Halo 5: Guardians, the next major entry in the Halo franchise and the next chapter in Master Chief's journey, will be released on Xbox One in fall 2015, developer 343 Industries confirmed this week.
"In the tradition of every Halo game since its debut in 2001, it is a massive and exciting project," said 343 Industries general manager Bonnie Ross in an official announcement. "
Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than
Halo 4. That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what's now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we've invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One's hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen."
Ross said
Halo 5 will "incorporate the things we learned from
Halo 4 about technology, aesthetics, performance and scale — and perhaps more importantly, understanding and embracing a community of gamers who love what lies at the heart of this game, and the limitless potential of the Halo universe."
343 Industries
announced its new Halo game for Xbox One at E3 2013, boasting that
Halo 5's enhanced engine will run "at a blistering 60 frames per second."
"In 2014, Halo combat will truly evolve and your journey with Halo on Xbox One begins," Ross said during last year's announcement, indicating that Microsoft has plans for Halo projects on Xbox One that preface
Halo 5: Guardians.
"Many fans noted that I was very deliberate with my phrasing on stage at E3 last year. I spoke about a 'journey,' rather than a destination," Ross said in today's announcement, "and that journey definitely begins in 2014 with a giant leap, rather than one small step."
Halo 5: Guardians isn't the only tentpole Halo project hitting fall 2015. The
Steven Spielberg-produced live-action series that Xbox Entertainment Studios is developing is also planned for release during that period.
343 promises more details about its Halo plans for this year at
Microsoft's Xbox E3 2014 media briefing, which it will hold June 9.
