At one point, Halo looked on the fast-track for a big-budget Hollywood adaptation. Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) was attached to direct, but the project was ultimately scuttled due to profit disputes. Blomkamp is still interested in the world, though, and says he would do if it he could have creative control.

Read more: 'My own interpretation versus 150 other people involved' »

Microsoft and 343 Industries have christened this "Halo Week: Drop Shock," bringing a steady stream of new content and special deals for Halo 4. It all started with the Castle Map Pack that launched yesterday, but the companies have special challenges and discounts in store too.

Read more: Soundtrack, XP challenges, and discount maps »

Halo 4 could have had a stasis gun. Or a "grapple harpoon." But these weapons were taken out in an effort to make the game more accessible and less sci-fi.

Franchise creative director Josh Holmes told GDC audiences that "when we started out, I was really pushing the team to go in a very sci-fi direction. I wanted to embrace the sci-fi nature of the enemies and explore concepts that were outside the box for Halo, things that you'd never seen before in the Halo sandbox."

Read more: Making Halo more accessible »

Planning regulations and certification can be a nightmare to navigate so when permission comes through, go hell-for-leather. Halo 4's new building space Forge Island was supposed to launch on April 11 but as it's now passed cert, 343 Industries tossed it out today for all to enjoy for free.

Watch: Touring the new building space »

At a PAX East panel, 343 Industries announced that Halo 4 is getting a "Forge Island" map. The name itself is a nod to the "Forge World" in Reach. The map will be available on April 11 for free, letting Forgers tinker with a series of large open spaces.

Read more: Skill ranking system, new title update on the way »

With the impending release of the Castle map pack, Halo 4 will have finished its set of War Games content. 343 Industries plans to continue pushing out regular matchmaking updates, but will be switching from weekly updates to bi-weekly.

Read more: 'More substantial updates' coming »

Halo 4's next set of maps is coming in just under a month, on April 8. The maps were developed by Certain Affinity, makers of the game's Forge Mode, and include three maps with a focus on team objectives and vehicular combat.

Read more: Daybreak, Outcast, and Perdition details »

Xbox Live Games on Demand typically ends up making you pay more than retail price--even during sales--for games which don't need to be pressed, packaged, shipped, or stored, which makes it essentially a costly way of saving shelf space. Microsoft's knocking up to 85% off off loads of games in a string of daily deals it's calling 'The Xbox LIVE Ultimate Game Sale,' starting with the Halo series, and for once it actually makes digital Xbox 360 games (mostly) cheaper than physical.

Read more: $40 for Halo 4, $10 for 3 or Reach »

Good grief, you got a whole new Halo only three months ago, not to mention a DLC map pack a month later, yet you already want more? Luckily Microsoft and 343 Industries have anticipated your shameless greed and today announced the second Halo 4 DLC pack, named Majestic, will hit on February 25 with more maps and a new mode.

Watch: A city under attack and rooftop battles »

Video game awards season isn't truly over until the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has had its say. This year, the PlayStation 3 title Journey stole the show. The title won eight of its 11 nominations, including Game of the Year, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction.

Read more: Other big winners include Walking Dead, XCOM »

Halo 4's Spartan Ops season is heading towards a climax, with only three episodes left. A newly released trailer promoting next week's episode 8 shows just how dire the situation is getting as we approach the finale.

Watch: Fireteam Majestic fighting back Prometheans »

Episode 7 of the renewed Spartan Ops season for Halo 4 debuts on Monday, and a per usual, Microsoft has unveiled a teaser for the five-mission co-op package. In this go round, embattled scientist Catherine Halsey gets a bit of payback for her current house arrest.

Read more: Grifball playlist coming

"Wake up, Chief!"

Halo 4 marks Master Chief's triumphant return, bringing him out of a long slumber in a post-Bungie world. Not only does 343 succeed in taking over such a beloved franchise, they add depth to the series. Case in point: the story transforms Chief from the emotionless soldier we first met back in Combat Evolved, without compromising any of the qualities that make him such a badass character to begin with.

Read more: Why Halo 4 made our Top 10 »

343 Industries has treated Halo 4's "Spartan Ops" like a television show, right down to a mid-season hiatus. They've been rerunning episodes in the off-time to give new players a chance to catch up. That break ends next week, though, which will begin a new set of five episodes to finish out the first season. Episode 6 will provide you with more co-op action on January 21.

Watch: Teaser for episodes 6-10 »

Awards season for video games doesn't just touch on our isolated corner of enthusiasts. Those who make their living penning scripts have gotten some recognition from the Writers Guild of America, and "Outstanding Achievement in Video Game Writing" is its own category.

Read more: Halo 4, Assassin's Creed 3 among nominees »