Last summer, Bungie began the monumental task of transferring all its data management on the Halo series over to new developer 343 Industries. That process is finally complete, but in one last tribute to the franchise, Bungie unveiled a massive graphic of multiplayer statistics showing just how much data had been stored, and how popular the games were.

Read more: Game stats, player records, and more »

Microsoft and 343 promised more Halo 10th anniversary festivities at this year's PAX Prime, and now we're seeing just what they meant. The official site announced today that the Seattle gaming event will host its own Halo event inside it, like a Russian nesting doll. Called "Halo Fest," it will be at the Annex 3rd Floor of the Washington Convention Center during PAX Prime, running alongside the days and times of the regular PAX event.

The announcement promises "tournaments, exclusive panels, and sweet prizes" for Halo fans. It's in honor of the 10th anniversary event this year, which has already included an update to Waypoint, a new motion comic, and new Halo Avatar duds. We've also heard rumblings of a Halo: Combat Evolved remake serving as 343's debut project. Read more »

Microsoft and 343 Industries are preparing for the 10th anniversary of Halo, and the first of undoubtedly many celebratory salvos will be coming through the Halo Waypoint hub. This Friday, Halo Waypoint will be updated with performance tweaks, a new "Compare with Friends" feature, Instant On streaming video, and two new career levels. It will also reflect your stats for Halo: Reach and allow you to launch the game from WayPoint.

In addition, on Saturday, April 23, WayPoint users will be able to watch a new motion comic called "The Mona Lisa." The comic shows the crew of the UNSC Red Horse discovering a derelict prison ship called the Mona Lisa. Prisoners are nothing if not known for their appreciation of classic art. The crew goes to investigate and, unsurprisingly, ends up battling the Covenant. This is why most people know better than to check out creepy abandoned prisons. Read more »

As promised, the multiplayer beta for Halo: Reach is now available to Halo 3: ODST owners, enabling them to sample Bungie's latest Xbox 360 effort from today until May 19, 2010.

Four multiplayer maps and a variety of game modes are included. However, everything won't be available initially. Instead, the various modes and multiplayer maps will be slowly rolled out across the next two weeks. Read more »

Celebrating the seasonal change, Microsoft has unveiled a new Xbox 360 Elite hardware bundle that includes two games at no extra cost.

Carrying the same $299.99 price as a regular Xbox 360 Elite, the "Spring Bundle" packs Bungie's sci-fi shooter Halo 3: ODST and Turn 10's racer Forza Motorsport 3--both Xbox 360 exclusives--alongside the Xbox 360 Elite hardware and its 120GB hard drive. Read more »

The Halo: Reach multiplayer beta open to those that bought Halo 3: ODST will launch on May 3, Microsoft revealed today during its X10 celebration of all things Xbox.

Said beta will provide "the opportunity to drive the latest advancements in multiplayer gameplay," according to the company. Among those advancements is the addition of Call of Duty-style perks, with players unlocking new abilities as they gain experience. Read more »

As promised, Microsoft today opened "the new virtual home for all things Halo" on Xbox 360 in the form of a free downloadable application dubbed "Halo Waypoint."

Waypoint allows players to track their progress through various Halo titles, as well as keep up with the latest news and videos. The program also rewards users with unlockable Avatar goods, like a helmet, for earning certain in-game achievements. Read more »

Bungie's stand-alone Halo 3 expansion topped the NPD sales charts in September, beating Wii Sports and Madden NFL 10 by a significant margin with over 1.5 million units sold.

Also notable was the performance of The Beatles: Rock Band, which clearly beat Guitar Hero 5 sales on Xbox 360 despite launching nine days later. The Wii version of The Beatles also came in strong, selling enough units to claim the tenth place on the list. Read more »

Any doubts that Bungie's Halo 3: ODST would be a success were quelled with word that the game has sold 2.5 million copies in its first two weeks.

As reported by USA Today, overall sales amount to $125 million in revenue so far.

Read more »

With Halo 3: ODST dropping into stores Tuesday, September 22--that's tomorrow--Toys R Us is running a promotion that rewards buyers of the $60 Xbox 360 shooter with a $20 gift card.

The offer runs until September 26 or the store sells out of the game--whichever happens first.

Along with the gift card, those that buy from Toys R Us will receive a free Halo ODST Rookie Action Figure. Unfortunately for those without a nearby TRU, the gift card promotion is only in-store, though the free action figure deal is available online.

Further ramping up towards Halo 3: ODST's impending release, the latest trailer out of publisher Microsoft discusses how developer Bungie's original plan for a two-to-three hour mini-campaign ended up getting "more and more ambitious."

Now a full-priced prequel packing a new campaign, every Halo 3 multiplayer map ever (plus three new ones), a new cooperative multiplayer mode (Firefight) and beta access to the mysterious Halo Reach, Bungie's latest Xbox 360 shooter arrives September 22. Read more »

A few of you seemed to dig the live-action Halo 3 ODST trailer that Microsoft released the other day, so we've gone and grabbed the extended cut.

We're not talking about several extra minutes, but it there is a bit more build-up and firefighting. If you're going to link a version, this would be the one.

With less than a month to go before Halo 3: ODST hits retailers, Microsoft is stepping up the marketing campaign for the Xbox 360-exclusive shooter with this live-action spot.

Due September 22, Bungie's standalone prequel includes an all new campaign, every Halo 3 multiplayer map (plus three new ones) and beta access to Halo Reach.

To further explain Halo 3: ODST's "Firefight" multiplayer mode, publisher Microsoft and developer Bungie have issued a new trailer starring series veteran Sgt. Johnson.

Packing an all new campaign, every Halo 3 multiplayer map plus three new ones and beta access to Halo Reach, the full-priced prequel hits Xbox 360 on September 22. Read more »

Firefly and Dr. Horrible thespian Nathan Fillion, playing Halo 3: ODST's Gunnery Sgt. Eddie Buck, gives us an in-character tour of the characters and gadgets from the shooter prequel.

Fillion is one of several notable ODST cast members, including Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Michael Bower (Fat Guy, Fat Schlub), and Adam Baldwin (Baldwin). Read more »