The Master Chief will be returning to Xbox One via a highly anticipated video game but it will initially be in beta version. The full version is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2015, still.
"Arguably the most anticipated and beloved game in Xbox history, the Master Chief will hit Microsoft's newest console with the original "Halo 2" multiplayer completely intact," notes IGN in a June 9 report.
The Master Chief will take centerstage again with the beta version of "Halo 5: Guardians" set for December 2014 release on Xbox One, reports Breathe Cast.
On November 11, the beta version of "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" will also become available on the PC and Xbox One.
That's exactly 10 years and two days since 343 Industries' "Halo 2" was released on Xbox on November 9, 2004, details the IGN report.
The original "Halo: Combat Evolved" has been the flagship video game of Xbox since 2001. It was due to the game that millions of video game enthusiasts were convinced to purchase the original Xbox, recounts Cinema Blend.
Microsoft is obviously pinning its hope that "Halo 5: Guardians" will give its new-generation console the lift that its predecessors gave the original Xbox, notes Cinema Blend.
"We are intentionally putting out the beta a year early so we can get fans' feedback to make sure that we are building the multiplayer that they want to play," Bonnie Ross of 343 Industries was quoted as saying.
A New Hero or Not
Cinema Blend hints of the synopsis of "Halo 5: Guardians" from a cinematic trailer that 343 Industries showed in the E3 event last year.
Master Chief, aka John-117, is the game's hero. Accordingly, in the fifth instalment of the franchise, he would face a number of challenges and tests in a galaxy somewhere and would need a Herculean effort to stay alive while continuously being hunted and on the run.
Because of the box art for "Halo 5: Guardians," where an armoured figure stands in the desert with a mirror image of the Master Chief, there were speculations that the character could be Spartan Palmer or Cortana, discloses Cinema Blend.
Mike Coulter, voice actor of Agent Locke was quoted as saying in an interview with Polygon that: "Once 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' is released, and then 'Halo 5: Guardians' comes out, you're basically going to be playing a game with me as the primary character."
"The relationship between Master Chief and Jameson Locke is going to be interesting. Because, what's the outcome? Is he dead or alive? Because that's usually what a manhunt comes down to, dead or alive. But you won't know what the purpose of finding Master Chief is (right away)," Coulter told Polygon.
Breathe Cast however reports that Frank Connor of 343 Industries immediately doused cold water on the rumors that Locke will be the main character of the game.
"Master Chief will remain as the primary hero in "Halo 5: Guardians," Connor, who is overseeing the game, reportedly said.