Microsoft has sent their hometown pride parade a special gift as a show of support, giving the parade a special guest in the form of one of the Xbox's most iconic characters.
Master Chief, the star of the Halo series, is part of the Seattle Pride Parade, along with a working replica of the series' most famous vehicle, the Warthog, in the parade as well. In addition, several marchers in the parade were wearing special pride-flavored UNSC shirts. Images of Master Chief and the Warthog can be seen here and here and originally reported on by Kotaku. Other companies seen at the parade include Amazon.com and Chipotle.
This looks like a bold move by Microsoft, especially in wake of the Supreme Court decision to strike down the DOMA act. Microsoft sent possibly the greatest original character in their roster to add some unique Seattle flavor to the event, and the tech giant should be applauded for this public show of support.
Halo has been in the news after 343 Industries, the developer of the series, revealed during E3 that a new Halo title will be available for the Xbox One sometime in 2014. While there was some confusion over the fact that the title of the game was not revealed, Microsoft exec Phil Spencer confirmed that the footage shown was for Halo 5, and not a spinoff such as "Halo: Reach." While not much is known about the game, Halo 5 will continue the Reclaimer Trilogy started with the first Halo game developed by 343 Industries, Halo 4.
343 Industries is looking for someone to bring the series legendary multiplayer to a new level of excellence. The Halo series is known for the having a vibrant and active multiplayer community and it will be a tough task to revamp that aspect of the game without angering at least a portion of that large community.