Halo: Spartan Assault now available for all 1GB Windows Phone 8 devices as Verizon's exclusivity expires

Halo: Spartan Assault is Microsoft's attempt to bring the popular IP to the mobile device. Selling millions of copies on consoles and the PC, the Halo series has accumulated many fans and we're set to see that base number grow as more titles are released.

Available on Windows Phone 8, the game has been restricted in the US to just Verizon Wireless customers through a 30-day exclusivity deal. This has now ended.

Taking place in-between Halo 3 and 4, the third-person action game provides hours of entertainment within the universe you know and love. Here's a quick look at Halo: Spartan Assault if you've not yet checked it out yet:

We've checked the store and can indeed confirm that we're able to download HSA on hardware running on US networks other than Verizon. You can download Halo: Spartan Assault from the Windows Phone Store for $6.99. Requires Windows Phone 8 and 1GB RAM (an update for 512MB devices should be not too far off).

Not sure about buying? Don't miss our Halo: Spartan Assault review which compares both the Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 versions!

Rich Edmonds

Rich Edmonds is a word conjurer at Windows Central, covering everything related to Windows, gaming, and hardware. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a device chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

133 Comments

Yup
I'm glad I can "officially" get it on my L925... (clears throat)... jejeje
Ditto
Good! I wonder when the new modes are coming out :P
All wps? Must have 1gig of ram.
Found that out just now, no halo on my 521. Oh well.
We do explicitly state that at the end of the article.
I didn't care to read this particular article. I went straight to download the game. Or so I thought. Haha
Derp
Lewis, reading is fundamental
Lol.
Of course.
Haha. Jk
You mean there are people who really wanted it that didn't already pull their sim card to get it?
Damn normal people and waiting for things normally.
That only worked with AT&T devices, not Tmo or Sprint. Even then it didn't work all the time.
On the other hand, using Fiddler to rewrite the market URL to spoof as verizon worked just fine for every phone and carrier. If you really wanted it, you'd have found a way.
Who gives a damn? Some people can wait the freakin 30 days.
Worked with my TMobile L925 but did have to try a time or two for it to work.
Actually. I got it early for my Tmobile 8X and 925. Didn't pop SIM but I DID use Fiddler.
Had to use fiddler to download to my unlocked 920 on Tmo.
Had to wait patiently to get it on my 521 (still waiting btw)
How was your unlock process?
Oh, so that's what happened. I did this on accident. I was testing another phone, and while the sim was out I browsed the store on my Lumia and saw it.
I assume this was just a USA issue as I had this in UK from release?
I had in South Africa also probably usa situation
It's in the 2nd paragraph.
Everything is fully explained in the article. Why no read?
People like to only read the headline, maybe put the entire article in the headline next time ;)
That's just it, it even states "Verizon exclusivity" in the title, lol. Not sure how more we could have jammed in there!
Simply answer..."Yes". A lot faster. There are plenty people on this forum who read most news items, the one time they don't, the forum police are ready to pounce!
Because laziness should not be rewarded.
The one time......one...... You people never read the damn articles. And there's like 10 of you in this thread already. So it wont matter how quickly someone replies to your stupid ass question, you wont read the answer anyway
HaHa, That's sure enough the Truth!
Finally!!! Been waiting way too long!
I hope it comes to devices having 512mb ram(Lumia 620) soon.
As Rich said 512mb devices should be supported soon as an update is done
They couldn't have had that ready in a month?
Its not just flipping a switch lol
I know that. Still could have been working on it while Verizon had exclusivity instead of appearing to just sit back and do nothing like they did with the waypoint app.
Who says they haven't been working on it and it just isn't ready yet?
Who said they were? With all the negative reviews on the waypoint app and forums posts on their site, all they did was add a link within the app to take you to the mobile site for checking your halo 4 stats. I know smartglass was available then, but on an hd7 with a single core processor, it ran incredibly slow.
To be fair, Halo Waypoint is full of whiny bitches that complain about any and everything. They were expecting a Halo FPS and got a twin stick shooter instead. Just like those that were expecting,a FPS from Halo Wars. As for your issue with the HD7, do you also complain to game developers for not supporting legacy video cards and hardware. The HD7 was terribly antiquated bu the time Smartglass arrived. Was it a bad device? No. But it wasn't cutting edge. Will you also,complain with future games require 2gb or RAM? Or a quad core processor that your current device does not support? Computer hardware becomes outdated fast. If you can't deal with that you're better off going back to dumbphones. Or Apple, where they rehash the same hardware over and over.
No. Actually I complain when they don't support the new hardware, example being gun bros and contract killer. Never said hd7 was cutting edge, just that smartglass was the response that 343 gave for the waypoint app not showing halo 4 stats. I do believe I know tech outdates fast. I'd like to think that in my 30 years, I did learn something about it. I don't support apple in any way. I would not show a bit of remorse if they were to go out of business. I do recall hearing that the update for 512mb devices should be ready at/around the time verizons deal ended.
I've had this game since its been out on my Lumia 920
Got it on my 920 and 1020 on release. Just popped att sim out for a minute and go. Don't see how that wouldn't work everytime for ATT customers.
Trust me, it didn't work all the time. Plus T-Mobile, Sprint and regional carriers did not have that option. Regardless, none of this has anything to do with the fact that Verizon's exclusivity is now over and most normal humans aren't into "hacking" (and I use the word very loosely here) around to get this game.
Yeah, but come on, no one has the 8XT.
Hey, no fair, I got that phone
I did read the Sprint press release that said they sold 1 unit. Congrats man!
People were desperate. :)
Yeah I mean in theory the game sounds like one that should be epic and something Windows Phone needed for a long time. But in the end, it was a fail that most people will finish and never play again. Even with the promised periodic content drops. It is still a boring game. And it is much better to play on Win 8 anyway. WP version is crowded (though this can be said about every mobile game for the most part...).
It plays awesome on a Windows tablet.
But some games are better on the phone. Less finger travel time in Plants vs Zombies for example.
Most people arent smart? Actually they are. A lot of the WP crowd are those that enjoy playing Xbox games and gamerscore and such. The average user, people that wouldnt want to hack as you call it (aka pop out their card) probably wouldnt be a follower of this site. Followers of this site are inherently technical in some sense. Proof in the sense that any article that mentions a glitch or exploit or some technical information of some type gets blown up with comments. Things that just appeal to the casual user do not.

