The Halo franchise is currently one of the most popular properties in all of video game history.
The Halo games alone are huge part of the reason why the Xbox 360 sold so well, as the wildly popular title was initially exclusive to Microsoft’s console. Although Halo later hit Windows PCs, the Xbox 360 continues to be Microsoft’s platform of choice for introducing new games in the franchise.
And now it seems as if the Microsoft owned 343 Industries is coding a special Halo 2 Anniversary edition for reminiscent fans. Frankly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the rumors about an HD revamp of Halo 2 proved true, as the buzz has returned to the franchise in recent months.
Halo 4 – set to launch in November with at least 10 initial maps – is generating a lot of hype, with reports indicating that Halo 2 could go live sometime in 2013.
However, the roll out may very well be contingent on Microsoft’s next-gen console roadmap, as it would obviously make some sense for Halo 2 to debut on the new 720, rather than the stalwart 360.
In any case, this obviously wouldn’t be the first HD remake of an old Halo game, as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition launched last year and did well enough.
In other Halo related news, the first teaser trailer for “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” recently hit YouTube. Dawn – which goes live on November 6 – can best be described as a live-action digital series that takes fans back to the origins of the Human/Covenant war.
Halo is currently a multi-billion dollar science fiction video game franchise (originally created by Bungie) managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The property has expanded exponentially since the early days of Combat Evolved, and now includes Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars (RTS), Halo Reach, Combat Evolved Anniversary (HD) and Halo 4.
There are also multiple bestselling novels and graphic novels which have sold quite well (the Halo Graphic Novel shipped more than 100,000 copies), with a number of them appearing on Publisher Weekly’s bestseller charts. Tor’s first three novels sold more than one million copies by April 2000, while Ghosts of Onyx, Contact Harvest, The Cole Protocol and the first volume of Cryptum made the well-respected New York Times bestseller lists.
