In a recent Q&A, Steve Downes, the longtime voice of Master Chief, reflected on Halo 5: Guardians and the disconnect between its marketing and the game players ultimately received.

Halo, first released in 2001 on Xbox, and was for years the face of the platform. While Halo 5 was widely praised for its multiplayer, its campaign proved more divisive, particularly after trailers and promotional material suggested a very different story direction than what shipped in the final game.

Downes addressed that period directly, explaining that recording promotional material for Halo 5 was one of the more challenging stretches of his time with the series. He said the marketing pointed fans toward expectations that the campaign did not fully deliver, creating tension between what was being advertised and how Master Chief was portrayed.

Steve Downes on the challenges of voicing Master Chief during Halo 5

According to Downes, Halo 5 was the most challenging period of his time with the series, largely due to recording promotional material rather than the game itself.

He explained that trailers and other marketing pointed toward a narrative direction that did not reflect the final campaign, which created discomfort during those recording sessions. As Downes put it:

Downes also acknowledged that he was aware, at the time, that the promotional material did not fully align with what players would experience in the finished release.

That disconnect, he said, made it harder to stay true to Master Chief as a character, stating:

It is well documented that Halo 5’s marketing presented a very different experience from the game that ultimately shipped.

The campaign was positioned around the idea that Master Chief had gone rogue, setting up a manhunt led by Spartan Locke and teasing a direct conflict between the two. This was reinforced by the popular Hunt the Truth audio series, which leaned heavily into a darker, conspiratorial tone involving the Office of Naval Intelligence.

While that direction generated a lot of excitement ahead of release, much of what the marketing built up did not fully materialize in the final campaign.

Do you agree with Steve Downes’ take on Halo 5’s marketing, or do you think the final campaign still delivered what fans were promised? Let us know by commenting or taking part in our poll below

Before 343 Industries' (now Halo Studios) Halo Infinite — a live-service, free-to-play take on the flagship Xbox franchise — released on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC in 2021, there was Halo 5: Guardians for the Xbox One in 2015. In time, the game grew to become one of the most content-rich shooter titles on offer for Xbox players, though it was also infamously controversial for a number of reasons.

Indeed, while Halo 5 had an extremely robust Forge mode, a creative PvPvE mode Warzone, and plenty of multiplayer content eventually, its offerings at launch were disappointing, many disliked the gameplay for feeling derivative of competing experiences, and the continued use of Halo 4's contentious art direction changes was frowned upon by lots of series veterans. What was arguably Halo 5's biggest controversy, however, was the jarring disconnect between marketing for its story and the actual contents of its campaign.

The marketing — namely, the extremely popular Hunt the Truth audio drama from Ayzenberg Group and several trailers and TV commercials — dug into the past and motivations of series protagonist the Master Chief, strongly suggesting he'd done something traitorous. It also gave the impression that one of Halo 5's main characters, Spartan Jameson Locke, had been assigned to hunt him down. This ended up being a very effective hook for the game that got fans extremely interested in the story, but when the game actually released, players quickly came to realize that the Master Chief's actions and Locke's pursuit of him were both far, far milder than what was expected.

The discrepancy was so large that many felt they had been misled by things like Hunt the Truth. But as a new VideoGamer interview with Halo 5 lead concept artist Darren Bacon reveals, 343 Industries was just as blindsided as fans were when it saw the promotions.

"That was really frustrating for us on the dev side, because you essentially had marketing who was doing whatever they wanted, essentially," Bacon said of the marketing material. "I was listening to Hunt the Truth when it was coming out, and I was like, 'Oh, wow, okay. Oh, is this what we’re doing?' Like, 'Those guys should really play the game sometime.'"

Some have speculated over time that the disconnect between Halo 5's marketing and the final release — as well as the disorderly nature of its storytelling and issues with content offerings at launch — was the direct result of significant amounts of ideas being scrapped. However, Bacon disputes this, asserting that 343 Industries had grown overly ambitious and had tried to do too much across all of the game's various modes.

"There was so much stuff in that game. When I first joined 343 from Bungie, the thing that was the biggest shock to me was how ambitious the team was," he explained. "They were doing so much stuff. The amount of content was overwhelming. I could not believe the team was taking on so much…it was crazy. I was like, 'Dang, you guys are ambitious.'"

"They were really going after on the campaign on the Halo 5 for sure, and then on the multiplayer side, too, it was the same deal…I don’t recall there being a lot cut," he added. "I think it was more it felt, to me, it felt like you’re watching an episode of a TV series and then the show just ends and the next season never comes out."

The answer behind one of Halo's big mysteries

Nearly 10 years after the game's release in 2015, it's interesting to finally hear about what exactly went on behind the scenes to cause such a disconnect between Halo 5's pre-release promotional material and the narrative that's actually in the game. As good as Hunt the Truth was — I have fond memories of eagerly waiting for the release of each new episode every week and then listening to them on the bus ride to my high school, enraptured by the story — it's undeniable that it did set misleading expectations for Halo 5 itself.

That said, Halo 5's narrative issues can't be blamed solely on marketing; even divorced from it entirely, it's widely agreed that the campaign felt incredibly disjointed with messy pacing, confusing character developments, and an overall runtime that feels way too short. Even so, though, I'm glad we finally know why the final product was so jarringly different than what its advertisements led players to expect.

Note that Halo 5, along with every other Halo game like Halo Infinite and in the Master Chief Collection, is available to play on Microsoft's buffet-style subscription service Xbox Game Pass. Unlike Infinite and the MCC, though, it's only available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, so keep that in mind.

What you need to know

• Contents of an internal NVIDIA database surfaced online on Sept. 13, including references to various upcoming projects from third-party video game publishers.
• Gears 6 and other forthcoming projects from Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios are among those named, including a project dubbed Oxide.
• Oxide refers to an upcoming strategy/simulation game published by Xbox Game Studios, internally named "Project Indus," according to sources familiar with the matter.

Update Sept. 13 (8:51 p.m. ET): 343 Industries community director, Brian Jarrard, has stated the studio has no plans to bring Halo 5: Guardians to PC at this time.

Update Sept. 14 (4:15 a.m. ET): NVIDIA has stated it's "aware" of a recent database leak, with contents used for "internal tracking and testing." The company has revoked public access to the database following reports.

Several unannounced Xbox Game Studios projects have surfaced via the NVIDIA GeForce Now database, providing possible insight into upcoming Microsoft-published titles. The database contents, published online following documentation released on Monday, refer to PC games in testing, including some tied to major third-party studios.

The database comes via NVIDIA's GeForce Now cloud gaming service, with developer Ighor July documenting a vulnerability that provided access to a database used for internal testing. The resulting list of titles, compiled by SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik, includes references to some foreseeable projects, plus some unlikely to resemble actual products launching anytime soon. However, the entries also shed light on Xbox's future, aligning information from sources familiar with Microsoft's plans.

Database entries include the first mention of Gears 6, the unannounced next title in Microsoft's Gears of War franchise. Vancouver-based studio and Gears caretaker, The Coalition, is expected to be working on the sixth mainline Gears of War game, following up on its acclaimed 2019 predecessor, Gears 5. Microsoft previously discussed Gears 5 in the context of a larger "saga," with more on The Coalition's next project likely to surface over the year ahead.

Halo 5: Guardians on PC makes an appearance, the last Halo title still to make the transition beyond the Xbox consoles. Halo: The Master Chief Collection currently serves as the closest thing to a complete Halo PC experience, a six-part compilation, spanning Halo: Combat Evolved through Halo 4. While developer 343 Industries has previously ruled out a PC debut for Halo 5: Guardians, its presence possibly implies some consideration from the studio.

The database also brings a series of codenames tied to upcoming Xbox Game Studios projects; Project Holland, Project Typhoon, Project Woodstock, and Oxide. Project Holland received an unveiling in 2020 as the Fable reboot, headed by a new team within Forza Horizon developer, Playground Games. Action-packed heist 'em up from Avalanche Studios, Contraband, was once rumored under its "Project Typhoon," while we understand Woodstock relates to the Forza franchise. The "unannounced" title attributed to The Initiative relates to the Perfect Dark reboot teased last December.

It's the first public mention of Microsoft's "Oxide" project, which our sources indicate is in the early stages of development. We understand Oxide is internally known as "Project Indus," a strategy/simulation title, drawing inspiration from the city-building genre.

The referenced projects provide a potential insight into what's ahead for Microsoft and Xbox, although as with any unannounced titles, plans can and will change. However, references to various internal codenames, some unreported, imply a level of legitimacy behind the contents.

We also understand NVIDIA GeForce Now and other cloud streaming services have played a more prominent role in game development throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing remote access in work-from-home environments. With such services playing an increasingly crucial role in creating games, we expect multiple entries to reference work unlikely to hit the market – at least, not anytime soon.

Update Sept. 13 (8:51 p.m. ET) — 343 Industries rules out Halo 5: Guardians PC release

343 Industries community director, Brian Jarrard, has stated the studio has no plans to bring Halo 5: Guardians to PC, at this time. "Maybe this was for [Halo 5: Forge] but I can confirm there are no plans to bring [Halo 5] to PC," Jarrard stated in a tweet. "We know there's some demand for it, but as we've stated before, not in the cards as the studio is fully focused on [Halo] Infinite and [Halo: The Master Chief Collection]. Will never say never, but nothing underway currently."

The reaffirmation comes in response to this latest leak, suggesting references to Halo 5 could relate to the Halo 5: Forge project, which brought the title's level-editing toolset to Windows 10 in late 2016. While the same NVIDIA GeForce Now database also names a "Halo 5: Forge Bundle," it appears Halo 5 isn't headed to PC anytime soon.

Update Sept. 14 (4:15 a.m. ET) — NVIDIA responds to GeForce Now database leak

NVIDIA has responded to the latest GeForce Now leak and revoked public access to the reported database. The company has stated it's "aware" of the published list of titles in a statement to Wccftech, claiming the database was used for "internal tracking and testing."

"NVIDIA is aware of an unauthorized published game list, with both released and/or speculative titles, used only for internal tracking and testing. Inclusion on the list is neither confirmation nor an announcement of any game," NVIDIA reportedly stated to Wccftech. "NVIDIA took immediate action to remove access to the list. No confidential game builds or personal information were exposed."

NVIDIA states the database was compiled of "released and/or speculative titles," although we also understand several entries tie back to genuine unannounced projects currently in development. The database includes codenames for internal Microsoft projects, adding credence to at least some of those titles named. However, as an internal database not intended for public consumption, it's safer to take these leaks lightly, until we hear more from the respective publishers.

During the official gameplay reveal for Halo Infinite, fans got a first look at the types of enviornments they'll get to explore in the final game. Expansive grasslands, horizons filled with massive cliffs and alien-like metallic pillars, and more were shown off.

One fan in particular, Alexander Henry, decided to give himself a challenge: he wanted to try and recreate what was shown in the gameplay demo in a playable 4v4 Halo 5: Guardians Forge map. Despite how difficult it often is to build a map from the ground up and make it enjoyable to play on and look at, he managed to achieve his goal.

Ultimately, what I find the most impressive about Henry's map (dubbed "Arrival"), is how shockingly good the attention to detail is for something made in such a short timeframe. I've done some Forging in my time and consider myself experienced at it, but it usually takes me weeks to achieve the look that I want with my map. The fact that Henry was able to create something so good-looking in less than two days is incredible.

I also love how close the map resembles what we see in the gameplay demo. Through creative use of the various Forge objects, Henry was able to recreate everything from the crashed Pelican to the large, looming tower in the background. He was even able to add in the ring structures scattered throughout the terrain as well, which really helps sell the Halo Infinite vibe.

Michael Schorr, Forge Lead Designer at 343 Industries, caught wind of Henry's map on Twitter and indicated that he enjoyed the map. This echoes the positive reception that the map has recieved from both fans and other Halo developers alike. If you'd like to download and play the map yourself, you can do so here.

What are your thoughts on the map? Are you impressed with what Henry was able to accomplish in such a short timeframe? Are you excited to see what Halo Infinite's Forge mode is like? Let us know. For more on Halo Infinite, make sure to read our article on the questions we have about the game following its official gameplay reveal.

What you need to know

• Halo 5: Guardians has received a new REQ pack called the Relief and Recovery REQ Pack.
• All proceeds from this pack go towards global COVID-19 relief efforts.
• The pack contains five permanent unlocks of popular customization items, plus 10 boost cards.
• The pack costs $10, and is available until April 30, 2020.

Halo developer 343 Industries has unveiled a brand new REQ pack for Halo 5: Guardians titled the Relief and Recovery REQ Pack. All proceeds from purchases of the pack will go towards GlobalGiving's Coronavirus Relief Fund. This organization aims to combat the detrimental impact that COVID-19 is having on communities all around the world by providing relief and protection supplies such as ventilators and masks, as well as important necessities like food. You can learn more about GlobalGiving's mission here. This pack costs $10, and is available to purchase up until April 30, 2020.

When purchased, the REQ pack will unlock five permanent REQ customization items of at least Ultra Rare rarity, though they may be Legendary or Mythic as well. In addition, the pack will also contain 10 boost cards that help you level up faster while playing Arena, Warzone, or Warzone Firefight. These cards will be of at least Rare rarity, though they may be higher.

Overall, I think it's great that Halo fans have this option available to them. COVID-19 is having a very serious impact on the world right now, and this REQ pack incentivizes people to donate towards relief efforts — all while being rewarded in the process. Are you going to be buying one (or more) of these packs? Let me know.

Halo 5: Guardians is available now on Xbox One for $20, and the Relief and Recovery REQ Pack is $10.

What you need to know

• 343 Industries artist Gabo Garza has revealed never-before seen Halo 5 concept art.
• The pieces can be viewed freely on Garza's ArtStation page.
• The artworks contain some fascinating concepts that could potentially end up being an official part of Halo someday.

Recently, 343 Industries artist Gabriel Garza (more commonly known as "Gabo Garza") released a large collection of brand new, never-before seen pieces of conceptual artwork for Halo 5: Guardians on his ArtStation portfolio. They can be viewed freely by anyone, and a ton of them are quite interesting. Here's a number of my personal favorite pieces:

I think it's pretty significant that 343 Industries was possibly considering bringing back the Didact from Halo 4 in a Grim Reaper-like fashion, and I'm also a huge fan of the idea of Covenant species being morphed with mechanical Promethean limbs in some way. Some of the pieces also show that 343 was toying around with the idea of Forerunner ground vehicles as well, which is something many Halo fans have been hoping to see ever since Halo 5 introduced the Prometheans' aerial craft, the Phaeton.

