Bungie has unveiled two new modes for Halo: Reach at Comic-Con. Forge World is a huge, customisable landscape for the game's Forge map editor, while Versus Firefight allows players to play against each other as both Spartans and Elites in the previously co-op-only mode.
VideoHalo: Reach's Forge World
How Forge has changed everything for Halo.
How Forge has changed everything for Halo.
VideoUnboxing the Halo Reach Legendary edition
Trepidation! Awe! Reverence! Art book!
Trepidation! Awe! Reverence! Art book!
Halo: Reach Xbox 360 bundle announced
Limited Edition has custom sound effects.
UPDATE: Microsoft's just sent word that the bundle is indeed a GAME and Gamestation exclusive. It'll cost £249.99, and will be available from all GAME stores on 14th September.
The Halo: Reach Limited Edition Wireless Controller and the Halo: Reach Limited Edition Wireless Headset will be available in the UK on 3rd September. So a little bit later than in the US. The controller will cost £39.99 and the headset will cost £34.99. Both accessories are being produced in limited quantities and are available for pre-order at participating retailers.
ORIGINAL STORY: Microsoft has announced a limited edition Halo: Reach Xbox 360 250GB bundle.
Xbox 360 Halo: Reach bundle shots
Designed by Bungie.
Designed by Bungie.
343 ramping up Halo game recruitment
Time to finish the fight again?
343 Industries is stepping up its recruitment for a brand new Halo game.
Bungie explored Halo 4 before Reach
Decided Reach was more interesting.
Bungie thought about creating Halo 4 before settling on prequel Halo: Reach, community directory Brian Jarrard has revealed.
Halo: Reach co-op difficulty scales
No need to manually change settings.
Bungie has said that Halo: Reach will feature scalable difficulty in co-op.
Halo: Reach is a "sad goodbye" - Bungie
Studio bids farewell with "labour of love".
Bungie's final Halo game is a "labour of love" that will "push the envelope as much as possible" without "ruining the core for fans".
VideoHalo: Reach's firefight mode
Team up and dig in - the Covenant will keep coming.
Team up and dig in - the Covenant will keep coming.
Reworked multiplayer mode from ODST.
Reworked multiplayer mode from ODST.
Bungie confirms Firefight for Reach
New modes, customisable, matchmaking.
At an evening event in LA tonight, Bungie confirmed that the Firefight co-op multiplayer mode from Halo 3: ODST would return in this year's Halo: Reach.
It will be expanded and improved with new gametypes, the implementation of full Xbox Live matchmaking support, and deep customisability via the in-game editor.
Check out this colourful Firefight in Halo: Reach screenshot gallery.
VideoHalo: Reach pulls no punches
Expanded melee system, space-combat.
Expanded melee system, space-combat.
VideoReach: The Good, the Badass and the Ugly
We'll never be this good. Or this badass.
We'll never be this good. Or this badass.
Halo: Reach dated for September
Beta three times the size of Halo 3's.
Bungie has announced that Halo: Reach will be released worldwide on 14th September (15th September in Japan).
VideoHalo: Reach Beta invasion gameplay
Staunch the Covenant flow.
Halo: Reach Invasion mode goes live
Elites vs. Spartans on Boneyard.
If you haven't checked in on it over the weekend, you might be interested to know that Invasion mode is now live in the Halo: Reach beta.
How different armour abilities are making their mark.
So, the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta is now open to all - well, all the people who bought Halo 3: ODST anyway - and now that the obligatory first-day rush has finished pounding the servers into digital paste, we're starting to get a clearer picture of how this tactical new twist on a classic multiplayer formula is going to work.
VideoHalo: Reach - Powerhouse split-screen
Whose house? That guy. No wait, that guy.
Whose house? That guy. No wait, that guy.
VideoHalo: Reach - Split-screen Sword Base
How Reach performs in a foursome.
How Reach performs in a foursome.
VideoHalo: Reach - Sword Base gameplay
Leadbetter drops fools on the other level.
VideoHalo: Reach's beta tutorial is a classy affair
She is SO pumped about online deathmatch.
Halo: Reach beta "not quite operational"
"Expect suboptimal performance."
The Halo: Reach beta that went live yesterday is "not quite fully operational", according to developer Bungie, but it should be a damn sight more operational than it was the other day when it was "getting hammered".
"It should be moving at a pretty good clip now that our online team has applied some technological fix-ups," the developer posted on its website late last night.
"You should still expect suboptimal performance, but you should also now be getting games with relative ease.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach motion blur analysis
How does the beta's frame-blending look in action?
