All Articles: Halo 5: Guardians

Microsoft has teamed up with GameStop to help introduce Spartan Locke, the Halo franchise’s newest character, to gamers everywhere. Players who pre-order Halo 5: Guardians from GameStop will receive the Spartan Locke Armor Set, which comes complete with a special suit of armor and a helmet that can be used exclusively in the game’s multiplayer mode (via Xbox Wire):

• HUNTER-Class Armor: Sophisticated and lethal, HUNTER-class armor incorporates Watershed Division’s latest warfighting technology.
• HUNTER-Class Helmet: Though still considered a prototype implementation, the HUNTER’s sensor suite enhances situational and threat awareness.

You can check out Spartan Locke and his snazzy threads in the trailer above. And if you’ve been following Microsoft’s “Hunt the Truth” blog, you might want to know that a new episode of the podcast is now available.

Halo 5: Guardians will be released for the Xbox One on October 27.

After all the recent delays, it’s nice to see a publisher push a stake in the ground and say, “This release date is mine!” Microsoft did that tonight with a pair of new live-action trailers for Halo 5: Guardians. Each trailer ended with confirmation that the Xbox One exclusive will be released on October 27.

In the first trailer, a very angry Agent Locke strides towards an injured Master Chief and prepares the execute the famed war hero over some kind of betrayal. Is the Master Chief guilty of some horrible crime against humanity? Maybe… but maybe not. The second trailer, which is embedded after the break, shows the Master Chief as the aggressor, and in a position to murder Locke. Which one is the truth? Maybe Microsoft can help.

The publisher wants fans to dig deeper tonight into the lore of Halo 5 with a new episode in the Hunt the Truth podcast. War journalist Benjamin Giraud (Key & Peele‘s Keegan-Michael Key) attempts to go back to the very beginning with the first official episode, “A Hairline Fracture”:

The second episode of the podcast will be available next week. (more…)

Microsoft launched Hunt the Truth last night, an in-universe website that chronicles the life and times of Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117, better known as the Master Chief. But rather than publish a simple biography, war journalist “Benjamin Giraud” (played by Keegan-Michael Key of Key & Peele fame) has launched a Serial-esqe podcast to explore “the real Master Chief”:

What began as a high-profile hero story quickly turns into a full-blown investigation. Sources claim they know the “real Master Chief”: The boy, the soldier, the hero…the traitor? But who’s telling the truth?

New episodes will be posted every Sunday, but for now, you can get a glimpse of what’s to come with Episode 0, “Primer”:

The Halo 5: Guardians beta test begins today, but Microsoft also wants you to know that the game is now available for pre-order through your favorite (and not so favorite) retailers. To that end, the consolemaker has also announced (via Xbox Wire) that the game will be available in three different pacakges:

Standard Edition ($59.99) – A copy of Halo 5: Guardians plus an exclusive poster, only available to those who pre-order.

Limited Edition ($99.99) – Everything in the Standard Edition plus new digital content to enhance Spartan combat and exclusive items wrapped in a uniquely designed steel book.

Limited Collector’s Edition ($249.99) – Everything in the Limited Edition as well as additional content such as a commemorative numbered statue designed by 343 Industries. More details on the design to be shared at a later date.

Halo 5: Guardians will be released exclusively for the Xbox One this Fall (a final release date has yet to be announced), but you can join the multiplayer beta now through January 18 (as long as you own a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection).

The Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta will begin on December 29 (and run until January 18). To get gamers ready for the three-week test, Microsoft has released a brand new trailer featuring some “hot Red on Blue action.” If you pay close attention to the trailer, here’s what you might see:

To prepare fans for the start of the highly-anticipated Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta on December 29, this new trailer provides a sneak peek at the new maps, modes, weapons and Spartan Abilities featured in the intense 4v4 multiplayer arena gameplay of the three-week beta. Each week we will feature new content including seven new maps, two new weapons, new modes, and a new Competitive Skill Rating (CSR) system. Or sit back and enjoy watching multiplayer matches in the all-new Spectator Mode.

The Halo 5: Guardians beta is open to everyone who owns a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. So if you’re waiting on Santa to place yours under the tree, don’t worry, you’ll still have time to enter the beta.