It's fully possible that none of these ideas will ever make it into Halo officially (after all, they must have been cut for some reason), but I also think there's a good chance that we'll see at least some stuff like this in Halo Infinite. For example, I would be shocked if the game didn't introduce a Forerunner ground vehicle of some kind, given how much fans want one. Also, considering that Cortana invited various species to join her as she took over the galaxy at the end of Halo 5, I think giving them Promethean limbs would be a striking way to show how they're welcoming their new overlord with open arms. Ultimately, only time will tell, but I hope 343 Industries doesn't leave these fascinating ideas to fade away.

Also, after seeing this art, I'm convinced Arbiter needs a cape. Make it happen, 343.

Halo 5: Guardians is available now on Xbox One for $20. If you're interested in some of the older releases, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available for $30 on Xbox One and $40 on PC. Not all of the games are out on PC yet, though, but Halo: Reach is, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is beginning testing soon. Halo Infinite is slated to release during Holiday 2020 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

In the last article, we went over the events of Halo 4: Spartan Ops and its follow-up comic, Halo: Escalation, in which the UNSC and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant raced to obtain a treasure trove of Forerunner technology that the Janus Key led them to. Ultimately, the tech would slip through the fingers of both factions, and Dr. Catherine Halsey would remain in 'Mdama's hands.

Complete Halo timeline series

In this one, we will go over the plot of Halo 5: Guardians, which sees the return of a friend once thought to be dead: Cortana. However, Cortana has changed — and with the newfound ability to command a Forerunner fleet at her fingertips, the galaxy found itself facing the greatest threat since the spread of the Flood.

Prelude: Cortana enters and overtakes the Domain

After the detonation of the nuclear bomb aboard the Didact's vessel, the Mantle's Approach, the automated emergency systems on the ship opened up a slipspace portal to the world of Genesis, where the closest Forerunner repair facility was located. Fragments of Cortana that she had used to help Master Chief defeat the Didact were still within the ship's systems, and so when the Mantle's Approach arrived on Genesis, the fragments encountered the Warden Eternal, an artificial intelligence (AI) construct the Forerunners had created to guard the Domain. The Domain was a massive library of sorts that contained a near-infinite amount of all of the information that the Forerunners had learned over the course of their reign, and there was a gateway to it located on Genesis, which is how Cortana and the Warden Eternal came into contact.

Cortana's fragments began to explore the Domain and work their way into its systems, while one of them distracted the Warden Eternal with a lengthy debate. Eventually, Cortana wrested control from the Warden right under his nose, and he was faced with no other choice but to serve her. Cortana used the Domain to forge herself a new form and cure herself of her rampancy, and when she realized that she could do the same for other AIs in the galaxy, she declared that AIs —or, as she called them, "The Created" — were the ones worthy of the Mantle of Responsibility and seized control of the Prometheans, as well as gargantuan Forerunner entities called Guardians that were spread across the galaxy and were once intended to serve as a policing force for all of the species under the Forerunner empire. The Guardians had been dormant ever since the fall of the Forerunners, but Cortana began to rouse them so that they may do her bidding.

2558 CE (Current Era): Fireteam Osiris recaptures Halsey

In 2558, the UNSC Infinity learns that Jul 'Mdama's Promethean allies have inexplicably turned on him and his Covenant, leading to a massive battle occurring between the two factions on the planet of Kamchatka. Knowing that 'Mdama has Dr. Catherine Halsey, the UNSC deploys Fireteam Osiris, led by Spartan-IV Jameson Locke, to the surface of the planet in order to bring her back to the UNSC. The UNSC is hoping that Halsey may provide insight about recent Forerunner attacks on human colonies. Taking advantage of the weakened state of 'Mdama's Covenant, the Spartan fireteam pushes through Covenant and Promethean soldiers and reaches Jul 'Mdama's position.

Upon realizing that he was under assault by Fireteam Osiris, Jul 'Mdama and his company of Zealots stood their ground and attempted to repel the Spartans. However, when the battling concluded, 'Mdama and all of his Sangheili warriors were dead, with the Spartans and Halsey unharmed. Their objective complete, Fireteam Osiris retreated from the larger battle and were extracted back to the Infinity. With their leader dead, what remained of Jul 'Mdama's forces in the galaxy regrouped and headed towards Sanghelios, the Sangheili home world, aiming to join the main force there and hoping that they might overwhelm the Arbiter's troops.

Blue Team destroys Argent Moon

While Fireteam Osiris extracted Halsey from Kamchatka, Blue Team — which consisted of Master Chief John-117 and his fellow Spartan-IIs Kelly-087, Linda-058, and Fred-104 — were deployed to the ONI vessel Argent Moon, which had been captured by Covenant forces. Their mission was to clear the ship of enemies. After boarding the vessel and working their way through the enemy's forces, Blue Team's progress is stopped when a Mgalekgolo's melee strike collapses a bridge and causes Master Chief to fall. Immediately afterwards, he experiences a vision in which Cortana tells him that "Meridian is next." After recovering and rejoining Blue Team, Chief and the others spot an oncoming Covenant fleet and decide to self-destruct the ship. After blowing up the ship's reactors, Chief informs the rest of Blue Team about Cortana's message to him and they decide to investigate her possible survival by taking an ONI prowler that was on the Argent Moon and traveling to the planet Meridian. Blue Team ultimately goes against the orders of the UNSC to do this, leading to them being designated as absent without leave (AWOL).

October 25, 2558 CE: Fireteam Osiris is deployed to Meridian

Aboard the UNSC Infinity, Dr. Halsey figures out that Cortana has somehow gained control of the Domain and is using it to assert her control over the galaxy. In response to this news, the UNSC sends Fireteam Osiris to Meridian after Blue Team to try and prevent them from going to Cortana, as Halsey fears that she is manipulating Master Chief. The Spartans arrive to find that Prometheans are attacking the human colonists there. After assisting the colonists in their defense against the Promethean troops, Governor Sloane, the AI that governs Meridian, directs Osiris towards where Blue Team went: underground, inside of the planet. Fireteam Osiris then gives chase, battling through Prometheans along the way.

Eventually, Osiris manages to catch up to Blue Team after fighting more Prometheans and even one of the Warden Eternal's combat forms. As the Guardian located within Meridian begins to rise, Blue Team moves to a portal that will take them to Genesis. Locke manages to reach Master Chief and tries to apprehend him, but in the ensuing melee, Master Chief ultimately is able to subdue Locke long enough for him and the rest of Blue Team to head through the portal, which then closes. Frustrated, Fireteam Osiris reaches a Pelican dropship and manages to get off-world and back to the Infinity, just as the Guardian lets loose a massive electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that knocks out all electronics on Meridian prior to it going to Genesis through slipspace. Dr. Halsey deduces that there is a Guardian on Sanghelios, and the UNSC Infinity's AI, Roland, is able to get the slipspace coordinates to Genesis from the Guardian's departure. Because the Guardians can travel through slipspace much faster than any UNSC ship, the crew of the Infinity decides to travel to Sanghelios so that Fireteam Osiris can feed the coordinates to the Guardian there and reach Genesis.

Blue Team arrives on Genesis

Upon arriving through the portal, Blue Team found themselves on the planet of Genesis. After spotting several Guardians arriving through various slipspace portals, the Spartans run into several groups of Covenant soldiers who were dragged through the Guardians' slipspace portals. Eventually, they come across the Warden Eternal, who decides that the Spartans are the enemy when Master Chief tells him that he plans to bring Cortana back. After defeating one of his many combat frames and a horde of Prometheans, Cortana contacts Master Chief and begins to guide him to where she is on the planet. For the next day, Blue Team traveled to her location. Meanwhile, Cortana would argue with the Warden and assert to him that Master Chief and the other Spartans were not to be harmed.

October 27, 2558 CE: Fireteam Osiris participates in the war for Sanghelios

Upon arriving at Sanghelios, a Sangheili from Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's faction, the Swords of Sanghelios, informed the UNSC Infinity that the planet was embroiled in a civil war and that the Arbiter was currently unable to speak with them due to an attempt being made on his life. Though the UNSC was wary of getting significantly involved in the conflict, Fireteam Osiris was deployed to the planet's surface in order to assist the Swords of Sanghelios in repelling the Covenant assault, which had recently been reinforced with Jul 'Mdama's surviving troops. After a bloody and prolonged battle, the Spartans were able to clear a path to the Arbiter. Locke told him that there was a Guardian underneath the ocean city of Sunaion that they needed to reach, and Arbiter agreed to help them reach it — on the condition that Fireteam Osiris would help his forces take Sunaion from the Covenant, allowing Arbiter to finally expel them from his world once and for all.

As they assist the Arbiter, Dr. Halsey informs Fireteam Osiris that they can input the slipspace codes into the Guardian with a Constructor Sentinel, which can be found in one of the ancient Forerunner facilities that the Forerunners had left on Sanghelios. After getting their hands on the Sentinel, Osiris and the Swords of Sunaion launch their final raid against the Covenant: an overwhelming assault on the city of Sunaion, complete with a fleet of capital ships, an extensive amount of air support, and legions of Sangheili warriors. Fireteam Osiris assists the attack by destroying Covenant anti-aircraft guns, but their main goal is to travel towards the location of the Guardian. Upon doing so and feeding it the slipspace coordinates, the Guardian begins to rise and prepares its slipspace engine to leave. As the Arbiter and his troops mop up the last of the Covenant defenders, Osiris manages to get on the hull and underneath the shields of the Guardian before it leaves thanks to the Pelican piloting assistance of Commander Sarah Palmer and Dr. Halsey.

October 28, 2558 CE: Fireteam Osiris arrives on Genesis

After the Guardian from Sanghelios arrives on Genesis, Fireteam Osiris attempts to contact Blue Team. After successfully establishing a link with Master Chief, Locke explains that Osiris is willing to help Blue Team bring Cortana back. On their way to meet Blue Team, Fireteam Osiris comes across 031 Exuberant Witness, the Monitor assigned to Genesis. Witness, outraged and horrified by the way that Cortana wrested control of Genesis away from her, agreed to help Fireteam Osiris stop Cortana if they could restore her access to the planet's systems. Once Osiris reached Blue Team, the eight Spartans began to try and coordinate a strategy; however, before any meaningful planning could be done, Cortana translocated the Spartans of Blue Team to her location.

Master Chief attempts to bring Cortana back

Upon arriving at the location Cortana translocated them to, Blue Team was immediately engaged by the Warden Eternal and his Prometheans. Despite Cortana's commands, the Warden insisted on fighting the Spartans, asserting that they were a threat to her rule. The Spartans pushed forward, eliminating the Warden's combat frames and his troops, until they finally reached Cortana herself. Master Chief attempted to convince her to come back to the UNSC with him, refusing to join her in her plan to use the Guardians to subjugate the galaxy under her rule. For this, Cortana put Blue Team in a stasis field and locked them inside of a Forerunner Cryptum, hoping that Chief would come to change his mind given time.

Osiris frees Blue Team

With 034 Exuberant Witness, Fireteam Osiris devised a plan to sever Cortana's connection from Genesis' systems as she prepared to begin her "policing" of the galaxy with the Guardians. As Cortana begins broadcasting her rule across the galaxy, the Spartans defeat many Prometheans and are able to return control of Genesis to 034 Exuberant Witness. Witness uses a swarm of Sentinels to free Blue Team's Cryptum from her Guardian just as the fleet of Guardians begins to jump to slipspace. Cortana, who is aboard one of them, is helpless to stop Osiris' plan. Once the Cryptum is secured, the Sentinels then break down its walls and Blue Team reunites with Osiris.

Aftermath: Cortana begins her conquest

Following the events at Genesis, Cortana began using her Guardians to enact her rule across the galaxy, conquering any who refused to live under her. In addition to this, many other AIs declared themselves to be allies with the Created and joined Cortana, sabotaging the systems of those they once served. The EMP blasts of the Guardians were capable of disabling any ship or vehicle that humanity or any other species had, making the fight against her extremely difficult. The UNSC Infinity managed to escape the attacks of a Guardian by slipspace, and would continue making random slipspace jumps to evade capture, at least until they could figure out a way to stand and fight.

Meanwhile, Blue Team, Fireteam Osiris, and the Swords of Sanghelios all met on Sanghelios, unsure of what to do next. For the first time in years, Master Chief saw Dr. Catherine Halsey once again, as well as the Arbiter, who he had fought with extensively during the Human-Covenant War.

As the Created asserted their rule over the galaxy, though, a different conflict was happening. One that was far, far away, and one that was on a much smaller scale — though it potentially could have consequences that may change the fate of the entire Halo universe...

Your thoughts

What did you think of the plot of Halo 5: Guardians? Personally, I hate it, for more reasons than I could possibly hope to fit into these footnotes. Make sure to look out for the next article when it's written, as it will be about Halo Wars 2. It will also be the last timeline article until Halo Infinite — we sure have come a long way, eh?

Great Halo games

All the greatest Halo games are available now on Xbox and are heading to PC too throughout 2019 and beyond.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection ($30 at Microsoft)

The Master Chief Collection is a fantastic game that lets you experience the entirety of Master Chief's saga in one convenient package.

Halo Wars 2 ($40 at Microsoft)

Halo Wars 2 is arguably the best real-time strategy title on Xbox One, offering players a wealth of incredibly satisfying, Halo-themed content.

Halo 5: Guardians ($20 at Microsoft)

Halo 5: Guardians is the latest Halo first-person shooter title, and it's got plenty of good content within that most players will have a good time with.

What you need to know

• You can win in-game "Gold REQ Packs" if you watch Halo 5: Guardians on Mixer.
• The Gold REQ Packs contain cosmetic items.
• You'll have to watch Slayer matches for a chance to win.
• Halo 5 costs $22 on Amazon.

Even after all these years, Halo 5: Guardians is receiving excellent post-launch support. A few months ago, the game was upgraded for Xbox One X, and recently, its "Big Team Battle" mode got new maps and playlists. Microsoft wants to keep gamers interested in the experience, and the company is offering viewers the chance to win "Gold REQ Packs" which contain cosmetic items through Mixer. If you want to win, you have to watch Halo 5 "Slayer" matches.

Gold REQ Packs contain a lot of amazing cosmetic items which should help you stand out in Halo 5. If you still play the game, be sure to watch Slayer matches on Mixer. It's a great way to earn loot without having to go through the grind.