How does the beta's frame-blending look in action?
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach controller latency tests
Digital Foundry measures joypad response times.
Digital Foundry measures joypad response times.
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach beta performance analysis #1
Action from the Sword Base level in Reach.
Digital FoundryDigital Foundry vs. Halo: Reach beta
Performance analysis, latency tests and more with tons of video to pore over.
On Thursday night UK time, Microsoft and Bungie began to distribute the first Xbox Live redeem codes for the long awaited Halo: Reach beta, and Digital Foundry was one of the first 300 to acquire access to the sampler.
You saw a selection of 40 screenshots taken in-game yesterday, and of course Eurogamer posted some of our most early video captures. 36 hours on, we're ready to present our first tech analysis based on hands-on gameplay.
In terms of the beta itself, currently we seem to be limited to eight-player action set over two different maps, featuring a range of team-based and lone-wolf game-types. First impressions are that this is indeed "Combat Evolved".
We have a poke around and get snappy.
We have a poke around and get snappy.
VideoEG plays Halo: Reach on Powerhouse
Rich Leadbetter makes a Noble effort.
Rich Leadbetter makes a Noble effort.
Bungie indicates PS3 support is likely
But won't say whether new game is MMO.
Bungie has told Eurogamer that its deal with Activision, announced earlier today, is an opportunity to bring its new IP to a wider audience than just Xbox 360 owners.
Bungie: IW plight didn't make us nervous
Also comments on announcement timing.
Bungie has told Eurogamer that the Infinity Ward situation was no cause for concern in signing with Activision.
FeatureBungie explains Activision deal
Eurogamer talks to the studio about its next big thing.
Earlier today Activision announced a 10-year deal to publish and distribute games based on Bungie's new, non-Halo IP, and the internet went predictably mental. We got Bungie's Brian Jarrard on the phone this afternoon to talk about the deal, the new IP and what it means for the developer.
Bungie signs 10-year Activision deal
Infinity who?
Activision has signed Bungie in a mammoth 10-year publishing deal. The publisher will have worldwide rights to "bring Bungie's next big action game universe to market".
Halo: Reach beta to end 19th May
Just over two weeks to get first look.
Microsoft has announced the public beta test for the much-anticipated Halo: Reach will run until 19th May.
That gives players just 17 days to check out the game after the beta's 3rd May start date.
That's even shorter than the three-week Halo 3 beta we once pointedly referred to as "so short".
VideoBirth of a Spartan in Halo: Reach
Everybody's got to start somewhere.
Everybody's got to start somewhere.
Halo: Reach promo premieres this week
Teaser to show "Birth of a Spartan".
The promotional blitz for Halo: Reach is set to start in earnest this week with the premiere of live-action advertising short "Birth of a Spartan."
Digital FoundryHalo: Reach beta footage analysis
Digital Foundry runs frame-rate tests.
The latest Halo: Reach developer diary gears up nicely for the imminent launch of the multiplayer beta, and its eight-minute duration offers up an excellent array of action for us to consider.
The game's visual make-up is similar to that of its predecessor: a mixture of indoor and outdoor environments, with the latter looking considerably more impressive than the former. The resolution boost over Halo 3 is immediately obvious though, as are the truly impressive lighting and particle effects.
Texture filtering also looks much improved (better than the alpha footage we saw in the first developer diary, in fact, though maybe this is down to the clip selection), and one of the most dramatic improvements is in the motion blur: far more apparent and more realistic. A nice subtle effect is some camera shake when there's an explosion. Also apparent is the inclusion of screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO), though its impact is subtle.
Halo: Reach Legendary Edition is £100
Means Spartan with considerable cash.
Microsoft has whipped the wrappers off Limited and Legendary editions of Halo: Reach.
So MJOLNIR we can almost taste it.
So MJOLNIR we can almost taste it.
Cool your jets.
Hello! Like a lot of concerned citizens, for the past few weeks I've been very worried about jetpacks. How worried? Well, if I was writing about it in a text, I would write, "I'm *very worried* about all these jetpacks. (LOL)."
I don't mean I've been fretting about jetpacks because of their awful carbon footprint, or that I've been panicking over whether or not they'll spoil the nation's youth with idleness. No, I've been worrying about something far more serious: I've been worrying about how they're going to fit into Halo.
I've been worrying that they'll bust multiplayer right open, turning matches into nasty little bee storms filled with buzzing annoyances, that they'll break the game's tight convergence of weapons, environments and tactics, and that, really, they're only there as a gimmick to tempt people back from Modern Warfare 2.
