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 »

[Update 11:45] A Microsoft spokesperson replied to our inquiry: "We do not comment on rumors or speculation."

[Original Story] Halo is almost a decade old, and 343 Industries might be celebrating the occasion with a remake of the game that started the franchise. According to Joystiq sources, the long-rumored remake of Halo: Combat Evolved is in the works for the Xbox 360 with new art assets and modern control options. Read more »

At Comic-Con 2010, 343 Industries' Frank O'Conner revealed that "we haven't seen the last of Master Chief," in a statement given to IGN.

Bungie's final Halo universe game, Halo: Reach, is a prequel to the original game and will not feature Master Chief, that we know of at this time. The ending of Halo 3 left things quite open for more Master Chief action. Read more »

Film site IESB is reporting that Steven Spielberg is in "active negotiations" to produce a film based on the Halo franchise.

Specifically, Spielberg is said to be "blown away" by screenwriter Stuart Beattie's (Pirates of the Caribbean, Collateral) recent spec script based on the Eric Nyland novel "Halo: The Fall of Reach." Read more »

Microsoft today announced "Halo Legends," a collection of short films produced by various Japanese animation houses, including those responsible for Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist and Dragon Ball.

Similar in concept to The Animatrix or Batman: Gotham Knight, each short will explore "different times, themes and characters" in the universe, with each sporting a distinct visual style. Microsoft Game Studios will be producing the series through its just-revealed 343 Industries division, which is dedicated entirely to the successful Halo franchise. Read more »

Along with its list of the most-played consoles in 2008, research group The Nielsen Company has provided its list of the past year's most popular PC games in the US.

Of the ten titles, none were released in 2008, and only 2 debuted in 2007. The list is based off data from January through October 2008, meaning that the impact of the second World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was not taken into account. Read more »

Microsoft has announced that Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved will be discounted by 50% for Xbox Live Gold members beginning tomorrow.

Normally priced at 1200 Points ($15), the downloadable version of the classic shooter will be available for 600 Points ($7.50), according to Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb. Read more »

Shacknews can corroborate word that former Metal Gear Solid 4 producer and one-time games journalist Ryan Payton will be serving as creative director on the new Halo project in development by Microsoft Game Studios and Peter Jackson.

Reports of Payton's new role surfaced on Kotaku as a rumor and "very reliable news," with Shacknews having heard the exact same information from its own reliable source. Read more »

Update: Gearbox has confirmed Yu's departure with Shacknews, adding that she served as director of platform technology, not technology director.

To clarify, Gearbox stressed that Sean Reardon has served as its technology director for many years, and that the confusion between the two's titles in recent media reports is said to have created challenges for them both.

Original Story: Amidst rumors and speculation that Brothers in Arms creator Gearbox has been tasked with developing Halo 4 for the Xbox 720, Kotaku reports that Gearbox technology director Corrinne Yu will soon depart to lead Halo technology development at Microsoft. Read more »

A new patch for the PC version of Halo 1 is now available, removing the CD check five years after the game was first released. A patch for Halo: Custom Edition is available as well.

In addition to removing the CD check from the game, the 1.08 patch takes care of server-crashing security bugs. As of tomorrow, this patch is required to continue to play online.

Halo series developer Bungie is working on an entirely new entry in the franchise beyond its assistance with Ensemble Studios' RTS title Halo Wars and the nebulous Peter Jackson-helmed Halo game.

Microsoft VP Don Mattrick revealed the news while he was speaking with MTV News this week, clearly stating that the new Bungie project will come in addition to Halo Wars and the Peter Jackson effort, often referred to as Halo Chronicles. Read more »

Update: Microsoft has confirmed to MTV Multiplayer that the job listings are indeed for Peter Jackon's Halo project, with the company stating that it has been hard at work in developing the title since its announcement in September of 2006.

"At this time, it's necessary to grow the internal team to keep pace with development," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Bungie will continue to remain involved in multiple aspects of the Halo Universe with [Microsoft Game Studios]." Read more »

Microsoft has issued the first Halo 2 Vista update, removing some errant nudity from the game. "[] We have updated the initial game packaging at retailers with a label, so customers are aware before purchasing the game... This packaging will only be labelled for the initial run of games; subsequent shipments will not include the content."

A new Halo 2 Vista blog is available at IGN. This installment deals with the dedicated server included with the game.