You can always tell the holiday season is coming by hardware manufacturers bumping down their prices in preparation for our annual spending splurge. Nintendo dropped the Wii price this morning, and now Microsoft has entered the arena with some price cuts of its own. These come in the form of $50 cuts on its various holiday bundles.

Read more: Game pack-ins in different sets »

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 »

The process of transitioning Halo data management from Bungie to 343 Industries started last summer, and finally has an end date. Bungie announced today that as of March 31, it will be completely out of the franchise it created that helped put Microsoft's consoles on the map.

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

Microsoft's Halo Waypoint app launches on December 10 for Windows Phone 7, iOS, and Android devices. It also offers an optional feature dubbed 'ATLAS.' The premium add-on will tap directly into a user's Halo: Reach or Halo Anniversary matches to provide real-time data during ongoing games.

Read more: 'Assisted TacticaL Assault System' »

Frank O'Connor, formerly of Bungie and now franchise director at 343 Industries, says he was "surprised" by how strongly fans reacted to Master Chief's absence in Halo: Reach, and says that the character will be explored more deeply in Halo 4.

"I was a great proponent of the new Spartans for Reach," he said. "I thought that people would do what they did with the Master Chief and put themselves into the character's shoes, but people missed him."

Read more: 'It's time to start exploring him as a character' »

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary includes several map packs for use in Halo Reach's multiplayer mode. The Anniversary Map Pack--which includes six multiplayer maps and one Firefight map--will also be available to download separately on November 15, for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

Microsoft explains how the Halo Anniversary maps will integrate into both the new Halo release, as well as Halo: Reach.

Read more: Get some Anniversary in your Reach »

343 Industries has announced that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is getting yet another classic map added to its multiplayer offering. Headlong, a favorite from Halo 2, has been remade and dubbed "Breakneck."

The map takes place in Section 21, a city destroyed by the Covenant assault. It's a large-scale map for 8-16 players, notable for its long-range weapons like rockets and sniper rifles.

Read more: Halo: Reach update beta test »

[Update - XdM] This story originally, and incorrectly, stated that Halo Anniversary would see the return of the Magnum weapon from the original Halo in multiplayer via a title update to Halo Reach. What 343 Industries is actually doing is tweaking the current handgun to bring it as close to the original pistol as possible. Specifically, 343 told me at Halo Fest that the weapon will return to its three-shot headshot glory.

A number of other tweaks will be made to the game in stages, including the ability to ship away at an Armor Lock's energy by firing on locked Spartans and the removal of the Lock's ability to remove grenades that have stuck to the player. The complete Title Update for Reach is set to launch later this year.

Read more: The return of the Magnum Pistol »

"This marks the final moments of our involvement with the Halo franchise," a recent Bungie blog details. "And you've been with us through thick and thin. We really couldn't have done it without you. So, as we prepare to become fans of the Halo franchise we created on the eve of its 10th anniversary, we wanted to offer you something to demonstrate just how much you've impacted us and the games we've made."

With Microsoft's Halo 4 announced at E3, it seems like an appropriate time for Bungie to figuratively pass the torch, especially as the coming weeks promise a first look into the team's next big thing: Bungie Aerospace, a project that has been surprisingly well-hidden. Read more »

For those who have yet to experience 2010's hollow hit first-person shooter, a Halo: Reach demo is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The 1.74GB download offers snippets of both the campaign and multiplayer. As a bonus, there's $20 off the full game through Games on Demand for the next week.

Read 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 »

The testing discs for those chosen to take part in the Xbox 360 firmware preview are starting to hit, according to multiple tipsters, giving us a bit of insight on Microsoft's testing methods. As expected, the test disc itself has Halo: Reach, making it both the testing model and reward for Microsoft's army of volunteer tinkerers. It warns not to use it on unauthorized systems, however, since that will "disable access to Xbox Live."

A sheet accompanying the disc asks preview testers to play at least one hour of the Halo: Reach preview disc, along with any other games, music CDs, and DVDs. For the purposes of testing, it specifies to play games from their respective discs, rather than from an installation on the HDD. Read more »

[Update] This giveaway has now ended. Congrats to .frame, Dave-A, Prozium, devi| dog, and creepjacked. Check your ShackMessages!

[Original Story] Shacknews has emerged from yet another deep space excursion and, much like last time, emerged with a handful of Halo: Reach "Defiant Map Pack" DLC codes. However, we've also grabbed another bundle of treats: five Halo Reach Legendary Special Edition sets. Read more »

[Update] Congrats to EvilYam, pun][sher, asrivastava, Elette, and thewrath69. You have been randomly selected to each win one code for the Halo: Reach "Defiant Map Pack." Check your Shackmessages and get back to us ASAP.

[Original Story] Shacknews has ventured into deep space and returned with a small handful of codes for the latest map pack DLC release for the Xbox 360-exclusive, Halo: Reach. Read more »