Four new modes in Halo: Reach beta
Headhunter! Invasion! Stockpile! Etc.
Bungie has revealed to 1UP four new modes that will feature in Halo: Reach's multiplayer beta when it launches on 3rd May. The modes are Headhunter, Stockpile, Generator Defence and Invasion.
Headhunter is a free-for-all "party" game in which players collect skulls from defeated opponents and have to carry them back to a moving deposit zone to score. You can carry multiple skulls, but if you're killed before scoring you drop them; other players can see how many you have, and if you have more than ten, you get a flashing star over your head, marking you as a prime target.
Stockpile is a team game that "is sort of like Territories meets with Capture the Flag," according to Bungie. Neutral flags appear randomly across the map and teams have to return them to their respective capture points. The twist is that you'll only score once a timer counts down every 60 seconds, at which point any flag in the capture zone - even if carried by an opponent - will be added to the score.
Bungie details Halo: Reach beta
Discusses maps, jetpack use.
The Halo: Reach multiplayer starts on 3rd May and Bungie's opened up about what we can expect from it.
All four maps - Boneyard, Overlook, Powerhouse and Swordbase - support jetpacks. But note that Halo: Reach has fall damage.
"It's not Halo 3 style where you can John Rambo off of the top floor and you're absolutely fine when you hit the ground," Bungie's Chris Carney told IGN. Fall damage won't be "brutal", he said, but should make fuel consumption a consideration on longer flights.
New Halo: Reach multiplayer details
Load Outs, Armour Abilities, jet packs.
Bungie has posted a detailed preview of multiplayer game mechanics in Halo: Reach, ahead of the game's beta test on 3rd May.
The principal new info concerns the new Armour Abilities. These are the persistent special skills that replace Halo 3's one-shot Equipment. You can only have one equipped at a time, but can use it as much as you like, although it takes time to recharge.
You'll select your Armour Ability as part of a Load Out at the beginning of each round or match and every time you respawn. These are playlist and game specific - you can't define your own - and set your Armour Ability and starting primary and secondary weapons.
Halo: Reach MP has all-new rules
Credits, Rank and Commendations.
Bungie has invented new rewards for those of you who invest time in Halo: Reach's multiplayer. These will be based on earning Credits, Ranks and Commendations.
Halo: Reach multiplayer detailed
Matchmaking changes, leagues, all sorts.
Bungie has detailed multiplayer changes planned for Halo: Reach ahead of the upcoming beta test, which kicks off on 3rd May.
VideoHalo: Reach multiplayer gameplay
Mouth watering look at Bungie's newest.
New video shows modes, gameplay.
Hold on to your hats, because jetpacks are coming to Halo: Reach. And you'll be able to try them out in the multiplayer beta scheduled for 3rd May 2010.
They were spotted by VG247 during a video promoting the multiplayer beta. According to the clip, the modes on offer will be "Assassinations", "Invasion", "Headhunter", "Active Roster", "Spartans vs. Elites" and "The Arena".
Only owners of Halo 3: ODST are invited to take part.
For the stars.
"Bungie's greatest game ever and truly, in our minds, the defining Halo title from Bungie." Brian Jarrard, community lead at the Seattle developer, isn't mincing his words when it comes to this year's Halo: Reach. Neither is Marcus Lehto, art director on the previous games and creative director of this fifth sci-fi shooter in the Halo universe the studio created, which it firmly states will be its last. Lehto says it's a "darker story of honour and sacrifice on a scale greater than anything we've created before."
VideoHalo: Reach footage and dev diary
Open world Halo!
Open world Halo!
Finish the fight already.
Finish the fight already.
Starts this May. "Big", apparently.
Microsoft has announced that the Halo: Reach beta will kick off on 3rd May.
It's "on track to be the largest beta programme of its kind on any console" according to the press release.
Halo: Reach is due out this autumn on Xbox 360 and beta access is guaranteed for people who bought Halo 3: ODST.
Halo: Reach doesn't use Project Natal
But you can pilot the Falcon.
Bungie has said once and for all that Halo: Reach doesn't use Project Natal.
Bungie's best looking game yet.
Bungie's best looking game yet.
Bungie: "Halo: Reach for us is not Halo 4"
A standalone title in more ways than one.
Bungie has reaffirmed Halo: Reach as a standalone entry for the series, stating that both spiritually and in terms of content, "Halo: Reach for us is not Halo 4."
Halo: Reach "better across the board"
Bungie's new engine is its best yet.
Bungie's shown Halo: Reach and revealed an impressive new engine that is far and away the best the series has seen.
Bungie introduces Reach's Noble Squad
Only Spartans have the answer.