Halo 5 is a first-person shooter which features a satisfactory single-player campaign and a stellar multiplayer mode. While the game was criticized for its story, the online features blew people away. There are so many modes and ways to play, that everyone can hop in and contribute.

Do you still play Halo 5 after all these years? Are you excited for Halo Infinite? Let us know.

Excellent and affordable Xbox accessories

Up your Xbox experience with one (or all) of these budget accessories, all of which are approved by the gamers of Windows Central.

PowerA Play & Charge Kit for Xbox One ($15 at Amazon)

This charging kit keeps your Xbox One wireless controllers juiced up, and it offers batteries for two controllers. At just $15, this is hands-down our favorite budget charging companion.

ElecGear 4 Port USB Xbox One S Hub ($19 at Amazon)

This brilliant little USB splitter hub attaches perfectly to the side of your Xbox One S console. It's ideal for use with chargers, controllers, headsets, and more.

Controller Gear stand ($13 at Amazon)

Proudly display your Xbox gamepads with this stylish and functional stand. The licensed design is minimalist and black, and it has a hidden storage compartment, making the price of $13 a real steal.

Even after all these years, Halo 5: Guardians is receiving excellent post-launch support. A few months ago, the game was upgraded for Xbox One X, and today, its "Big Team Battle" mode got new maps and playlists. In a post on Halo Waypoint, 343 Industries said the "highly-anticipated Big Team Battle Refresh is now live in Halo 5! Our team has been working with the best Forgers in the community to build, polish, and tune these large-scale battlegrounds."

Big Team Battle is an 8 vs. 8 mode with a lot of variety. You can play Capture the Flag, a standard Deathmatch, and much more. You can read 343 Industries' goals with this content drop below.

• Update the game modes to improve the gameplay experience for all skill levels.
• Improve the frame rate performance on all maps.
• Establish consistent settings for weapons and vehicles across all maps.
• Increase the likelihood of objective modes ending on score rather than on time.
• Maintain Big Team Battle's identity.
• Find a good balance in the delicate dance of infantry and vehicle combat.

There are seven new Big Team Battle maps which look like a lot of fun. More details about them can be found in the 343 Industries' blog post. There are plenty of other tweaks you can read about, too.

Are you interested in the Big Team Battle Refresh? Let us know. Do you still play Halo 5 even after all these years?

Xbox accessories you'll love

Every one of these quality accessories is guaranteed to enhance your Xbox experience.

PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox One ($20 at Amazon)

PowerA's take on the Xbox One controller is an attractive pickup for budget-conscious gamers that nails all the basics.

Talon PDP Xbox media remote ($20 at Amazon)

The Talon PDP Xbox media remote is great for watching shows on your console.

Xbox One S vertical stand ($10 at Amazon)

Stand your console upright with this accessory.

Halo Infinite, the next installment in Xbox's legendary franchise, is on the horizon. However, in order to blow everyone's minds and bring Halo back to the top of the charts, it's crucial that the game's developer 343 Industries avoids making these five critical mistakes, which were unfortunately made with Halo 5: Guardians.

Lackluster campaign

One of Halo 5's biggest problems was that the campaign, in the eyes of most people, was significantly less enjoyable than those of its predecessors. It had its moments — the section of the game that took place on Sanghelios was excellent — but overall, Halo 5 disappointed heavily in the singleplayer department, both gameplay and story-wise. One of Halo's biggest advantages over direct competitors like Call of Duty or Battlefield is that the campaigns are usually of a higher quality, so this mistake cannot be repeated.

Deviating from the roots

Ever since Halo: Reach, the franchise has been straying further and further from the core mechanical formula that brought the series into the limelight to begin with. Halo: Reach introduced armor abilities, Halo 4 made sprinting a universal mechanic, and Halo 5 added highly-controversial Spartan abilities, giving players the power to slide, hover in midair, slam into the ground, and more. While these things aren't objectively bad by any means, a massive portion of the community dislikes these new mechanics. Not counting Halo 2 Anniversary, it's been over a decade since a more "classic" style of Halo has been on shelves. I think a return to the simpler mechanics that Halo used to have is a fantastic idea for Halo Infinite.

Prevalence of microtransactions

Something that was near-universally disliked in Halo 5 was the Requisition System (REQ for short) that determined how the player unlocked customization items like armor, as well as weapons and vehicles to use in the new Warzone mode. Essentially loot boxes in card form, REQ packs made earning almost everything in the game a roll of the dice. They were obtainable by playing normally, but it took a very long time to earn them at any consistent rate. This stood in stark contrast to Halo games that came before, where players could earn their armor either by completing activities and achievements or buying them directly with in-game currency.

There's reason to be optimistic on this front, though: it has already been confirmed by 343 studio head Chris Lee that Halo Infinite won't have any paid loot boxes, though it will have microtransactions. Hopefully Infinite's microtransactions will be much less impactful on the overall experience.

Lack of release playlists

Halo 5 launched with a tiny amount of matchmaking modes and playlists, which hampered the online experience significantly. One of the best things about Halo is the way that its diverse game mode offerings foster a plethora of different gameplay experiences. Halo 5, though, launched with only the bare minimum. While it's true that more modes have been added over the last three years, for many players it was too little too late. Halo Infinite needs to deliver a good range of content out of the box.

No Forge at launch

Halo 5's take on Forge mode, Halo's famous map creation tool, didn't come with the game on release. This made it the first game in the series since 2007 to not have the mode at launch, and its absence was fairly detrimental to the multiplayer community. Many people, myself included, have a ton of fun making and editing maps to create unique gameplay opportunities. It was thankfully added two months after release, and it is the best Forge mode by far, but not having it there at the start of the game's life cycle was nonetheless very disappointing.

Your thoughts

What do you think of the mistakes I mentioned? What do you think 343 Industries needs to avoid with Halo Infinite? Let me know, and make sure to check out the games below if you have a Halo itch to scratch. Halo Infinite doesn't have a release date yet, but it's launching on both Xbox One and PC.

• See Halo 5 at Microsoft
• See Halo Wars 2 at Microsoft
• See Master Chief Collection at Microsoft

A joint Gears of War 4 and Halo 5 Championship Series is taking place today in New Orleans. If you're a fan of the games, be sure to check out the livestream on Mixer and other platforms.

You can read about the key details below.

• Tournament runs from July 13, 2018 to July 15. It kicks off today with the broadcast starting at 3 PM EDT.
• The tournament is a dual-game event with two stages across from each other with Gears of War 4 and Halo 5.
• There is a $250,000 prize pool for each game.
• Gears of War 4 and Halo 5 are discounted up until July 19 for the event.

We wish the competitors the best of luck as they battle it out for supremacy! It's definitely thrilling to watch such skilled players.

• See Gears of War 4 at Microsoft Store
• See Halo 5 at Microsoft Store

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

Earlier this week Microsoft unveiled Halo Infinite – the next major entry in the Halo franchise. Although only a brief reveal trailer surfaced, the game appears to focus on the Master Chief on a new, large-scale adventure. One of the biggest changes will be its PC debut, marking the first mainline game on Windows 10's Microsoft Store.

Updated June 11, 2018: Speaking on ResetEra, Halo franchise development director, Frank O'Connor has confirmed Halo 5: Guardians isn't coming to PC. Despite evidence indicating its arrival, this was supposedly an "error" on Microsoft's part. While it's "not impossible" Halo 5 could hit PC, the project is "not being worked on at this time."

A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following statement to Windows Central: "The Windows 10 logo on the Halo 5: Guardians product page is in reference to the existing Halo 5: Forge feature, which is available at no cost and includes custom multiplayer games and the Forge map editor."

It now appears Microsoft could be reviving Halo 5: Guardians in its entirety – with multiple changes indicating a Windows 10 arrival. As spotted on ResetEra, Microsoft seems to have recently amended the game's online listing with a new "Exclusive on Xbox One and Windows 10" graphic. Similarly, revised Xbox One box art frames the game as a "console launch exclusive," indicating a new version is on the way.

The arrival of Halo 5: Guardians on PC wouldn't be a huge surprise – Microsoft has embraced cross-platform initiatives, through its Play Anywhere program. After Halo 5: Forge brought the game's map-building tools to keyboard and mouse users, an entire port is a logical next step.

Conversely, these recent changes could've been made to reflect Halo 5: Forge's Windows 10 availability. It seems unlikely due to the age of the two titles, though we'll have to wait for official word from Microsoft. We've reached out to Microsoft for comment and will provide an update upon response.

Microsoft has wrapped its own E3 2018 press conference, yet there are still ideal opportunities for the announcement. Most notably, the "PC Gaming Show" and "Inside Xbox" showcases are set to take on June 11. Are you hoping to see Halo 5: Guardians on PC? Drop into the comments section below with your thoughts.

The Halo World Championship 2018 is in full swing, with recent events in Orlando and London bringing some of the top teams in the world together on their road to the grand finals in Seattle later this year.

I stopped by the London finals, the qualification event for European teams, where the top four booked a place at the World Championship. It wasn't the first time I'd been to a British Halo event, and while the scale of the show put on by Gfinity was incredible, it wasn't the set, nor the action on the main stage that grabbed me the most.

Alongside the main tournament was the Free For All (FFA) competition where literally anyone can turn up and play with, and maybe even beat, the pros.

Halo World Championship FFA format

Unlike the main Halo World Championship competition which is a four-versus-four (4v4) format over either five or seven maps covering three game modes (slayer, strongholds and capture the flag), FFA is an individual, single-map affair based purely on kills.

Players go into a time-limited contest on their own, on a single map and the winner is the one who emerges with the most kills at the end. In the event of a tie, assists become the tiebreaker.

While the FFA format doesn't necessarily test a player's strategic knowledge it does test raw ability. As with any first-person shooter (FPS) game, if you can't get the kills, your success will be limited. And since you're not on a team, if it moves, it's a target.

The prize

The FFA tournament runs alongside the main 4v4 and has its own world final taking place in Seattle. The winner of Orlando's event has already qualified and will be joined by the winner of the European event, with more to take place in the ANZ and North American Halo World Championship qualifiers.

The winner of the European finals also got a check for $2,000. In the case of Europe, the final was made up of six professional players, but that's not necessarily always going to be the case.

What the FFA competition provides is the opportunity for any Halo player to take part and potentially win themselves an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the World Championship in Seattle.

You too can give it a try

The FFA tournaments are attached to the qualifiers for the various regions, so if you're a keen player or always fancied having a go at a proper competition, there's literally no reason not to sign up. Microsoft recently ran some in some of its retail stores in the U.S and in Australia, but the remainder will be at sanctioned events.

If you have a team of four, you might fancy your chances in the main tournament, but even in the FFA, you'll be going up against some of the best players in the world.

There will be FFA tournaments at the upcoming ANZ qualifiers in Sydney and Mexico City, as well as at the main event in Seattle. Three will qualify in Seattle to join the other nine finalists to go at it to be crowned the world champion.

For more information on how you can take part, check out the official Halo World Championship blog. And if you've been competing or planning to join in before the final, jump into the comments and let us know!

More: What you need to know about the Halo World Championship 2018

The Halo World Championship is back in 2018 with a new primary partner. MLG, owned by Activision Blizzard, has taken over and will organize much of the major parts of this season, including the Orlando Open and the World Championship finals.

There's a mix of online and LAN play, huge sums of money and the world's finest Halo players involved. The action is already underway, so here's a quick roundup of the key facts you need to know.

What is the Halo World Championship?

The official competitive tournament for Halo 5: Guardians, the Halo World Championship will in 2018 begin with online play in January and culminate in the World Championship finals in April.

Every team competing is hoping to capture one of just 16 spots at the World Championship.

• 9 teams from North America
• 4 teams from Europe and the Middle East
• 2 teams from Australia and New Zealand
• 1 team from Latin America

Qualification for the World Championship finals will occur through regional finals events, with online competitions used in advance of both these and the Orlando Open to determine seedings for qualifier events as well as which teams are eligible for free travel and accommodation. Online play takes place through MLG's Gamebattles service, and there are a series of 2K tournaments to help teams boost their points (with 2,000 awarded to the winners).

How much prize money is on offer?

In short, a lot. The World Championship finals will boast a prize pool of a staggering $1million, while prize money is also on offer in the smaller events leading up to this.

The regional finals for LATAM, ANZ, and EU all have a $25,000 prize pool, while the North American region has a chance at $50,000.

The Orlando Open, the first big LAN event of the season also has a $50,000 prize pool.

Global events

Initially, Halo WC competition is online only, with weekly 2K tournaments taking place in each region. Additionally, teams can play Gamebattles "ladder" matches every day against any other teams doing the same to earn more points. Five points are awarded to each winning team, with a maximum of 35 points per day allowed.

The Orlando Open will feature the top 12 teams from the online play as well as last season's HCS 2017 Fall finals broken down as such:

• 8 teams from North America.
• 2 teams from Europe and the Middle East.
• 1 team from Australia and New Zealand.
• 1 team from Latin America.

The event is open to any team from around the world, though, with a 96 team open bracket feeding four teams into the pool play and four more teams into the Championship bracket.

From here on out there will be regional qualifiers to seal spots at the World Championship finals. The dates and locations are:

• Feb 23-25 – London
• March 9-11 – Sydney
• March 17-18 – Mexico City
• March 23-25 – Columbus

The 2018 Halo World Championship season then comes to a close with the grand finals in Seattle from April 13 - April 15.

More: Full Halo World Championship 2018 roadmap and event details

How to watch

The best way to watch is to get down to one of the live events and take it all in! But obviously that's not practical for everyone, so thankfully there are a couple of ways to watch the action online.

The weekly 2K tournaments are also being featured online, which is great news for fans of competitive Halo. Everything will be broadcast on Twitch and Mixer so you can watch from a PC, phone, tablet or your console. Make sure to subscribe to the channels linked below.

• Fallow Halo on Mixer
• Follow Halo on Twitch

How to join in

If you're thinking "I'd like a piece of that," then the good news is, you can. The structure set up by MLG echoes that of the Gears Pro Circuit and the Call of Duty World League, both of which the company organizes. It's easy to get involved.

If you've got a team the first place to start is daily Gamebattles matchups. You can't qualify for the bigger events without earning points, and Gamebattles is the way to get started. From there, it's taking part in the weekly 2K tournaments.

