Those sneaky chaps over at Bungie teased DLC for Halo: Reach and I didn't even catch it when I wrote up the playlist changes coming to the game in the October update.

In a section detailing how to install Halo: Reach to the Xbox 360 HDD, Bungie included some screenshots. Read more »

In today's Bungie Weekly Update, we get a preview of what Bungie has planned for the October matchmaking update. Bungie notes that the following tweaks are "some, and not all of the proposed changes we'll be making to the online experience in the weeks and months ahead."

I'm decently excited about the Scorpion being removed from Hemorrhage in exchange for the much-less-lethal, but still fun Wraith. That tank was ruining the map. The removal of SWAT from Team Slayer and Big Team Battle should make many folks happy as well. Read more »

After a couple of far-flung weeks with shows from PAX and the International special, Garnett, Brian, and Jeff reunite in the studio, and just in time too because they've got a whole lot to cover. Whatcha' Been Playin? gets things started with some mopping up from TGS including The Third Birthday, Ni no Kuni, and a couple others. Valkyria Chronicles 2 and the upcoming 3 which was also at TGS get some love. And all three of the guys have tales of global conquest from late night Civ 5 sessions. The Warning poses the question of whether the quest to westernize has become a distraction to Japanese game development and, of course, your Gran Turismo 5 responses get their due. Lara's continuing co-op struggles, the apparent cancellation of Milo, and naturally some Halo:Reach news highlight the Front Page to wrap it all up.

Weekend Confirmed Ep. 27 - 09/24/2010 Read more »

Although the Xbox Live Activity listing provided by Major Nelson yesterday placed Halo: Reach in third place for Xbox Live usage for the week beginning September 13, Shacknews has confirmed the activity list was incorrect.

A Microsoft representative told Shacknews, "There was a manual error in reporting Xbox Live data for the week of Sept. 13," confirming that Halo: Reach was the number one game on Xbox Live for the past seven days and had "nearly four times as many unique users playing the game on Xbox Live vs. Halo 3 for the week of Sept. 13." Read more »

The folks over at Rooster Teeth have found a fun easter egg in Halo: Reach, which opens up a racing mini-game in the game's 'Oni: Sword Base' mission.

It requires at least two players and enables a race-based minigame. Sadly, there's no reward. It's a funny video, however, as those Rooster Teeth chaps are mightly comical.

Warning, there are some naughty words in the video so watch at your own discretion. Read more »

Microsoft Game Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer told IGN that a three-year cycle for new Halo releases "is probably not frequent enough."

Though there was only a year between Bungie's last two releases--Halo: Reach and Halo 3: ODST--the gap between those two titles and Halo 3 clocked in at two years. However, Phil might be forgetting that Halo Wars was released in February 2009, putting the true gap at around 17 months. Read more »

You may have noticed Halo: Reach is unable to group players for campaign games via matchmaking, as was promised. According to Bungie, campaign matchmaking was held to avoid a situation where players would enter a campaign game in the middle of the latest Halo adventure, effectively spoiling the story. Read more »

Weekend Confirmed goes international this week with a two-part show. Part one was recorded at home in Santa Monica, with regulars Brian Leahy and Jeff Cannata, and Del Rio stepping in from behind the glass and into the hot seat for the 3rd mic. We dedicate Whatcha' Been Playing to Halo Reach, Brian breaks down the news in the States and then we toss it over to Garnett in Japan for a TGS Special edition. Garnett helps some old friends, Mark Macdonald, John Ricciardi and JJ, launch their inaugural podcast 8-4 play podcast. In the second half, available by subscribing to the all new 8-4 Play show at 1UP.com, the guys dig down a little deeper into the many titles on the show floor at TGS 2010.

Weekend Confirmed Ep. 26 - 09/17/2010 Read more »

During its Tokyo Game Show 2010 media briefing, Microsoft's Phil Spencer revealed that in just one day of sales, Halo: Reach generated $200 million.

According to Spencer, the total makes Halo: Reach the fastest selling title of 2010; however, the Microsoft exec also confirmed Reach outsold Microsoft's previous first-party record-holder Halo 3. This, Spencer says, puts Reach at the top of all single-day totals for entertainment, including movies, for the year. Read more »

[Update 6:40pm] A Microsoft spokesperson has told Shacknews, "We are aware of the issue and are looking into it." The wording here makes it seem like the game may not be functioning as intended. Perhaps it was supposed to be able to function on flash memory, either internal to the new 4GB Xbox 360 or connected via USB. We'll keep you updated with further developments.

[Original Story] Hoping to jump online with friends for some online co-op in Halo: Reach? You'd better be equipped with an Xbox 360 hard drive. Kotaku received a user tip that online campaign and Firefight play is not possible without an Xbox 360 HDD and Shacknews has confirmed that this is indeed the case. Read more »

With Halo: Reach out worldwide today, you probably have a thing or two to say about Bungie's swan song for the franchise. With that in mind, we gladly present you with one of our patented Shacknews launch-day chat & discussion threads.

To hide spoilers, enclose your tantalising titbit within spoiler Shacktags, o[like this]o. Read more »

[Update - 7PM CST] The contest is now closed! No further entries will be accepted. A winner will be chosen shortly via random selection.

Congratulations to our winner, giantsquirrel, check your Shackmessages and e-mail. Read more »

This is Bungie's final Halo game and it represents the culmination of a decade of development by Bungie on the series. As a package, it comes with more gameplay options than any other game in the franchise and arguably the most out of any console FPS to date.

There are four key pieces of content in Halo: Reach, each with the potential for countless hours of enjoyment depending upon your own personal preferences. They are campaign, Firefight, multiplayer, and content creation, which surfaces in all three modes and includes Forge, custom gametypes, and films. Read more »

Bungie's Halo: Reach is arguably one of the biggest video game releases of 2010. Over the last week we've featured multiplayer tips for newcomers and dusty veterans alike and a detailed storyline primer of the events leading up the the Fall of Reach.

Read more »

With Bungie's final Halo title launching on September 14, Shacknews decided to recap the major events and programs that led to the battle on the planet known as Reach. The following primer will fill you in on the backstory of the Halo Universe prior to the events of Halo: Reach the game--and well before any other game in the series.

While the Halo brand is synonimous with the character of Master Chief, you play as a different Spartan in Halo: Reach. As Noble Team's replacement sixth member, you and the rest of your fireteam must face-off against the brutal Covenant army and hold out hope for humanity's survival. But where did it all begin? Read more »