Microsoft and Bungie have confirmed that Halo: Reach will see multiple Spartans defending the planet Reach against Covenant invasion.
Too many Chiefs?
Greenberg reckons Reach will lap GT5
Xbox exec gets a bit fighty.
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg reckons Halo: Reach will be king of the sales castle come the end of 2010 and has even dismissed competition from Gran Turismo 5.
ODSTs to return in Halo: Reach?
"Would be a shame" if not in some form.
Bungie is still keeping quiet about plans for Halo: Reach, but has hinted that Halo 3: ODST's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers may return.
Halo: Reach screenshots leaked?
Battle Rifle, Needler sighted, among others.
A man on the internet has secured what look very much like blurry digital camera shots of Halo: Reach in action.
Halo 3: ODST sales reach 2.5 million
Plus: Master Chief set to return.
Around 2.5 million people have snapped up Halo 3: ODST in the two weeks since it was released.
That's according to USA Today, which also reports the expansion pack has generated over $125 million in sales and brought the total number of Halo games sold to 27 million.
But what about the rest of the Halo franchise? Any sign of that movie? "We're being very careful to pick the right time and the right partner," said creative director Frank O'Connor. No, then.
Firefight could feature in Halo: Reach
"Probably has a good future home."
Bungie has said that the future of the co-operative Halo 3: ODST mode Firefight is not set, and that it has every chance of reappearing in future Halo games.
Bungie not ready to talk about Reach
And DLC for ODST is still unlikely.
Bungie yesterday said that it is in no rush to start talking about Halo: Reach what with Halo 3: ODST yet to ship.
Spielberg to produce Halo movie?
He is "blown away" by script, says report.
Steven Spielberg is in negotiations to develop a Halo movie, according to a report by IESB.
343: There is no Gearbox Halo project
MS comments on rumour and speculation.
Microsoft has denied once and for all (probably) that Gearbox Software is working on a new Halo game following studio boss' Randy Pitchford's evasive behaviour in a Eurogamer interview last week.
Jackson's Halo project "on hold" - MS
Um, they should probably give him a ring.
Microsoft has said Peter Jackson's Halo project isn't in the bin after all - it's just "on hold".
Jackson's Halo project officially dead
Blomkamp not interested in film, either.
Peter Jackson has confirmed the Halo project he first announced nearly three years ago is in the bin.
Halo Waypoint to "aggregate everything"
May be for Xbox Live Gold only.
Microsoft's new Halo destination for Xbox Live, Halo Waypoint, is intended to "aggregate everything that you would want to watch from the Halo universe", but it's also "a lot more ambitious than that".
Mystery game still unsigned.
Bungie has revealed that the secret, non-Halo game it's working on is still not signed to a publisher - but suggested a deal is "close".
No Halo: Reach reveal this year
Prequel will be "big, epic and fun".
Bungie has told Eurogamer that we won't be seeing anymore of Halo: Reach this year, following the game's high-profile announcement during last month's E3 Xbox conference.
New Halo destination planned for Live
Waypoint to offer exclusive videos etc.
Good news, Halo buffs - Microsoft is launching a new "destination" on Xbox Live especially for you.
New Halo anime films on the way
They'll be released early next year.
Microsoft is working on a series of seven short anime films titled Halo Legends.
Halo: Reach may employ Natal tech
Absolutely could, says Bungie president.
Halo 3: ODST may have nothing to do with Microsoft's Project Natal, but Bungie president Harold Ryan reckons there's scope for overlap in a certain future game.
E3: Halo: Reach for autumn 2010
Bungie's secret game is an FPS.
Bungie has revealed that Halo: Reach will be a first-person shooter and launch in autumn 2010.
E3: Halo 3: ODST dated, Reach confirmed
Reach beta invite with ODST.
Bungie has confirmed that it’s working on Halo: Reach, due in 2010, in addition to Halo 3: ODST, which has been dated for 22nd September.
People who buy ODST will also get access to the Reach multiplayer beta.
ODST’s new co-operative game mode, Firefight, will be shown off at E3 this week.
E3: Xbox.com outs Halo: Reach?
Plus Joy Ride, Shadow Complex, more.
Oh dear. Wily bloggers have uncovered blank Achievement listings for several unannounced Microsoft games - and several heavily rumoured ones - in the run-up to the E3 conference that begins in 20 minutes.
E3: Bungie working on Halo: Reach?
Rumoured autumn 2010 release.
Not content with Halo 3: ODST, Bungie is rumoured to be working on a second new project called Halo: Reach, due for release next autumn.