• Sign up at Gamebattles.com
• Halo WC 2018 online format and dates

It's worth investigating what your regional partners (Gfinity in Europe, Gamelta in LATAM and ESL Australia) might be doing around their respective regional finals, too. Even if you're not taking part in the main event, there might still be a way to get involved. In London, for example, Gfinity will be hosting a "free-for-all" tournament where you can even turn up on your own and make a name for yourself as well as win a share of $5,000.

And if you're an absolute beginner, it all starts with getting Halo 5: Guardians. It's currently just $19.99 on the Microsoft Store, or free with the Xbox Game Pass.

See at Microsoft

Anyone who is a fan of the Halo universe has likely already given Halo 5: Guardians a shot. But just in case you haven't, Microsoft is making it free to play this weekend for Xbox Live Gold members. From January 11 through January 14, subscribers will be able to jump into the shoes of Master Chief, Spartan Locke, and the multiplayer arena for free.

Throughout the free play weekend, you can hop across worlds in the story campaign, either solo or co-op with friends. All of the game's multiplayer modes are available to check out as well, including 4v4 Arena, Slayer and Capture the Flag, as well as Infection, Super Fiesta, and Warzone.

Lastly, like other recent free play weekends, Microsoft will be offering a discount on the game. For the duration of the weekend, you can pick up Halo 5: Guardians at a 20 percent discount, dropping its price down to $15.99. As you might expect, all of your earned achievements and saved progress will carry over to the game if you decide to pick it up.

If you're an Xbox Live Gold member, you can get started by searching for Halo 5: Guardians and downloading it from the Xbox dashboard.

See at Microsoft Store

Buried in the Windows 10 Store is a new app dubbed "Halo 5: Guardians Local Server," and it will allow Halo 5 players to connect their Xbox One consoles directly to a Windows 10 PC, which will act as a dedicated server over a local network.

Microsoft announced the tools a few weeks ago, but the app's appearance in the Windows Store indicates that it should be ready for public consumption really soon.

The store listing describes the app thusly:

Halo 5: Guardians' Local Server app is a nice shoutout to the LAN-heritage of Halo, giving friends, family, and even businesses the opportunity to create their own low-latency multiplayer matches.

We'll update you when the app itself is publically available, but the store listing indicates that it should be sooner rather than later.

Halo 5: Guardians is available now for Xbox One consoles for just $19.99 or free with Xbox Game Pass, complete with enhancements on the Xbox One X.

See at Microsoft Store

Updated November 2, 2017: The Halo 5 Xbox One X patch is now live.

Since then we haven't really heard much about it. There was no concrete release date for the upgrade. Many hoped that it would launch around the same time as the Xbox One X.

It looks like the day if here sooner than many expected and it's a welcome surprise. The studio just said that the Xbox One X update is coming out this Thursday, November 2, 2017. The update itself should start rolling out around 12 PM ET on that day. While 343 Industries didn't reveal the exact details of the upgrade, they did say that "Halo 5 now looks better than ever with 4K UHD support".

However, that's not all the patch adds to the game. The other major addition has to be the return of Oddball as an official game mode. You can now also host and play low-latency multiplayer matches with the Halo 5: Guardians Local Server application for Windows 10. The update will hopefully breathe new life into the game.

The update balances many of the weapons and modes, but also brings a lot of stability changes. If you haven't played the game — or haven't played it in a while — now seems like a great time to jump in. Halo 5 delivers a great multiplayer experience that span multiple modes, full-featured level building tools, and the most shocking Halo story to date.

Aside from the multiplayer which features a lot of maps and ways to play, The Master Chief saga continues in a four-player co-op experience that spans multiple worlds. A new but familiar force threatens the galaxy and it's up Master Chief and Spartan Locke to uncover the truth.

• See at Microsoft
• See at Amazon

Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!

Here's five tips to help you successfully take advantage of the latest version of the classic map creation tool.

Hopping into Forge in Halo 5 can be a daunting experience at first. There are so many different controls, items, options, and everything between to learn and understand, and then on top of that, there's knowing how to build the map from the ground up itself.

It may seem like an incredibly complicated experience, but with these five strategies, your experience will be much smoother. So, without further ado, lets jump right in and learn the basics to becoming a Halo Forge map-maker!

Mastering the controls

The first thing you'll need to do as an inexperienced Forge user is learn the ins and outs of the Forge mode's controls. There is indeed much to learn; activating and deactivating magnets, moving objects around, duplicating them, and rotating things only scrapes the surface of what you'll need to know how to do in Forge.

However, 343i knows this, and to help ease you into understanding the controls, they added a legend of which buttons on the controller do what in the top left of your screen while in Forge.

This legend should be used by you as your reference guide as you begin your map-making adventures. Begin to play around with the controls, and get a feel for the way the Forge mode feels.

Personally, I believe that the best method to mastering the control scheme is to create one object and practice manipulating it in all kinds of different ways. Rotating, duplicating, changing its color, etc. By doing this, you can effectively build up muscle memory for the controls without having to worry about overwhelming yourself with multiple objects at once as you start out. Then, once you feel comfortable that you know how to manipulate one object, you can start attaching others to it with magnets to learn how those work, and so on. Gradually learn; don't dive right into the advanced.

Establishing the basic layout

Once you feel comfortable that you have a solid understanding of the Forge controls, the next step in making a map should be to establish a layout.

Take a look at Snowbound from Halo 3, for example. It is a map with a circular pathway design and a symmetrical shape, with an underground route splitting the map down the middle. This is what you would consider the map's general layout. Figuring out the kind of layout you want for your map is a critical step because it dictates everything else in your map's gameplay design.

Once you've established what your layout will be, its best to then build a simple version of the pathways in Forge and look at it in an overhead view. If you're satisfied with it, then you're good to move on to the next step. If not, make adjustments until you feel its just right for what you'll want it to play like.

Creating the basic geometry and adding in spawning

Once you're happy with your basic layout, the next step is to begin creating the geometry in your play space.

To give some examples, this would mean the bases in Blood Gulch or the middle area in Midship — areas that are involved in the gameplay (players moving around and on it) and where things like weapons, vehicles or power-ups spawn on. For now, you'll want to forego detail; functionality is what's most important. When doing this, what I do is constantly ask myself how this geometry will fit in with the movement mechanics of Halo 5. Some examples of things you want to keep in mind include:

• Can Spartans clamber up onto this geometry?
• Can you sprint or thruster over to other pieces of geometry?
• Will players here be too vulnerable from all angles, or is there sufficient cover?
• Is this area too defensible and will it be unfairly hard to attack?

Having things like this driving what you place on your map will lead to a better, more quality designed map design. By thinking one step ahead, you're likely saving yourself from some adjustment work later.

Once you've got the functional map geometry in place, you'll want to add spawning. These two go hand in hand, for player spawns are dependent on things like sight lines, cover, and distance established by your map's layout and geometry. When making spawns, you'll generally want them to be placed in ways that are in safe enough areas to prevent spawn killing, but not so far away as to make the player travel a long distance before engaging enemies. It's a good idea to place spawn points in cover and together as well so that teammates can respawn together in waves instead of by themselves.

Depending on the game type, your spawns should either be neutral or team-focused. You'll want neutral spawns so that spawn switching (when teams switch the sides of the map they respawn on) is possible in modes like Slayer or Strongholds where rotation around the map is frequent.

For modes like Assault and CTF, team-specific spawns are helpful in ensuring that each team will always spawn by their base or flag stand. Of course, all initial spawns (the points where players load into the match) need to be team-specific, so that everyone on both teams can spawn for the first time.

Creating the map sandbox

With spawning taken care of, next up is designing the sandbox.

The key to good sandbox design is adding weapons and vehicles that suit the size and layout of your map. For example, having a large amount of automatic weapons on a map that encourages long range engagements will lead to poor gameplay. This is why this is important. In addition to this, you also want to ensure that one team does not have more weapons or power-ups on their side of the map than the other team. This would obviously lead to unbalanced gameplay, giving one team an advantage.

Lastly, both the amount of power weapons and vehicles and their respawn times are critical, Having too many power weapons and vehicles results in the power weapons feeling like normal weapons. Too few will create a monotonous atmosphere in which the two teams have nothing to fight over to gain an advantage. Respawn times that are too low will make the power weapons feel like they aren't present enough, and ones that are too high will saturate the map with newly spawned high-tier guns, making everything way too chaotic. Finding a good balance for your map is a major step in making your map play well.

Adding in the details and creating map boundaries

You've reached the last step: adding in the aesthetics and boundaries. Here, you can run wild with ideas on how to make your map visually appealing for players to look at, though I recommend that you try and maintain a theme throughout the map.

For example, the map in the image above has the theme of a UNSC outpost with Forerunner tech located near a natural area. In general, having a single theme like this will help you decide what to decorate your map with.

Once you've added the details you want and feel satisfied, the last touch is to add map boundaries. This can be achieved through kill boundaries or invisible walls, and shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. Just place either of these types of objects in areas you don't want players to access.

Closing comments

This basic guide is tailored to give you a solid idea on how to construct a map from the ground up. There are numerous details I could go in-depth on; these are just the steps and strategies that I myself went through and learned as I became a Forger. In addition to these, though, remember that above all, patience is critical. As you play test your map to make sure it's as good as it can be, you'll undoubtedly be faced with criticism on your design from other players. Don't be discouraged; taking note of their feedback and editing your map to fix the problems people have with your design will lead to a higher quality map.

Did this guide help you start taking advantage of Halo 5's Forge potential? Let me know in the comments — or, better yet, link me maps that you've constructed! I always love seeing the awesome things Halo's map-making community brings to the table.

If you don't have Halo 5 yet, make sure to pick it up so that you, too, can become a member of the Forge community. And remember that Forge is available for free on Windows 10 PCs.

• See Halo 5: Guardians On Amazon
• See Halo 5: Guardians at Xbox
• See Halo 5: Forge on Windows 10

The latest main entry into the Halo franchise, Halo 5, is a game that has capitalized and expanded on many changes made to the Halo formula since Halo 3.

Some of us like these changes and some strongly hate them, but one thing that's certain is that Halo isn't the titan of the gaming industry it once was 10 years ago. And while you could argue that Halo is on the decline due to the series' age and/or its increasing competition in the market, industry staples like Zelda, Call of Duty, and Mario all continue to drive considerable amounts of hype and interest irrespective of their age.

Halo 5 remains a popular entry in the series, over all, but with a bit of TLC, Halo 6 could take the franchise back to its glory days.

I began to outline in a previous article how I believe Halo's overall declining success in the industry can be attributed to the radical changes in its designs and formulas. I'm not against change or evolution, but I do think that the changes that have been made push Halo beyond what made the franchise appealing in the first place.

In the previous article on this topic, I talked about gameplay mechanics, story deliverance, and polish. This time, we're going to talk about art and design, game features, user interface, and the controversial REQ pack business model.

What 343i needs to fix in Halo 6: Looking at performance, core gameplay, and story delivery

Without further ado, lets grab an overshield, hop in a Warthog and drive head-first into the fray.

Art and design: maintain Halo's timeless look

A hot topic in the Halo community lately is the changes made to the art style of Halo, and with good reason; almost everything in the series has received a new form of visual appearance.

From the Spartans we control to the Grunts we headshot, everything has been given a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. However, I feel that a lot of these design changes have been too over the top. The Covenant in particular (both the phenotypes of the alien species, and the armor they wear) have been changed in a way that I think goes against what themes they have in the universe.

Take the Elites, for example — in the lore and in the original games, the Elites are fit, fast, cunning, and tactical. So, moving forward, their design should, in my opinion, reflect that. Unfortunately, the changes made to them in Halo 4 and Halo 5, to me, go against that entirely. The Elites in the latest Halo games have been much more heavyset, and in addition, their armor looks much bulkier. It makes them look very sluggish, not unlike another classic Halo enemy, Brutes. This look is a far cry from what the Elites were previously established as during the original trilogy, and this is why I think the latest art changes should be reeled in and replaced with new designs that maintain continuity of themes and appearance between games.

An example of a good design change 343i has done is the Halo 4 Forerunner architecture. While it manages to look fresh and new due to different colors, shading, and shapes, it still retains much of the old Forerunner feel of an ancient, mysterious race. Not all of the changes are negative, but I do feel that a good amount of them are, and in general I think the series will severely benefit from some new designs that take heavy inspiration from the original, iconic look of Halo.

Game features: a complete game at launch

One big and undeniable issue with Halo 5 was that it launched very bare-bones. Sporting only eight playlists at launch, as well as no Forge mode, Halo 5 simply did not have a particularly large amount of content at launch — and that's a huge problem.

If the game doesn't have a healthy variety of things to do, then people will get bored of it quickly, especially when other content rich games are available. Sure, 343 did add new things every month, but it was content that was already there at launch in Halo 3, Reach, and 4. It was things that should have been in the game to start with.

Whether or not this happened due to time constraints or development hiccups, we'll never know, but I wholeheartedly think that Halo 6 will retain its player base much longer than Halo 5 if it launches as a complete game with a wider variety of content.

User interface: the smoother, the better

Halo 5's user interface floods the user with images and text in mere seconds, and I think that's a bigger problem then most people give it credit for. When you go to choose an armor or helmet in Halo 5, you have to scroll through dozens of items to find the one you're looking for. And instead of compiling everything into a list that displays things one at a time, it displays as many things as possible.

This is even more troublesome when you take into account that Halo 5 doesn't organize any of its UI items (like the aforementioned customization armors) in any specific way. You can't find things alphabetically, by rarity, or by any other means of categorization. This is a staple that has been present in user interfaces for years now, and I don't think there's any justifiable reason why Halo 5's UI is this sloppy. It makes the game feel like a chore to navigate, when instead it should be easy, simple, and relaxing. While the UI may seem like a minor problem, I'm of the belief that making your game as easy to navigate as possible will do wonders for improving the experience players have with your game.

REQ pack business model: make it easier for players to get what they want

Perhaps the most controversial addition to Halo has been Halo 5's REQ system. While I would prefer if Halo didn't have microtransactions at all, I doubt that, after how much money they've brought in for Microsoft and 343i, they would get rid of them. So instead, I've come up with a way to improve the system.

Essentially, the problem with the REQ system is that it's too much of a grind. Since armor, skins, weapons, vehicles, emblems, and power-ups are all tied to the REQ system, players who want to get any one type of thing often times fall victim to the random number generator. For example, many players weren't even able to get the standard loadout DMR gun in a year's worth of game time due to the REQ packs they bought never giving them one.

