Halo
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The 'Halo' TV series has found its Master Chief
The years-in-the-making Halo TV series finally appears to be taking shape. Showtime has chosen American Gods' Pablo Schrieber to play the series' version of Master Chief. It's not certain if he'll ever remove the iconic helmet, but Showtime has promised to tell "deeply drawn personal stories" -- it's hard to imagine the Chief hiding his face forever.
Microsoft's latest preview program lets you test 'Halo' PC releases
There was already a preview program for the Master Chief Collection when 343 Industries was fixing the Xbox One version, but it's giving the concept another shot now that the PC ports are on the way. It's launching a Halo Insider Program that will give you a chance at playing pre-release versions of all Halo games and services, whether they're for console or PC, in return for feedback. You're not guaranteed to get into every test, but it may your best shot at playing a future Halo game in advance.
'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' heads to PC with 'Reach' included
After years of waiting and more than a few hiccups, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to the PC. Microsoft and 343 Industries have unveiled plans to release the whole anthology one game at a time on both the Microsoft Store and Steam, starting with the prequel that has been conspicuously absent in the MCC since its debut: Halo: Reach. This may prove to be slightly tortuous if you're a fan of the main story, but it will give you a chance to play the title while taking greater advantage of modern hardware.
A 'Halo' amusement park will tour the US this summer
Finally, it's time to see if Warthogs are really that difficult to drive in person. Halo: Outpost Discovery is a 300,000 square foot, traveling amusement park packed with experiences from Xbox's pivotal sci-fi series, and it's set to start touring the US this summer. The show will land in Orlando, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston and finally Anaheim between July and September.
I never thought I'd see Master Chief drive around Northumberland
Halo's armored hero, Master Chief, has fought the Covenant on a raft of planets throughout the galaxy. One place the super-soldier hasn't visited, though, is a village called Bamburgh on the northeast coast of England. That is, until now. At Gamescom 2018, I was shown a special Halo event that will appear in Forza Horizon 4 later this year. The course, presented as a virtual "training exercise," lets you drive the rugged Warthog through dense forests and sandy beaches. It looked like terrific fun and will, if nothing else, be a nice distraction while fans wait for Halo Infinite.
The 'Halo' arcade game is playable at every Dave & Buster's
There's a new Halo game out this summer and you don't need an Xbox to play it. Instead, all you have to do is roll up to any Dave & Buster's and start popping quarters into it. Halo: Fireteam Raven is a four-player co-op on-rails arcade shooter developed by Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix, set during the events of the first (and best) game. Fireteam Raven plays out across a 130-inch wide 4K screen.
HALO collar promises to reduce concussions in contact sport
When it comes to high impact sports, sprains and strains are almost inevitable. The NFL has been equipping players with durable, shock-absorbent helmets for years to guard against traumatic injuries, but quick head movements often leave athletes susceptible to other kinds of damage like concussion. Enter HALO, a new form of wearable tech which could help to bridge that gap.
EA buys studio from the co-creator of 'Halo'
EA is still covering very familiar ground with most of its games. However, it's willing to branch out a bit: the publisher has acquired Industrial Toys, the studio from former Bungie CEO and Halo co-creator Alex Seropian. His team will join EA's Worldwide Studios team and help it produce "new game concepts." Don't expect him to simply recreate his best-known game, especially when his team includes just 14 people.
America's love affair with firearms bleeds into gaming culture
Gaming culture is rife with graphic representations of gun violence and has been since arcade goers first blew aliens out of Space Invader's skies. You'll be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of AAA titles designed for adults (sit down Rayman) that don't rely on firearms, or use gore in substitution, either as a primary tool for the gameplay or as a thematic element.
'Halo' is actually, really, finally coming to TV
It's happening. The Halo television show that Microsoft and Steven Spielberg have been talking about for five years is actually heading into production in early 2019. The show's working title is simply Halo and details about the plot are scarce, though it'll feature the franchise's classic storyline about a futuristic war between the human race and enemy aliens known as the Covenant. Showtime has ordered a 10-episode season of Halo, and episodes are set to be one hour long.
Microsoft’s E3 2018 show: Our verdict
Microsoft's E3 keynote is in the rear-view. Join editors Billy Steele and Nick Summers as they break down the most important announcements. Or, if you haven't got 11 minutes, here's an even shorter rundown:
'Halo Infinite' puts Master Chief back in the fight
As expected, Microsoft opened its E3 presentation by unveiling the next chapter in the Halo franchise: Halo Infinite. The teaser trailer didn't show much beyond a pretty wildlife trailer with only a brief glimpse of the Master Chief, but it's been three years since Halo 5 came out.