Recent articles with most comments:
Jetpack Joyride free hacked stuff
Anything related to GDR2 or Amber - things a asual user would not even know or care about. Minute tiny changes and a lot of behind the scenes stuff.
Youtube Google vs M$ drama
Drat! Still requires 1gb of ram. Wishing I had waited for the 925 before getting my 521. I should mention I didn't read the entire title after seeing "verizon exclusivity ends".
I think they killed the buzz and momentum of this game with the tiered release. The discussion in the US went away from the game itself and focused on the Verizon deal and how to get around it.
I agree I wanted it but im over it already.
Yep
The discussion here, maybe. We are the minority of the minority platform -- the majority of the customer base for HSA don't hang out here.
True @Nik Rolls, but the few people I know that have Windows Phones weren't talking about Halo...at all. They weren't really aware of it. No marketing. I don't think Verizon did much marketing with their 30 day head start. Ball dropped by all parties involved, in my estimation. The people I know who have Windows Phones are mostly on it because either they've played with mine or I've talked it up. We minority of the minorty are also (in some cases) the evangelists.
Waiting for that 6tagram article
There was also an update for the Windows 8 version, for what it's worth. No idea what it added or fixed, but I know for sure it's not the update that includes controller support.
I saw that this morning too, no mention of what it was updating or changing. I've been getting by fine with the keyboard and mouse set up, though.
Stupid question...but did you try a controller? Might not have a setting specifically for it until it detects one.
I did.
Can't install with 3GB free space?
Unfortunately Spartan Assault requires 4GB of free space for installation....Not sure why though.
That's bad for 512mb owners
RAM != storage.
As a Verizon user, I barely played this game. Idk why, just not that fun.
Not buying with no try option.
Yeah the lack of a try option bothered me as well. But whatever, the reviews are great so I went ahead and bought it.
Its a good game but i did not like the controls but that's ok
It is the controls that worry me
I found the controls to be frustrating, then I switched from thumbs to index fingers and this made the game playable
The Halo franchise would have seriously helped the launch of wp7. Way too late, not a bad game. Microsoft has done practically nothing to sell this as a gaming phone
Probably because it doesn't match Andorid or iOS for gaming yet. This game certainly helps though.
Its not the specs that matter for mobile gaming - the most popular games require zero horsepower. Its a complete failure to capitalize on the Xbox name and exclusive titles.
When they do the update for low memory devices, I'll download it for my Nokia Lumia 521.
Pron just a lie. The game didnt sell like hoped (oh cuz you restricted it to a smaller Windows Phone carrier?) and now they are cutting their support and future updates. Probably not, but it wouldnt surprise me that M$ botched yet another good thing for WP....
Assumptions.
No. Assumptions would be thinking they will deliver as promised. Xbox on Windows Phone is toast. Why feed a dead horse.
Do you have any sources to back this up?
Only the best source out there. Microsoft's continual tendency to colossally mess up every single good idea they create.
I think your ass is leaking bullshit, you might want to plug it.
Well I'm about to enjoy this game now!
Finally downloading...on super slow airport WiFi. Sigh.
Airport WiFi is slow?
Yeah.. The " bongo" free WiFi was lagging, probably from all the traffic
Compared to my home WIFI with all the traffic I have to agree Airports WIFI is slow lol. 100% agree. You have hinder of people on it and my local airports download is like 45mbps
I would love that speed! Where I live, (the whole town) the max is 12 MB/SEC
:o
I got this for Windows 8 on release! It was nice and all, but what is better when you can play it on the go now and show your friends "Hey, I'm playing Halo on my Windows Phone! ;)" *people begin to endlessly hurdle to their carriers' store and buy out all Windows Phones*
I got this on my Surface RT when it came out and I didn't think that I would buy it again for my 920. But I saw the post, I'm stuck at home with a sick baby and it seemed like the perfect thing to do on a Saturday morning, so..
I am just as surprised about how good this is on my phone as I was when I first played it on Surface. Now I can't wait for Halo 5 on XB1!
Bought for my Surface RT, hell of a game, really nice on a big touch screen. Don't like the consumable IAPs though.
Enjoying it on the Surface just wish they'd hurry up with the update to enable Xbox controllers.
As much as I love Halo, $7 is a bit steep. I'll wait for a price drop.
Sarcasm, I hope?
Nope.
I find it difficult to call $7 "steep". This is one of the biggest brand assets that Microsoft has. There are plenty of other high profile games in this price range. Plus, it's $7...seriously.
People attach different value to different things. I don't NEED to play this game right now. I have plenty of other games to keep me busy. I'lll pick this up when it drops $3 or $5.
If it was fully 3D with cutting-edge graphics and more missions and multiplayer, I'd pay $7.
+1, I picked up on my 928 because I still have part of the $75 app credit I got (one returned phone, one sent out for repair and another when returned from repair) but, I would not of paid $7 for it.