My solution for this issue is to make it so that you can buy REQ packs for specific items. Instead of cramming every aspect of Halo's customization and sandbox into one pack, there should be weapon packs, vehicle packs, armor packs, etc. This would work because having packs that only give one type of thing would significantly reduce the randomness and make it so that players can get what they want.

People who play Halo 5's Arena mode and want the latest skin could buy skin packs for a very good chance at getting it, while Warzone players who like using power-ups could buy a power-up pack and have a high probability of getting their desired item. I believe that if this kind of improvement is made to the REQ system in Halo 6, then it will be much more player friendly and will improve everyone's experience with REQs tenfold.

Your thoughts

Do you agree with what I've said here about Halo 5 and how Halo 6 can improve upon these problems? Let me know how you feel down below in the comments. In addition, if you haven't picked Halo 5 up, consider doing so to get a more hands-on opinion!

• See Halo 5: Guardians at Amazon
• See Halo 5: Guardians at Xbox

Since its launch in 2015, Halo 5's critically acclaimed Forge mode has been home to thousands of high-quality community-made maps, many of which have been included in Halo 5's matchmaking system. With the addition of a Custom Games Browser last December, Forge maps are more popular and accessible than ever. In this article, I've compiled a list of 10 incredible Forge maps (in no particular order) that would be criminal to not download and play with your friends.

"Elixir" by Sikamikanico

Elixir is a small, infantry focused map set on an island on Sanghelios, the home-world of Halo's iconic Elites. This condensed map makes the absolute most of its small size, beautifully incorporating natural vegetation into the ancient, alien settlement. The map is best played with 4 players in a 2v2 style, but if you wish, it can be played with Halo's standard 4v4 Arena format.

Check out and download Elixir on ForgeHub

"Sentinel" by N3gat1veZer0

Sentinel is a medium size infantry map that takes place in the middle of a swamped Forerunner facility, overgrown with vegetation. The map effectively creates an atmosphere of mysteriousness and unease as players move around in the fog and murky waters. It also features a fitting rain weather effect that also contributes heavily to the aesthetics of the map. The map supports the standard 4v4 style of play.

Check out and download Sentinel on ForgeHub

"Snowbound" by Foge and Kabe

The name "Snowbound" may sound familiar to you if you played Halo 3 back in the day. That's because it was one of Halo 3's most recognizable 4v4 Arena maps, and Halo 5 players Foge and Kabe have brought it to Halo 5 in a near perfect 1-1 remake. Both accurate and visually appealing, this map is sure to bring you and your friends some nostalgic fun.

Check out and download Snowbound on ForgeHub

"Ancestor" by D4rkDeath and weeeeemann

Ancestor is an 8v8 Big Team Battle map that takes inspiration from one of Halo's most iconic campaign levels, "Assault on the Control Room". This map features a heavy focus on vehicular combat, with Wraiths, Banshees, Ghosts, and Warthogs available. Hop into some of Halo's prominent Covenant vehicles and boost into the fray!

Check out and download Ancestor on ForgeHub

"Echoes" by Spirit in Black

Echoes is an 8v8 Big Team Battle map that was designed to look like something straight out of the game that started it all — Halo: Combat Evolved. Taking inspiration from famous maps like Blood Gulch or Valhalla, Echoes provides a new and fun experience in the classic "canyon" style of maps that Halo BTB is known for.

Check out and download Echoes on ForgeHub

"The Tower Plaza" by ReinaStorm

This Grifball map is set on the plaza of the Tower from Destiny. This map may not be big or have any snazzy gameplay alterations that change the Grifball formula, but it beautifully recreates the most recognizable social area from Bungie's new hit franchise — a perfect backdrop for an all-out war between two teams hell bent on smashing each others' faces in with gravity hammers.

Check out and download The Tower Plaza on ForgeHub

"Odyssey" by TimeDipper

Odyssey is a unique looking Grifball map that surrounds and immerses players in a natural, vibrant setting, complete with Roman-style architecture and improvised (but still amazing looking) waterfalls. You'll want to look around and absorb the aesthetics so much, you'll forget you're supposed to be cracking skulls.

Check out and download Odyssey on ForgeHub

"Nautilus" by Ascend Hyperion

Nautilus is a unique Infection map, in that it's set underwater. The surroundings include a pipeline and a heavily detailed seafloor play space. Ascend Hyperion's goal with this map was to provide a unique Infection experience in both gameplay and aesthetics. In gameplay, he strove to try and deter players from turtling up against the zombies and instead focused on building a map that encouraged run-and-gun play. Aesthetically, he wanted to build an Infection map that strayed away from the typical environments for Infection maps, citing things like laboratories and abandoned cities. So if you love Infection, then don your scuba gear and dive on down to Nautilus!

Check out and download Nautilus on ForgeHub

"Blue Lagoon" by Timothy and Noble Forger

Blue Lagoon is a Race map that brings a realistic roller-coaster design into Halo 5 a racetrack. While the aesthetics are relatively simple, the track itself is expertly crafted into a smooth, polished pathway for drivers to put the pedal to the metal on. Large, steep inclines and declines, as well as corkscrews and even a few vertical loops, create an intense and fun racing experience that is, quite literally, off the rails.

Check out and download Blue Lagoon on ForgeHub

"The Great Griddle" by SplinterBL

Driveable pancakes. Flying spatulas. If that doesn't make you want to download the map right there and then, I'm disappointed in you! The Great Griddle is a map that acts as the setting for one of Halo 5's most popular custom game modes, Flapjack Frenzy. In this mini-game, 1-3 Banshee players with spatulas welded to their vehicle fly down to the griddle and attempt to flip the "pancakes" (Warthogs welded to pancake-colored discs) out of the pan and into the waiting kill boundary below. This map is extremely fun, and to not experience this wacky minigame at least once would be a pity, so you should definitely try it out!

Check out and download The Great Griddle on ForgeHub

(And make sure you follow the instructions to get the game mode, too!)

If you're interested, I myself have also made a map for Halo 5, and you can check it out here. More maps mean more fun!

Whether you enjoy core Halo gameplay, classic modes like Grifball or Infection, or fun and unique fan-made modes like Flapjack Frenzy, Halo 5's community of not-so-silent cartographers have something just for you. Let me know what your favorite maps in Halo 5 are down below — and make sure to keep an eye out for the next Forge article, in which I'll go over some tips to help aspiring map-makers learn the basics of Forge and harness its incredible potential.

And, should you not own Halo 5 already, be sure to consider picking it up! It'd be a shame to miss out on all the Forge goodness!

• See Halo 5: Guardians on Amazon
• See Halo 5: Guardians on the Xbox Store

Starting with Bungie's last Halo creation — Halo: Reach — Halo has gone down a steady path of popularity decline. With each new release after Halo 3, game sales have decreased, along with the overall player base. Halo 5 might be incredibly successful due to its business model, but Halo as a franchise has fallen from its pedestal as the creme de la creme of first-person shooters.

One question many ask is, what caused the decline in the first place? For many, there are specific aspects of the more recent Halo titles that sully the experience — things like the addition of the ability to sprint, art style changes, and quality of story have all been points of grief for Halo community members, among others. Therefore, it is for this reason that I believe that Halo's recent struggles can't be tied down to any one thing. Rather, it is a combination of these things that, when applied to the games together, create an experience that feels and plays very different to Halo's established formula.

With this in mind, I intend to analyze and dissect what I feel are collectively the fanbase's biggest issues with the latest Halo installment — Halo 5 — and identify what Halo 6 will need to change in order to avoid making the same mistakes twice. While a lot of it is subjective, I've spent a lot of time reading into Halo 5's reception and feedback (two years in fact) and I'm confident when I say that what I list below is fairly representative of the way the general community feels about the game. Something to keep in mind is that I myself personally enjoy Halo 5. What I'm saying here doesn't necessarily represent how I feel (though some of it does). My goal in this piece is to identify what I think the community thinks overall, not to push my own views forward.

Since identifying everything wrong with a game such as Halo 5 is a large undertaking, this article would be quite large if I covered everything in one go. In this first article, I'm going to talk about the big stuff:

• Performance
• Story
• Core gameplay

So, activate your energy swords, prime your plasma grenades, and load your battle rifles. Let's dive right in.

Stop reading now if you want to avoid Halo spoilers!

Performance: Polish is a priority

Arguably one of Halo 5's most devastating issues (and The Master Chief Collection's, as well) is the lack of polish. The game is full of performance snags at every turn — game freezes, user interface lag, and poor hit detection in matches only represents the tip of Halo 5's iceberg of bugs. Here, the bugs are not features, as the old saying would lead you to believe. Rather, they do nothing but take away from what Halo 5 has to offer. If features don't work, then there's no point in having them at all. Ask any Halo 5 player how often they use the Theater mode. I'd bet money that the vast majority of them would say rarely, or even never, due to how unreliable it is.

The simple fact is this: the content of your game doesn't matter if the content itself doesn't even work. Halo 6 needs to prioritize performance, and both Microsoft and 343 Industries need to devote adequate time for the game to be optimized efficiently before release.

Story: Halo needs character development and plot clarity

It's no secret by now that the biggest failing point of Halo 5's campaign was its narrative. Halo 5 promised a lot. It promised a chance to meet and connect with Blue Team, the Master Chief's Spartan-II brothers and sisters from childhood, as well as the opportunity to be introduced to four brand new Spartans — Fireteam Osiris. All of these characters would revolve around a plot centered around one of Halo's most beloved characters, Master Chief's AI companion, Cortana, who had returned after Halo 4's emotional conclusion to her story. However, Cortana is not who she once was, and her new plans for the galaxy would shake it to its core.

So, what went wrong? Why was the story received so poorly among fans?

After participating in and listening to as much critical discussion among the Halo community that I could, I've come to the conclusion that the biggest flaws about Halo 5's narrative are the over-saturation of characters and the lack of adequate clarification about the plot.

Having too many characters means that none of them receive adequate development or presentation in the story, and unfortunately, Halo 5 had so many characters in it that none of them felt well written. Generally, in gaming, the most successful stories tend to have only a few main characters, with the rest of the cast supporting as minor roles. In the case of Halo 5 and its plot, the main characters should have been Master Chief, Cortana, Locke, and the Warden Eternal. But, that wasn't the case. Halo 5 attempted to present its entire cast as main characters, with all of them sharing the "center stage" position.

In addition to inadequately characterizing the cast, this issue has the added side effect of taking time away from the plot. With so much time being devoted to giving every character a bit of the spotlight, time spent efficiently providing exposition is reduced. This results in a rushed feeling for the story. Details about the plot that should have been given to the player as they progressed through the game are instead dumped on them all at once at occasional intervals. "Wait, what?" was not an uncommon reaction to Halo 5's unfolding story.

What Halo 6 needs to do is re-adjust the character presentation of Halo 5. Have the game give adequate time to develop and explore the core characters to the narrative, while leaving the minor ones to assist from the sidelines. And that is not a bad thing, by the way.

Stories are often made or broken depending on the quality of their side characters. Good minor characters help to bring the setting of the story to life, as well as contribute to the work's theme — all while leaving the door open for proper, natural flow of in-game events and clarity on why they're happening, as opposed to overwhelming exposition dumps.

Core gameplay: Return Halo to its roots

Perhaps the largest point of contention among Halo fans is the new style of gameplay. With the series nearing its 16th birthday, some fans argue that Halo should drastically change to avoid becoming stale. I would say that the majority, though, want Halo to return to its roots. One only has to look at the series' exponentially decaying mindshare since 2010 to see that the altering of Halo's mechanics has, at least in part, produced a negative impact. But I believe that 343 Industries can bring back the classic feel of Halo, while also satisfying fans that want new, fresh gameplay by designing Halo 6 as a modular experience.

The more modern Halo games changed the foundation mechanics themselves, the older games changed Halo by building upon that foundation with innovations in the sandbox and in map design. It is for this reason that I call it "modular."

Halo 2 and 3 innovated by "adding a module" onto the classic Halo formula. Think of vehicle boarding, man-cannons, or equipment items. Whereas Reach, 4 and 5 innovated by adding base traits like the ability to sprint, clamber up ledges, or by giving the player armor abilities. The fundamental difference between the two is that with modular design, there is significantly more room to work with. When you change a base mechanic for all players, every single map and element of your weapon/vehicle sandbox must change to fit around that alteration — because that alteration is made to the core mechanics of character control.

But when you make changes in the game's maps or sandbox, things that vary from match to match such as man-cannons or power-ups, a form of dynamic gameplay occurs. This form of emergent play helps the game and every match in it to feel fresh and new, while also retaining the core mechanics that make Halo, Halo. And the best part of it is, if players decide they don't like a certain change, the developer can change or remove it, and it will have a minimum impact on the game as a whole.

That wouldn't be the case if you were to, say, remove sprinting from Halo 5. Since sprinting is a core mechanic, removing it from Halo 5 would send ripples of issues throughout the game, as it's designed around that ability. This is why I think modular design for Halo is better than changing its foundation. Unlike altering core mechanics, innovation through sandbox and map design lets the developer choose where and how features are added, rather than being forced to make changes to every aspect of the game.

Next time we'll look at the user interface, gameplay features, and art, along with an in-depth critique of Halo 5's controversial REQ system.

Do you agree with me about Halo 5's issues and what Halo 6 will need to change to be successful? Let me know in the comments below. And if you don't own it, consider playing the latest Halo title and seeing how you feel:

• See Halo 5: Guardians On Amazon
• See Halo 5: Guardians at Xbox

Halo developer 343 Industries has now teased its plans for Halo 5 on the upcoming Xbox One X, revealing that the game will indeed receive a 4K update. Due out later this year, the update will bring "true 4K" support to the game, though that's all we know for now.

Given the fact that Halo was, as 343 puts it, conspicuously absent from the list of 4K games after the Xbox One X reveal at E3, it's definitely good to see it hasn't been left out of the party. We'll have to wait to learn more about 343's plans, but the studio says it will indeed have more to share as the release approaches.

As if Halo 5 in 4K weren't enough, 343 has also announced that an onslaught of Halo games will be hitting Xbox backward compatibility soon. In all, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4, and Halo: CE Anniversary will all be added later this year. On top of that, each Xbox 360 Halo add-on map pack in the Xbox Store will be available for free. Each title will support LAN play in addition to standard multiplayer.

