Though its existence was all but confirmed, today, Microsoft and 343 Industries have revealed that Halo 5: Guardians is indeed in development, and will be released by Autumn 2015 for Xbox One.
News comes via the studio’s post over on Xbox Wire, in which Bonnie Ross, general manager at 343 Industries, outlines the scope and ambition of the series’ next numerical iteration.
“Making a Halo game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial.
“Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.”
Along with Halo 5: Guardians’ official announcement, the studio also published a single image for the game, which could well be the official box art (and that isn’t too far removed from Resistance 2, either). Aside from a brief teaser trailer and some rather cryptic concept art, not much is known about the game’s core plot, but we assume it will orbit around Master Chief one way or another.
Still, while fans may bemoan the game’s 2015 release date, Ross also alluded to another entry into the Halo franchise which could release later this year. In fact, the general manager stated that the “journey definitely begins in 2014 with a giant leap, rather than one small step.”
Whether this serves as an unofficial confirmation of the long-rumoured Halo 2: Anniversary Edition remains to be seen, but we can expect to learn more about 343 Industries plans for the franchise and, specifically, Halo 5: Guardians at E3 next month.