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November 16, 2011
February 22, 2012
Halo 4 is one of the most highly anticipated games in the world right now. Indeed, the ten-year-old FPS franchise is one of the most successful in history. News on Halo 4 has been pretty sparse the past few months, though we do know some details about the new game including who the main characters will be and when the game will take place. This is the first Halo game which Microsoft will produce without Bungie’s help.
Furthermore, Halo 4 is the beginning of a brand new trilogy dubbed the “Reclaimer” trilogy by Microsoft. 343 Industries is the name of the studio which Microsoft has created to develop the new Halo trilogy now that Bungie is out of the picture. We’ve already seen 343 Industries’ work on Halo in the form of the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition which came out last November. It was 343 Industries which polished up the graphics for the re-release.
Considering the lack of news on Halo 4 lately, we figured we’d probably be waiting a while before we saw the game, but now there is a rumor which leads us to believe we may actually get to see Halo 4 in action at the end of this month at the Xbox Spring Showcase in San Francisco. The showcase will be held on the 29th and may represent a great time for Microsoft to unveil the game. After all, Gears of War 3 was revealed at the 2011 Spring Showcase, and this is a big event which exclusively belongs to Microsoft. Attendees at the showcase won’t be distracted by releases from other developers and will be able to focus all their attention on Halo 4 and Microsoft’s other developments.
The rumor originated in a Finish video game magazine called Pelaaja. While there is no way to know whether the rumor is valid, it does make good business sense for Microsoft to show off Halo 4 at the end of the month at the showcase, so we feel hopeful.
February 20, 2012
In an intriguing and unexpected bit of news, it’s recently come to light that Halo 4 might include bots. In the ten year history of the franchise, Halo has never included bots. The rumor stems from Nixel Pixel. According to the site, there is a Brandon Layton who is employed by Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries whose LinkedIn account resume details his experience working with bots.
The most obvious interpretation of this resume is to conclude that Brandon Layton is employed with 343 Industries to integrate bots into the Halo 4 game. Of course, let’s not forget that there are other possibilities as well. For instance, it’s possible that the bots are being used simply to test out maps and to figure out some of their potential weaknesses. Bots, as we know, stumble into traps pretty easily; using them for testing could help developers to find potential problem areas on maps which could affect gameplay.
We don’t know for sure what the news means, if anything, but it’s certainly interesting. Meanwhile, perhaps Microsoft will unveil the game at the Xbox Spring Showcase at the end of February, as indicated by a rumor circulated by the Finish video game magazine Pelaaja.
February 18, 2012
343 Industries hasn’t been terribly forthcoming about Halo 4. So far we have some details on the plot, the timeframe and the characters which will be featured in the game, but further than that, we don’t know much at all. It’s been months since we’ve had proper news about Halo 4. Recently though an exciting rumor has emerged from Finland. According to Pelaaja, a Finish video game magazine, Halo 4 will be revealed in full at this month’s Xbox Spring Showcase.
The Xbox Spring Showcase will be held on February 29th in San Francisco. We haven’t heard from Microsoft or 343 Industries regarding the comment by the Finish magazine, but we do recall that Gears of War 3 was first exhibited during the 2011 Xbox Spring Showcase. So perhaps it isn’t unreasonable to think the rumors might have some foundation. Another reason to think Microsoft might opt to show off the game during the showcase instead of at E3 is that E3 is bigger but also more crowded with other developers vying for attention. The showcase would provide a more exclusive opportunity for Microsoft to exhibit the new game free of distractions from other game developers and console companies. Maybe by the end of this month we’ll finally know what we can expect from Halo 4 (although we already expect the new game will be awesome). The showcase is an important event for Microsoft each year, so who knows—we might have more news on Halo 4 sooner than we think.
February 16, 2012
Recently there has been a rise in Halo 4 beta scams—fake websites, fake emails, fake offers for fake trials—many of them designed to get users to give up their Xbox Live passwords. In the latest hassle, Microsoft has taken legal action against the owners of the recently registered domain Halo4beta.net. This seems to be a direct follow up to a tweet by David Ellis of 343 Industries from just a few weeks ago which stated, “If you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta be advised, IT’S A FAKE.” Presumably that tweet was referring to Halo4beta.net. Otherwise there have been multiple fake website issues, which is also possible in light of the popularity of the Halo franchise.
Microsoft’s first move was to file a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum. In response, the owner of the Halo4beta.net domain closed down the fake website, hoping to avoid further confrontation. This isn’t all that Microsoft wants though—Microsoft wants the domain transferred to them so that they can protect their brand. In June of 2011 there was a similar dispute involving the domain Halo4.com. While Microsoft didn’t sue the owner or pursue legal action, they did pay the owner an undisclosed sum of money for the transfer of the domain name. None of the details of the deal were ever made public, but in this case we can expect the issue to be resolved swiftly by the National Arbitration Panel.
Microsoft has stated that we can expect Halo 4 to be released for Xbox 360 by the end of the year. Meanwhile we still don’t know when we can expect to see the Xbox 720, but we’ll likely be waiting until 2013 or later for the next generation console to hit stores.
January 22, 2012
« Halo 4 Will Be Exhibited at London’s Toy Fair
We’d hope that with so little news about Halo 4 out yet, most of our readers would be wise to any invitation offering a Halo 4 beta test sign-up. Nonetheless, many gamers get so eager for a new title to come out that they momentarily forget themselves and respond to offers like these. This is a good way to lose access to your Xbox Live account—not play a nonexistent beta of Halo 4.
This is just the latest phishing scam to hit unsuspecting gamers. While browsing the internet, a gamer finds a webpage or an email, supposedly from Microsoft, which invites the gamer to participate in a Halo 4 beta trial. The gamer signs up, providing his or her Xbox Live password in the process. The phisher steals access to the Xbox Live account, and of course there is no Halo 4 beta trial.
“If you see a page claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta be advised, IT’S A FAKE,” tweeted David Ellis of 343 Industries. Again, this should be fairly obvious considering how little we even know about Halo 4 at this point, but it’s easy to get overexcited.
Will there eventually be a real Halo 4 beta? Probably; typically, though, Microsoft sends out these beta invites at the same time they release another prominent title. For example, the Halo: Reach beta was offered to gamers when Halo: ODST and Gears of War 3 were released. So stay tuned for more information about Halo 4, and also for the eventual Halo 4 beta which probably will come later this year. Just remember to actually verify than any such offer is real before you give out your private information. This is a standard internet safety precaution you should follow with any request for information!