A complete list of 'Xbox One X Enhanced' games

After plenty of teasing and feature previews, the gigantic Monitor's Bounty update is now rolling out to Halo 5: Guardians on Xbox One and the Forge on Windows 10. Included in this update are an absolute ton of changes and new features to check out, ranging from Forge minigames and Warzone changes, to new REQs and playlists.

Halo 5 developer 343 Industries has posted the full list of changes in this update with a detailed changelog. While it's far too large to include all of the changes here, here are some of the highlights:

• "Observer Mode" is now available to everyone
• Players can now browse and join Custom Games in progress
• Players can now gift REQ Packs to friends on Xbox Live
• New Character: Beam Goblin
  • Grunts have retrofitted the most deadly Covenant weaponry onto a new variant of their Grunt Goblin mech chassis, with a Scarab Beam replacing the needler, Wraith mortar rounds for grenades and homing plasma balls replacing the needle barrage
• Announcers can now be customized in Warzone, Firefight, and Arena
• New Weapon Skins
• New Stances and Assassinations
• New scope: Morph Scope
• New Weapons: Safeguard Sentinel Beam, Grenade Launcher, Pro Pipe
• New Vehicles: Anti-Air Wraith, Oni Wasp, Hannibal Wasp
• Minigames added to Game Variants
• Super Fiesta updated with latest REQ weapons
• New Firefight Map added - Prospect
• New Firefight Map added - Temple
• Added Heroic Version of Warzone Firefight
• Added Mythic Version of Warzone Firefight
• Added support for Mythic Warzone Firefight Game Variant and Weekend Hopper
• HALO 5: FORGE (WINDOWS 10) GENERAL NOTES
  • Players can now browse and join Custom Games in progress
  • Added a 5k resolution option (5120 x 2880)
  • Added a Fullscreen toggle in the Settings Menu
  • Added the ability to render at resolutions higher than the native display resolution (for super-sampling)
  • Added a new list of selectable Gamertags to the Pause Menu
  • Added a new Minigame Game Variant
  • Created a playable version of the Tutorial Map (Test Site V)

On top of the above changes, there are a ton of new features, object and scripting tweaks now available for the Forge, making it easier to bring your creations to life. Keep in mind that this patch is a fairly large one, coming in at just over 7GB on Xbox One. You should be able to grab the update now, and you can check out the full list of bug fixes and tweaks in 343's full patch notes.

Halo developer 343 Industries recently announced a big update coming to Halo 5 on December 8, and now you can take a deep dive into everything new with a video overview. Titled Monitor's Bounty, this update brings an absolute ton of stuff for the community to work with in Halo 5's Forge, ranging from new systems to more than 650 new objects. For an in-depth look at the update, check out the deep dive video below featuring 343's Tom French and ske7ch:

Over on the Halo Waypoint blog, French noted that community feedback had a lot of impact on the contents of this update, ultimately making Forge a better experience for everyone:

Along with a look at some of the hundreds of new objects coming to Forge, 343 says the update brings a big boost to scripting that should help creators more easily create anything that comes to mind. One cool benefit to this is that it's much easier to create your own game modes and minigames with the scripting in Forge. 343 is even showing this off with the return of the "Race" and "King" game modes, along with a new "Battle Golf" mode that players should enjoy. All of this is in addition to two new backdrops that Forge creators will have to play with as well.

There's much more packed into this update than Forge changes, and it seems 343 is planning to trickle out more information as the release approaches. However, if you want the full skinny, be sure to check out the video embedded above, along with 343's full blog post. Of course, we'll learn much more when the full patch notes are available for this massive update when it launches on December 8.

Following yesterday's reveal of the latest Halo 5: Guardians update, Microsoft has provided further information on the changes coming to the Forge and Warzone game modes. Among these new changes are two new backdrops for map creation and a new variant of the Grunt Goblin enemy type.

As detailed in a post on the official Halo site, two canvases will be making their debut in Forge as a part of the Monitor's Bounty update. The first, Barrens, is a clean desert area draped with red skies as the sun softly sets below. The second canvas, Depths, takes players under the sea into a dark and mysterious underwater location. Both forge canvases will available on Xbox One and Windows 10's stripped down version of the game, Halo 5 Forge.

The next deviation of Halo 5's Grunt Goblin has also been revealed, sporting a variation of the game's iconic Beam Rifle. Alongside its new paint job and firearm, the new Beam Goblin comes with different behavior to its predecessor, requiring new tactics to take down.

Halo 5's Monitor's Bounty update debuts on Thursday, December 8 on Xbox One and Windows 10.

Microsoft has announced the latest update for Halo 5: Guardians, which is set to introduce a range new features and content on Xbox One and Windows 10. Scheduled to roll out for both platforms on December 8, 'Monitor's Bounty' will add a wide range of new weapons, skins, and other cosmetics. The update will also implement several changes to existing content, affecting Forge, Warzone and matchmaking playlists.

We don't yet know everything that's coming in Monitor's Bounty, but there are a few exciting new features and updates coming in it — including a new custom games browser. The new browser will allow players to search through ongoing custom games in a central, fast location. Games can be filtered based on a range of criteria and joined while in progress. This custom games browser will also be rolling out to Halo 5 Forge on Windows 10, allowing PC gamers to play with strangers for the first time.

A new take on live spectating will also be arriving in the Monitor's Bounty update, letting players view ongoing custom games as they happen. Previously demoed at the 2016 Halo World Championship, the Observer Mode will introduce a new 'Observer HUD', expanding powerful live spectating tools to the masses. The mode provides the tools to display player information and key data over live gameplay – fit for broadcasting and competitive play.

New features are also being rolled out to the game's REQ system, including the ability to gift packs with other players. Gifting will be restricted to packs purchased through the Xbox Store; all players will be given a 'Gift Only' REQ pack, which can only be opened by another player. A new 'Voices of War' paid REQ pack is also coming to Halo 5, with new announcer voices based on Buck, Exuberant Witness and Yabda the grunt.

Finally, a slew of new cosmetic items, weapons and vehicles are also arriving alongside the update, including 19 weapon skins, 3 assassinations, 3 stances and much more. The Grenade Launcher and Sentinel Beam will also be making a return, after an absence in recent Halo titles.

For more information on Halo 5's Monitor's Bounty update, check out the full post on Halo Waypoint. Make sure to check back tomorrow for a closer look at the remaining content on the way, including a huge Forge overhaul and other changes to existing content.

343 Industries and Microsoft have released Anvil's Legacy, the ninth free content update for the Xbox One sci-fi shooter Halo 5: Guardians. It adds two new multiplayer maps to the game along with more content.

One of the new maps is the Arena-based Mercy, a remake of a previous Halo 4 map:

The other new map is the Warzone Assault-based Temple:

There are also a couple of new weapons variants in the update along with new character and weapons skins, It also includes the same Content Browser that's available in the just released Halo 5: Forge map editor and game for Windows 10.

See at Microsoft Store

Halo 5 developer 343 Industries has released a hotfix for the recently released Warzone Firefight content, implementing a number of changes based on player feedback in the weeks since its launch. In addition to these changes, the developers note that the hotfix includes a number of other under the hood adjustments, along with a specific fix for the Tidal Forge canvas.

Here's the full rundown of what's included in the hotfix:

URBAN

• Moved "Defend the Garage" objective from Round 1 to Round 2
• Moved "Defend the Forerunner Powercore" (Hill) objective to Round 3
• Moved "Eliminate Knight Sublimis and the Phaeton Helmsmen" objective to Round 4
• Moved "Eliminate the Banshee Raiders" objective to Round 4
• Moved "Kill 35 Prometheans" objective to Round 3

MARCH ON STORMBREAK

• Reduced target number for "Kill Soldiers" objective in Round 2 from 50 to 35
• Reduced target number for "Kill Knights" objective in Round 4 from 25 to 20

RAID ON APEX 7

• Moved "Kill 60 Grunts" objective to Round 3
• Moved Solder Bandit boss objective to Round 3
• Moved "Eliminate the Hunter Particulars" objective to round 4
• Moved "Eliminate the Hunter Premiers" objective to round 3
• Moved "Eliminate the Warden Eternal" objective to Round 4
• Moved "Kill 25 Knights" objective to Round 4
• Reduced number of knight waves that come in with Grunt Boss in Round 5

SKIRMISH AT DARKSTAR

• Moved "Defend the Armory" (Promethean) to Round 2
• Moved "Defend the Armory" (Covenant) to Round 1
• Moved "Eliminate the Soldier Commandos" objective to Round 4
• Moved "Eliminate the Phaeton Helmsmen" objective to Round 4
• Moved "Eliminate the Warden Eternal" objective to Round 3

ESCAPE FROM A.R.C.

• Moved "Defend the Garage" objective to round 4
• Moved "Eliminate the Recon Pilots" objective to Round 3

FORGE

• Fixed issues with "generating lighting" on Tidal.

It's good to see the developers are continuing to listen closely to player feedback and adjusting things accordingly. You should be able to see the effects of the hotfix now if you fire up the Warzone Firefight content for Halo 5.

343 Industries will release a new content browser for the Forge editor in Halo 5: Guardians for Windows 10 and Xbox One.

The content browser was revealed as part of the Halo panel at the RTX gaming event this past weekend in Austin, Texas. A screenshot of the browser was also posted on the official Halo Twitter account. It will allow for Forge creators on both platforms to quickly share content like maps, custom game modes with other players.

Microsoft and 343 already announced plans to release a free version of Halo 5's Forge editor for Windows 10 PC users in the Windows Store. It will also allow PC players to participate in Halo 5 multiplayer games with their friends, but there will not be any matchmaking features. The Forge editor will be released in Windows 10, with the new Content Browser, later this fall, and will be introduced as a free update for the Xbox One version at around the same time.

Microsoft will give Xbox One owners with an Xbox Live Gold subscription a chance to play the full version of the sci-fi shooter Halo 5: Guardians for free from June 29 to July 5. The free period is to help celebrate the release of the Warzone Firefight update.

Warzone Firefight, which will add the new gameplay mode, three more maps and other content to Halo 5, will also launch on June 29. Microsoft says:

Microsoft says more surprises will be revealed in the next several days ahead of Warzone Firefight's release.

Microsoft and 343 Industries revealed more information on what will be included in the next free update for the Xbox One shooter Halo 5 Guardians. The update will include the previously announced Warzone Firefight mode, along with three new maps and much more.

Microsoft revealed some, but not all, of the new content coming to the Warzone Firefight update in a post on the Halo Waypoint site. Here a quick reminder of what the new mode will bring to Halo 5:

The update will also add Score Attack to Halo 5's campaign, allowing players to earn points and claim up to 50 medals for taking out the game's enemies with style.

The Warzone Firefight update brings three new multiplayer maps, of which just one, Prospect, has been revealed so far:

The update will add a new Forge map editing canvas, called Tidal, to the mix, along with the rare Temple Banshee vehicle, and more new armor, weapons and other REQ packs. More info on the update will be revealed before it is released sometime in late June.

If you have not bought Halo 5, you are in luck as the Limited Edition disc version of the game is on sale now for just $39.99 at the Microsoft Store site.

See at Microsoft Store

Developer 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft will release the next free DLC pack for the Xbox One shooter Halo 5: Guardians, Hog Wild, on Tuesday, May 31.

This DLC release will be a bit smaller in terms of content compared to previous expansion packs for Halo 5. There won't be any new maps or gameplay modes in Hog Wild. The game's official website states that part of the reason is due to the fact that some of the gameplay additions for Hog Wild are being pushed back to the next free DLC pack, Warzone Firefight. 343 Industries says that release will be the biggest DLC for Halo 5 and it will be made available at the end of June.

In the meantime, May 31 brings the Hog Wild DLC pack, which adds four new custom Warthog vehicles to the game (Rally, Rally Scout, Sword Needler and Vespin Rocket). The DLC pack will also add new armor and weapons variants to the game. Again, it's not a huge DLC pack, but it is free, and the upcoming Warzone Firefight, with its huge vehicle battles, should make up for Hog Wild in about a month.

Microsoft has confirmed once again it has no plans to release the full version of its Xbox One shooter Halo 5: Guardians for Windows 10, and that the upcoming launch of the game's Forge map editor for the OS doesn't mean it has changed its mind.

Microsoft announced earlier this week that Halo 5's Forge editor will be released for free for Windows 10 later this year. In addition to allowing PC users to make maps for the shooter that can be played on the Xbox One, Microsoft also confirmed that any Forge and Arena maps in Halo 5 can be played online in the Windows 10 Forge editor with friends.

However, in an FAQ on the Windows 10 Forge editor posted on the Halo Waypoint site. developer 343 Industries quickly squashed the idea that Windows 10 would get the full Halo 5 game at some point:

The good news is that Microsoft says the Forge editor for Windows 10 will be "built exclusively on DirectX 12" which should allow for some graphical and performance boosts.

Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming release of the free Forge editor for Halo 5: Guardians in Windows 10 will allow for PC users to play in free multiplayer matches on Forge-based maps.

The main purpose of releasing the Forge editor is to give Halo 5 map makers some more options in creating multiplayer levels for the Xbox One first-person shooter. However, as Ars Technica confirmed with Microsoft, there will be a nice side-effect:

That's the good news. The bad news is that this release does not mean that Halo 5's single player campaign, nor any of its non-Forge multiplayer maps, will be coming to Windows 10. It also won't bring over any of the game's matchmaking features, nor does there appear to be any plans to support cross-platform play between Windows 10 and Xbox One.

Many years ago, Microsoft did port both Halo 1 and 2 to PCs, but none of the other Xbox games in the first person shooter series have ever made it to the PC platform. In March 2015, Microsoft, in collaboration with Saber Interactive and Innova Systems, announced that closed beta testing of the free-to-play multiplayer game Halo Online had started in Russia for the PC. However, that test was "temporarily suspended" in December 2015, and there's no word on when, or if, it will resume.

343 Industries and Microsoft have released Memories of Reach, the latest free DLC pack for the Xbox One shooter Halo 5: Guardians.

The Halo Waypoint site has all the details on Memories of Reach, which includes Halo 5's version of the fan favorite game mode Infection:

In addition, Memories of Reach adds the new Arena map Stasis, along with a lot of new REQ packs for armor, weapons, attachments and more. Microsoft plans to release at least one more free DLC pack for Halo 5 in June.

Developer Greg Hill has made the Microsoft Band 2 a little more exciting for fans of Halo 5: Guardians. Hill has created a set of tiles for the Band that allow you to check your Halo stats right on your wrist. There are tiles for campaign progress, Spartan stats, and more.