If it was full 3D with more missions, crap I might of even paid a little more for it..
Rejoice all you non-Verizon uses.
Of course, I've had it for 30 days and don't even play it anymore. LOL
Alot of show offs here. You got it by pulling your SIM, great job. Now please stop saying it over and over.
HEY I GOT IT BY PULLING MY SIM CARD! Not showing off. It was just very unwindowsphoncentral like to not announce it like every other exploit they do. Even some questionable ones like the proxy exploit to get Nokia exclusive apps and games on all devices.
We were asked not to reveal methods for workin around the exclusivity deal and we respected it. Unlike Kotaku, we're not going to burn bridges just for extra page views.
oooo subtle burrrn. I like it
It's not really "showing off" as much as a protest against the dumb tiered release. This could have been a massive momentum gaining event and Microsoft screwed it up with the Verizon deal. Now we're talking about THAT and the workarounds and how Microsoft pulled an exclusive when we are ALL their customers. They screwed this up is more of what some people are pointing out, more than showing off. Yes, I did have this on my AT&T Lumia 920 w/in the first couple of days.
There isn't a trial version. That's kind of disappointing.
Wish there would've been - I bought it to play on my old laptop with Windows 8, but it stutters like crazy. Not good enough specs, I suppose. It's only $7 though, it was worth a shot. I'll be getting it for my Lumia 521 when it can run on 512MB devices too. :)
With this game, Windows Phone now has too many apps. Please eliminate 10,000. Thank you, Mooncow.
Yeeeeasssssssssss
No avabile on my 920?
Why doesn't wpc change to an other service than YouTube. Vimeo or something ;)
Lol I'm on AT&T and I downloaded the game somehow a month ago :D
Same here. Didn't pull my SIM card or do anything special, just went to the Store the day that it was released and found it to be the featured app. So that was cool...
Does anyone know if this is compatible with the moga sdk? Would be nice when I get my ativ neo!
I'll get it for my 925, but I'm really waiting for the controller support on PC. Then I'll sink some uninterrupted hours into it.
Well, this is odd. With the GDR2 update, my Lumia 810 has 1.9GB of free space (never thought I'd see that again), but when I try to buy the game, as soon as I enter my wallet PIN, it comes back and says I've reached the storage limit on my phone.
I think you need 4 GB free to install
I went to the website and downloaded the XAP manually, transferred it to my phones SD card, and installed from there. Even then, I still had to delete a couple things before the install would complete. After the install, free space jumped back up to 1GB.
I sure wish the 1020 only had 1 month of exclusivity ......
All day I have been getting error code 8000ffff after I purchased.. So it won't install.. Any fixes?
Does it still raise the temp of your phone to the level for cooking bacon?
Nope :( (easy way to cook bacon) PS it does get hot, but no blazing hot
I'd probably buy it if I could try it first.
You can get this on PC for the same price
Was this USA only restriction? I've been seeing it in the Czech Store for quite a while now.
Yes
I can only get a level or two on before my 920 gets too hot to touch. There needs to be a cooling case or something!
hooray
This is good but what's fiddler?
I like the game but its pretty unplayable right now it never lets me finish a level one minute i am running upto sn elite guns blazing next i am at my phone home screen without warning, app completely closed wtf this is unacceptable for any game let alone a high profile ms studios release like halo.

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