Live from Xbox's E3 2018 press conference!
Last year Microsoft admitted that exclusive games were thin on the ground, so what does it have to show for it at E3 2018? (Well, beside no Crackdown 3?) Rumors suggest we could see more Forza Horizon and Gears of War news -- and hey, let's not discount the chance of a Halo appearance. The big show kicks off at 1PM PT / 4PM ET later today. Join us for liveblog coverage!
'Halo: Fireteam Raven' brings its co-op action to the arcade
The next new Halo game isn't for Xbox One or PC -- instead Halo: Fireteam Raven is an arcade machine built for four-player cooperative play. A 130-inch 4K screen lets all the players take aim on a rail shooter experience in the environment of the first Halo game. You won't play as Master Chief, however, as players take the role of ODST troops fighting Covenant aliens for control of the ringworld alongside the series star and other familiar characters. The setup will debut this summer at Dave & Buster's locations in the US and Canada, and it links up to your Halo experience on other platforms via waypoint and a scannable QR code to track high scores online.
Microsoft shuts down a 'Halo Online' fan mod
Microsoft takes copyright violations as seriously as Nintendo does, it'd seem. The Xbox-maker has requested that a fan-made version of Halo Online stop production. Microsoft canned the Russia-only, free-to-play Halo Online back in 2016. From the sounds of it, things like textures and asset packs from the game made their way to the internet, where the "ElDewrito" team found and used them in their fan-made resurrection of the game.
The story of the Duke, the Xbox pad that existed because it had to
Denise Chaudhari had never touched a gamepad before stepping onto Microsoft's campus as a contractor. The first woman to join the Xbox team, Chaudhari had studied ergonomics and industrial design at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design but didn't have any experience with joysticks. That's part of why Xbox's Jim Stewart was so excited to bring her on board: Her ideas wouldn't be based on preconceived notions of what a gamepad had to be. It was early 2000, and the company was preparing to enter the gaming world with the Xbox. In Nov. 2001, the console was released in North America alongside the Duke, a controller that seemed comically large compared to its contemporaries. Within a year, the oversize gamepad was abandoned by Microsoft and replaced with a smaller model, but the Duke has had an impact on every controller since.
Showtime swears 'Halo' TV show is still in 'active development'
It's that time of year again: that is, time to promise that Steven Spielberg's Halo TV series isn't dead. In an interview with TV Guide, Showtime CEO David Nevins promised that the live-action, gaming inspired show is "still in very active development." He didn't provide more details, but did note that he had seen scripts and that the network was "encouraged by what we've seen so far." He was confident it would not only please Halo fans, but Showtime's overall drama audience.
Xbox's lack of compelling games won't be fixed next year
Microsoft's 2017 started six months early. At E3 2016, Xbox chief Phil Spencer closed out the company's keynote by teasing the "most powerful console ever." At this year's show, he finally revealed the Xbox One X, and in November, the hardware was at retail. In the time it takes to earn a bachelor's degree, Microsoft addressed one of the internet's loudest complaints about the Xbox One: that it wasn't powerful enough compared to the PlayStation 4.
The best Xbox One games
The Xbox One has come a long way since its 2013 debut. Microsoft has fixed the console's hardware flaws with the One S and the recently released One X, but now it has a different problem to address: a dearth of compelling games you can't play anywhere else. In recent years the company has relied on timed third-party exclusives that eventually make their way to other platforms or are also available on Windows and Steam. It happens on PS4 as well, but the difference there is that Sony has a wide assortment of games that you can only play on its console. That's not to say there aren't exclusive games worth playing on Xbox; it's just that they're buried among annual Forza racing games, middling modern Halo releases and the testosterone-fueled Gears of War franchise. Microsoft has promised to break out of that predictable release cadence, though, so the future could be brighter than you may have come to expect. As it stands, these are the best Xbox One games you can play right now.
'Halo 5' Overtime update adds 4K and brings back Oddball
We knew Halo 5 was among the chosen titles due to get the 4K treatment for the Xbox One X, and now we know when the upgrade will land. Tomorrow, the Overtime update will bring with it the resolution bump, along with the return of fan-favorite Oddball multiplayer mode. More content will continue to roll out over the coming days and months, including skins for Halo Championship Series eSports teams and fine-tuning for select items.