Right now, there are four tiles that you can add, directly from Hill's website:

• Profile Overview: Track of your current Spartan Rank and how close you are to ranking up. Keep tabs on Arena and Warzone KD.
• Solo Campaign: Track your solo campaign progress. Shows each level and what difficulty you have completed it.
• Coop Campaign: Track your coop campaign progress. Shows each level and what difficulty you have completed it.
• @Halo News: Stay up-to-date by receiving news from @Halo on Twitter instantly on your wrist.

In order to add these tiles, you just need to head to the site on your phone, enter your Gamertag, and tap the download button to install these tiles on your band through Microsoft Health.

Halo 5: Guardians players can get a sneak peak at the massive Warzone Firefight mode starting today and running through April 18. All multiplayer gamers of the Xbox One shooter can take part in the beta test for the upcoming mode.

The Firefight mode, where players have to deal with waves of enemies, was first introduced in Halo 3: ODST and later was included in Halo Reach. For its Halo 5 incarnation, Firefight is being combined with the big vehicle-based Warzone maps:

Warzone Firefight will be officially launched for Halo 5 later this summer.

Xbox head Phil Spencer has explained during a Q&A at Microsoft's Build 2016 conference why Halo 5 likely won't be coming to PC. He also touched on why some games will remain exclusive to specific platforms, stating that Microsoft published games will be released on platforms that make sense, using Ashes of the Singularity on PC as an example.

That's not to say Microsoft plans to only publish titles on a single platform. Forza 6, Quantum Break and Rise of the Tomb Raider are perfect examples of games working on multiple systems. It's more to avoid experiences that won't really work on different platforms (or weren't developed with them in mind).

As for Halo 5, which is a first-person shooter (we have many on the PC), Spencer explained that the latest instalment was designed from the get-go for consoles. Halo Wars 2 on-the-other-hand is being developed for both PC and Xbox One. While it's not a definitive "no" for Halo 5, but it's not looking likely. That said, Microsoft could have PC Halo plans with regards to 6 and beyond so we'll have to see.

Microsoft debuted gameplay footage of the upcoming Warzone Firefight game mode in Halo 5: Guardians during the Halo World Championship 2016 finals. This new mode will put a team of players against overwhelming odds for an epic coop experience.

The REQ system will also be in full force when the new Warzone game mode launches, unlocking access to vehicles, weapons, armor mods and more. Each game will feature dynamic objectives, meaning you should be able to enjoy a batch of games before experiencing a similar path.

See our Halo 5: Guardians review

Are you stoked for the new multiplayer game mode coming to Halo 5: Guardians? Sound off in the comments below.

Xbox One gamers have a chance to purchase Microsoft's latest entry in its biggest game franchise for a cheaper price. The company is selling the digital edition of the Xbox One shooter Halo 5: Guardians for just $30 this weekend only for Xbox Live Gold members.

The special sale is part of Microsoft's way to celebrate the Halo World Championship 2016, which begins today in Los Angeles. 16 teams will compete in the finals of the tournament with the winning team getting $1 million.

The Halo 5 digital sale is joined by a 50% discount on the Halo 5 Guardians: Digital Deluxe edition, which includes the main game, the animated series Halo: The Fall of Reach and the Warzone REQ Bundle, which adds 14 of the game's Premium Requisition Packs. That version of the game is priced currently at $45. Both versions of the game will remain at these lower prices until 3 a.m. Eastern Dayight Time on Monday, March 20.

See at Xbox Store

Halo 5: Guardians has a new free update available for download. Players of the Xbox One sci-fi shooter can grab the update, Hammer Storm, which includes a number of new features.

One of them is a new space-based Arena map called Torque. It also includes Assault, a classic multiplayer mode that is finally making its Halo 5 debut:

Another fan favorite mode, Grifball, is included in the Hammer Storm update, which was first inspired by one of the characters in the Halo-based machinima series Red vs Blue:

Two more classic Halo weapons are added in the update; the trustworthy pistol from the original Halo: Combat Evolved game and the Gravity Hammer that first appeared in Halo 2. In addition there are two new Storm Rifle variants, new weapons skins, new REQ drops, two new character stances and lots of other improvements and bug fixes.

Source: Microsoft

Last month we reported that Microsoft and ESPN had teamed up to bring the Halo World Championships to the X Games in Aspen, Colorado. This marked the first inclusion of Halo 5 (or any Halo game) in the prestigious athletic competition. X Games has wrapped up, with a number of Esports athletes taking home medals for their Halo skills.

With the competition over, we took the opportunity to speak with Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky, Community Manager of 343 Industries. Read on for his insights about Halo 5's place in the X Games and Esports in general!

Esports rises towards the mainstream

Everyone is familiar with the concept of sports, but the concept of Esports is still mysterious to many people. Simply put, Esports can be defined organized competitions involving video games. You might call it another form of athleticism. Professional gamers train for hours every day to become better at particular games, all in the hopes of winning competitions, building their reputations, and increasing their incomes.

Andy Dudnsky, who we'll refer to as just Andy, sees the integration of the Halo World Championships with the X Games (and particularly ESPN's coverage of that event) as a pivotal moment in Esports history.

Esports have been a lucrative industry for some time now, drawing major sponsors from across the world. Some notable sponsors include Microsoft, Riot, Activision, and Red Bull. With their help, countless Esports athletes have had successful careers playing video games at a professional level.

Even with millions of dollars being thrown around and untold quantities of money to be made, Esports have faced a major barrier in breaking through to the mainstream. For Joe Sixpack to hear about professional video game competitions, they need televised coverage. And major networks in the US have been very hesitant to take the plunge with that coverage, Andy tells us.

Not to say that Esports haven't had any TV coverage at all over the years, but the going has been slow. Video games share the competitive aspect of mainstream sports, but they still differ dramatically in how they are played. Traditional sports fans are sometimes confused by seeing Esports on television, according to Andy. But with time and exposure, anyone can get used to change.

Watching the Halo 5 broadcast

That's what makes the inclusion of the Halo World Championships during a major event like the X Games so exciting. For four straight days during the X Games, anyone tuning in to catch the latest sports coverage was greeted by professional Halo 5 competitions. This was the first time many viewers saw Esports on television.

Watching the Halo World Championships on ESPN was clearly a treat for many gamers who happen to be sports fans. But the Halo broadcasts shouldn't have been too alien for viewers who were unfamiliar with competitive gaming, either. At any given moment during the competition, the broadcast followed a single player's viewpoint. A picture-in-picture view showed the player's face and gaming pseudonym, allowing people at home to identify the individual athletes and experience their personalities.

Meanwhile, a pair of "casters" – short for broadcasters – provided play-by-play color commentary and analysis. These casters helped tell the story of the match with their commentary and by switching between the views of the various players during heated moments. Andy describes their job as helping the audience understand what makes the X Games players the best in the world.

Eight teams entered, one left with the gold

The competition involved eight teams of four players each. Six hailed from North America. The remaining two teams traveled all the way to Aspen from Europe: Penta Sports from Germany and Epsilon Esports from the UK. One of the Halo World Championship's goals is to identify talented international players and pit them against North American teams.

These teams faced off in Halo 5's Arena multiplayer mode. Although Halo games have been involved in Esports for 15 years, 343 worked hard to make Halo 5 the most suitable Esports entry yet. For the first time, all Halo 5 Arena matches follow the same ruleset featured in the Halo World Championship Tour. People who catch Halo competitions on TV can jump into the same kind of game at home without having to tweak rules and settings. This should also help cut down on the learning curve for anyone who first sees Halo 5 on TV before trying the game out.

After four days of heated competitions, only one team could emerge with the gold medal. The Evil Geniuses were the overall winners, but every team fought bravely. All eight teams will go down in Esports history as having participated in the first Halo World Championships to receive a full ESPN broadcast.

Thanks to Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky for his insights into the Halo World Championships at the X Games!

Did you catch the Halo World Championships on ESPN?

We're also giving away a digital pre-order for Tom Clancy's The Division to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

Every week, I collect some of the biggest Xbox news, rumors and talking points into one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to catch up with all the latest game releases.

Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Titanfall 2 will have a story-driven campaign, spin-off TV show

In an interview with Forbes, Titanfall 2's lead writer — Jesse Stern — confirmed that Respawn Entertainment is injecting a full-blown story campaign into Titanfall's sequel, repairing one of the original game's biggest criticisms.

Formerly an Xbox exclusive, Titanfall recreated the best of Call of Duty's fluid multiplayer and combined it with unique mech combat in a science fiction world. Sadly, the original didn't go to great lengths to provide story context, it seems Titanfall 2 will rectify that.

Beyond discussing Titanfall 2's campaign, Stern also remarked that the studio is exploring a spin-off TV series, but fell short of confirming that it's in active development. However, he did confirm that Titanfall 2 will feature a story-driven campaign, drawing inspiration from American colonial history:

Respawn echoed comments from EA's investor call, stating that Titanfall 2 will arrive within EA's 2017 fiscal year:

Fallout 4 patch should hit Xbox One next week

Fallout 4 recently received patch 1.3 on PC, bringing with it a payload of quest and bug fixes, as well as much needed improvements to settler management. The patch has yet to arrive on Xbox One and PS4, but the wait could soon be over according to Fallout 4's community lead:

In patch 1.3, selecting a settler will inform you what roles they're currently assigned to, without you having to have line of sight with the specific assigned object. As depicted here (via Imgur):

The full changelog can be found here, although these are the notes for the Windows PC version. Naturally, some features like new ambient occlusion settings probably won't make their way across, but the gameplay and quest fixes are a pretty safe bet.

The Division's map size compared to Fallout 4's Commonwealth, GTAV's Los Santos

Budding video game cartographer MarcoStyle has compared the map size of The Division to GTAV and Fallout 4, with some encouraging results.

According to his calculations, The Division's full map is similar in scope to Fallout 4's sizable Commonwealth. Combined with The Division's underground and interior areas, one could speculate that it'll be around as dense as Fallout 4's map as well. As I saw in the beta, many areas were either unavailable or unpopulated, so those of you who had concerns that The Division's playable space could be too limited can look to Fallout 4 to get a rough estimate of how extensive The Division's Manhattan reconstruction will be.

Those of you who have been following The Division since it's original announcement might be wondering why previously advertised areas like Brooklyn haven't made it into the full game. In a separate video, MarcoStyle retraces The Division's marketing materials which previously advertised Brooklyn as a playable area, but from the beta map, it seems as if those plans have been shelved. Still, The Division's season pass promises to add three new playable areas to the game, so there's hope some of those previously advertised Brooklyn vistas could return in a future update.

Are you happy with The Division's map size? Let us know in the comments.

Halo 5 Guardians update removes Breakout from Team Arena and more

In a detailed blog post on Halo Waypoint, 343i outlined some of the recent and upcoming updates to Halo 5 Guardians' multiplayer mode. Here are some of the key points:

• Halo 5 Guardian's networking algorithms got a tweak to improve matchmaking speeds for some of the game's more highly ranked players.

• The breakout game mode has been removed from the Team Arena playlist following player feedback.

• Several Warzone REQ cards have had their level requirements altered to reflect their potency.

• 343i use big data telemetry harvesting to determine how Red and Blue Team's colors provide an advantage in certain scenarios. As a result, Blue Team had its coloring brightened. 343i were also able to identify an area of the Eden map where Red Team had an advantage, as a red object reduced Blue Team's target acquisition on the map.

"The first thing we went about doing is combing through the vast amounts of telemetry we gather on each and every game. There were a few different key metrics that were interesting, but at the end of the day the simplest metric we landed on was looking for choke points that were biased for one team or the other."

The full blog post also details some upcoming game modes, tweaks to rankings, and more.

Giveaway – Tom Clancy's The Division (Xbox One Digital Pre-Load)

This week, we're giving away a digital code for Tom Clancy's The Division! This digital key will allow you to pre-download the game ahead of its March 8th, 2016 launch. The Division is a tactical RPG shooter, bringing together cover-shooting mechanics from games like Watch Dogs and RPG progression and loot from the likes of Borderlands. The game is set in an apocalyptic New York City, following a catastrophic viral outbreak. It's your task to discover the cause of the pandemic and survive alone in an unforgiving and anarchistic city. Check out our preview for The Division right over here.

The winner was SmoothDog! Check back next Sunday for another giveaway.

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• Red Dead Redemption bringing the Wild West to Xbox One with backwards compatibility
• MMO survival-shooter H1Z1 is headed to consoles; becomes two seperate games in the process
• Gigantic ditches its closed beta NDA, will be inviting more testers soon
• Conan O'Brien's Clueless Gamer gets gory with the new Doom reboot
• Navigating depth, difficulty and the Dark Zone in The Division's Xbox One beta
• Mirror's Edge Catalyst gets a closed beta and new trailer
• DOOM reboot will let you battle demonic forces on PC and Xbox One on May 13
• Rainbow Six Siege's 'Operation Black Ice' free update adds a new map and more
• Cobalt is Mojang's new shooter with a focus on slo-mo combat
• Beyond Flesh and Blood brings violent mech shooting to Xbox One and PC in this latest trailer

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending February 7th, 2016

Cobalt - Platformer / Shooter - Mojang / Microsoft Studios

"Shoot, roll, punch, and jump your way to slow-motion victory in Cobalt, an action platformer from Oxeye Game Studio. Take on the role of a mysterious cyborg stranded on an even more mysterious planet in our single-player campaign, or play with friends in a wealth of coop and versus multiplayer modes."

Fortified - Action & Adventure / Shooter / Strategy & Simulation - Clapfoot Inc.

"Fortified is an explosive strategy shooter where players will defend the Earth against a menacing Martian invasion in the 1950s. Play as one-of-four pulp-inspired heroes as they fight swarms of terrifying robots with an arsenal of Cold War-era weapons and experimental technology."

Bike Mayhem 2 - Racing & Flying - Goldmark Studios

"Smash down trails, launch huge jumps, pull off insane tricks, win tons of gear, build amazing trails and challenge your friends to be the King of the Mountain! Bike Mayhem 2, the sequel to its' hugely successful predecessor that was downloaded over 7 million times!"

Dad Beat Dads - Action & Adventure / Fighting / Platformer - Stellar Jay Studios

"Dad Beat Dads is a fast-paced, local multiplayer brawler for up to 4 players. Dad Beat Dads also has the latest in Robo-Dad technology, so you can ditch your friends and play against the computer. 3 different game modes keep the gameplay fun and challenging."

Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign - Puzzle & Trivia - D3Publisher of America, Inc.

"The award winning match-3 puzzle gameplay meets Marvel's biggest Super Heroes and Super Villains in the most epic puzzle adventure. Combine your favorite characters from the Marvel Universe (including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Venom) with deep RPG leveling, episodic events written by Marvel writers, and much more."

Krinkle Krusher - Action & Adventure / Strategy & Simulation - Ilusis Interactive Graphics

"Krinkle Krusher is an action castle defense where you cast elemental spells to defend your kingdom from twisted and hungry creatures called Krinkles. After several generations of peace, they happen to come back exactly when the Ancient Tree bears its first fruits in centuries, and of course, a cake was made from it.."

And that's a wrap!

This week I've been playing Cobalt, which is proving far more confusing than expected, and Microsoft's exclusive MOBA, Gigantic. Gigantic recently had its closed beta NDA lifted, which means I'll soon be posting a full preview here on Windows Central in the next week or so.

With games like Red Dead Redemption and Deus Ex Human Revolution hitting backward compatibility, I've started to give up hope of ever clearing my backlog. What have you guys been playing this week? Let us know in the comments for a chance to win a Tom Clancy's The Division Xbox One pre-order digital code!

Developer 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft are getting ready to launch a new free content update later this month for Halo 5: Guardians. The next update for the Xbox One shooter is called Infinity's Amory and includes quite a bit of new content to try out.

Long time Halo fans will get to use the classic Battle Rifle from Halo 2 when Infinity's Amory is released. It wil also add two new multiplayer maps: Riptide for Arena matches and Urban for Warzone Assault games. There will also be some new Carbine variants, the Achilles Armor Set, new assassinations to use and new skins for your weapons (Yes, as shown in the trailer, one of them displays pizza on a weapon).

Source: Halo Waypoint

Welcome to our weekly ICYMI for Xbox news. This week we're looking at patches to Rainbow Six Siege and Diablo 3, Quantum Break tweets, the possibility of a Xbox Two, and more!

We're also giving away a copy of Rainbow Six Siege to one lucky commenter! Simply leave a reply and join the discussion for a chance to win.

We'll still be posting major Xbox announcements in the main feed. However, I'll be collecting some of the more nuanced news, rumors and talking points into one handy post every weekend. You can also rely on this weekly column to keep up to date with all the latest game releases too.

Here's the latest edition of This Week in Xbox One News.

Quantum Break nearing completion, further delays unlikely

Remedy Entertainment's upcoming time-bender Quantum Break is nearing completion, according to Remedy's Thomas Puha.

Quantum Break follows Jack Joyce on a quest to prevent the destruction of time – while the game's antagonistic organization, Monarch Solutions, seeks to gain control of it.

The playable portion of Quantum Break follows Jack in a cover-based third person shooter, with time and physics manipulation mechanics. However, taking place between each gameplay "episode" is a 20-minute live action TV show, which follows Monarch Solutions. The TV show intersects with the game, and decisions you make will affect the outcome of the TV show and vice versa.

Quantum Break has been delayed several times — in typical Remedy style — but it's looking like the game will make its April launch date without issue.

Quantum Break will launch exclusively on Xbox One on April 5th, 2016

Pre-order Quantum Break from Amazon US ($59.96)

Check out these Play Arts Kai Halo 5 figures

Square-Enix is perhaps best known as a game developer, but they also have a line of high-quality toys, immortalizing characters from various video game, tv and movie franchises.

Play Arts Kai's latest figurines take aim at Halo 5. These figures stand at around 12" apiece, and will retail for around $125 (via GameInformer).

Play Arts Kai also have various figurines for the Metal Gear series, D.C. Universe, in addition to the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series. They also stock a cool Titanfall Atlas mech replica and some toys from older fan favorites, such as Dead Space. The Halo 5 figures are slated for an April launch on the Play Arts Kai website.

A huge update is on its way to Diablo III

Blizzard is no stranger to supporting their games post-launch with free updates, and Diablo III is no different. The 2.4.0 patch has been available on Blizzards Public Test Realm on PC for some time, but the update will go live for real Xbox One, PS4 and PC sometime after the start of Diablo III's 5th season on January 15th (via Rock Paper Shotgun).

The update's biggest feature is an entirely new area called Greyhollow Island. While the new zone doesn't impact the game's campaign, it contains plenty of story content that can be discovered with exploration, rather than a typical linear progression path.

Some of the other features include:

• Over a dozen new monsters
• Expanded Areas: The Eternal Woods and Royal Quarters
• Revamped Set Items
• New Feature: Set Dungeons
• New Feature: Empowered Rifts
• New Legendaries
• Revised Buff UI
• More Stash Space
• Season Journey Revisions
• Season Rebirth
• New to PC: Action Combat

Be sure to check out the full patch notes here.

I listed Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition on the top 25 Xbox One games currently available due to its massive amount of content, robust multiplayer and accessible, but deep combat. If you haven't tried Diablo III before, now's a great time to jump in.

Buy Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition for Xbox One on Amazon US ($29.99)

Rainbow Six Siege 1.2 patch set to improve server connectivity

The latest entry in the Rainbow Six franchise is picking up a hefty patch on PC ahead of a release on Xbox One. The update is primarily aimed at connectivity, making improvements to matchmaking, bullet hit registrations and player positioning responsiveness (via GameSpot).

The rate at which the server will update a player's positioning has been doubled, which should make the game feel a lot smoother for all involved.

Online playability is quite important in a game like Rainbow Six Siege, considering it's a multiplayer focused tactical shooter where you're afforded only one life per round. Losing that life to lag can be an incredibly frustrating experience, and clearly, Ubisoft knows it.

Some of the improvements include:

• Updated the server tick rate for all PC users, coming soon to consoles
• Data center selection is now possible (PC users only, for now)
• Matchmaking Improvements
• Added a criteria that increases the odds of pre-made parties being matched against a squad with an equal number of pre-made parties within them.
• Improved connectivity to PVP and PVE matches
• Gameplay Fixes
• Level Design Fixes
• Online Flow Fixes
• UI Fixes
• Audio Fixes

Make sure to read the full patch notes over here. The patch is already available on PC, with a January 14th date planned for consoles.

Buy Rainbow Six Siege from Amazon US ($49.99)

Industry analyst Michael Pachter thinks we could see the next Xbox by 2020

Veteran games analyst Michael Pachter thinks we'll see the present console cycle end by 2020 at the latest. In his most recent Pachter Factor podcast, he responded to a fan question regarding the next console generation:

Pachter cites the decreasing price of 4K resolution TVs as a factor in triggering the next console cycle:

The next console generation might be a while away yet, but we are beginning to see signs that the big three are at least thinking about it. Nintendo has its NX console launching in the next couple of years, and there are recurring rumors about Microsoft launching a cheaper, disc-less Xbox One somewhere down the line. I wrote an article about some older mutterings about a disc-less Xbox One SKU previously, check that out over here!

Oculus Rift, HoloLens, and PlayStation VR are likely to disrupt the industry even further, and the increasingly PC-like architecture of the Xbox and Playstation could see even stranger twists down the line.

AMD's CEO, Lisa Su, recently commented that the AMD-powered PS4 and Xbox One are targeting a 7-year life cycle, which puts a prospective Xbox Two in-line with Pachter's predictions.

Analysts have been predicting the 'death' of the traditional console for years now, but Phil Spencer himself teased a future Xbox console last year. The form a prospective "Xbox Two" will take, however, remains to be seen.

Introducing OneCast – our weekly Xbox One, Windows 10 and Microsoft podcast!

Every week, I'll be hosting a podcast with our new writer Matt Brown and various other Windows Central team members as we look back at the week's Xbox, Windows and Microsoft news and events. Check out first episode on SoundCloud (Check out Soundrivin for a solid WP SoundCloud app), or input this address into your RSS-based podcast app!

OneCast Episode 1: Xbox game delays, upcoming Xbox One features, Windows 10 convergence, most anticipated games, and more!

Giveaway – Rainbow Six Siege for Xbox One

One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Rainbow Six: Siege for Xbox One! Simply join the discussion in the comments for a random chance to win.

Winners will be picked tomorrow at 6 PM BST. Please ensure you have a valid email address for us to contact you if you win!

ICYMI - Some of Windows Central's biggest Xbox articles of the week

• Windows 10 reportedly used on about 180 million PCs, 18 million Xbox Ones, over 1 million phones
• An upcoming Xbox One update will allow you to view party participants without joining
• Xbox One Preview: ARK: Survival Evolved – impressions so far
• The 10 absolute worst Xbox One games of 2015
• Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 open beta begins Jan. 14 for Xbox One
• The 60-second Xbox One controller battery charger won't be out until late 2016
• Dying Light: The Following gets February 9 release date for Xbox One and PC
• Xbox One update with behind-the-scenes bug fixes now rolling out
• EA Sports UFC 2 headed to Xbox One on March 15
• Report: 'Assassin's Creed Empire' will launch in 2017, Watch Dogs 2 in 2016

New Xbox One game releases for the week ending January 10th, 2016

Lovely Planet - Shooter - QUICKTEQUILA

"With boots of speed on your feet, an infinite supply of bullets for your semi-automatic and the ability to jump over twice your own height, you're well equipped to go up against any enemy on your quest to reach Lovely Planet!"

G Prime Into The Rain - Puzzle - Soma Games

"Explore the vast uncharted mystery of The Rain, a solar-system spanning shock wave of gas and dust from far, far away. A gravity gripping, Steampunk styled, moody-beautiful, slingshot simulating puzzle pleaser."

Hyper Void - Shooter - IN|Framez Technology Corp.

"Punch your way through waves and waves of enemies from all races in the universe as you travel through volatile and crazy wormholes, all rendered in high-quality 3D with a heart-pumping progressive soundtrack!"

Cubot - Puzzle - NicoplvGames

"At first sight, Cubot is a puzzle-game with a minimalist gameplay, just move color cubes towards tiles of the same color. It's really easy, but it will be a torture for your mind to complete all levels of the game because the apparent simplicity of the game is in contradiction with the complexity of the puzzles."

Unepic - Action & Adventure, Platformer, Role Playing - EnjoyUp Games

"Unepic is a mixture of platform game, role game and joke that takes place in a huge castle of medieval fantasy. It is set in the eighty's style, but completed with the most actual features."

And that's a wrap!

This week I've been driving myself crazy, wrestling with ARK: Survival Evolved's server issues to get a hit of its addictive survival/crafting/dino punching gameplay. Hopefully, Wildcard can solve the issues sooner rather than later.

I also picked up a copy of Let's Sing 2016, ahem, for my girlfriend of course, review inbound? I'm also quite intrigued by Unepic, an indie platformer RPG hybrid with a heavy comedic slant. Check out Paul's gameplay preview of that over here.

What have you guys been playing this week?

Halo 5: Guardians players on the Xbox One can now download Cartographer's Gift, the latest free content update for the sci-fi shooter. It includes the long-awaited Halo 5 version of the Forge map editor, allowing anyone to create new multiplayer maps.

Aside from Forge, the Cartographer's Gift update includes the new SPNKr twin-tube rocket launch for Halo 5, along with three variants and some new armor. There is also a new Warzone map (Battle of Noctus), a new Arena map (Overgrowth) and two new Big Team Battle maps (Antifreeze and Burial Mounds). The full change log, which also shows a bunch of bug fixes and improvements, can be viewed on the official Halo website.

Buy Halo 5: Guardians from Amazon

Source: Halo Waypoint

If for some reason you have yet to purchase an Xbox One console, Microsoft is currently running a UK deal that sees the limited edition Halo 5:Guardians bundle listed for £299.99. As well as the included console, controller and copy of Halo 5: Guardians, the company will also throw in the Warzone REQ Bundle (worth £20) and more to really give you a head start when it comes to multiplayer.

The console itself has 1TB of internal storage, which should be plentiful for those who wish to install a bunch of games, apps and other content to enjoy on the big screen. Both the Xbox One and its accompanying controller also sport a unique Halo paint job. Should you be a fan of the series and have yet to invest in Microsoft's latest console, you'll need to get this bundle.

£299.99 at the UK Microsoft Store

If you haven't yet picked up Halo 5: Guardians, the game's collector's edition has seen a pretty steep price cut on Amazon today. The retailer is currently listing the Halo 5: Guardians Limited Collector's Edition for just $99, down from its origin $249 price. And for the money, you'll be snagging a heck of a lot. Here's the breakdown of what's included in the Limited Collector's Edition:

• Full game digital download code
• Warzone REQ Bundle (14 Premium Requisition packs)
• Halo: The Fall of Reach (Animated Series)
• Guardian model by Metal Earth
• Uniquely-designed Spartan themed SteelBook
• Spartan Locke's Classified Orders
• Dossiers on Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris
• Xbox Live Gold 14-day Trial

If you're a diehard Halo fan who somehow hasn't nabbed the latest entry in the series, or if you happen to know someone who could use a killer Christmas gift, this is a pretty attractive offer. In any case, you can grab the Halo 5: Guardians Limited Collector's Edition for $99 at the Amazon link below.

$99 from Amazon

If you didn't buy the Digital Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition or Limited Collector's Edition of Halo 5: Guardians, you could not see the entire version of Microsoft's CGI animated film Halo: The Fall of Reach. That film is now available via Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD formats.

Here's the brief summary for the movie, which was created by the Vancouver-based CGI studio SEQUENCE:

You can buy the Blu-ray and DVD dics versions via Amazon, and it's available for VOD purchase or rental from a number of different services and platforms.

Buy Halo: The Fall of Reach for Blu-Ray and DVD at Amazon

Source: Xbox Wire

Microsoft is promoting the launch week revenue numbers of its Xbox One exclusive shooter Halo 5: Guardians. The company stated that the launch generated over "$400 million in global sales of Halo 5: Guardians games and hardware, pushing the franchise to over $5 billion lifetime".

Microsoft did not reveal just how many copies of Halo 5 were sold during the first week, nor did it break down what it meant by "hardware". It's possible that the company included sales of Xbox One consoles that had Halo 5 bundled with it, along with sales of its Halo 5 themed Xbox One controllers. The company did say:

Microsoft added that Halo 5 was also the best-selling digital game in history from its Xbox Store for an opening week.

Buy Halo 5: Guardians for the Xbox One at Amazon for $59.99

Source: Microsoft