Initially developed for Xbox by Bungie Studios, "Halo: Combat Evolved" is a science-fiction first-person shooting game that takes place on a mysterious alien ring-world. The PC adaptation is being developed by Texas-based Gearbox Software and based on the game's original concept. Gearbox has a strong reputation for bringing triple-A gaming franchises to multiple platforms.

"PC gamers worldwide will soon be able to dig into the addictive gameplay of 'Halo,'" said Stuart Moulder, general manager, Microsoft Game Studios. "By combining the success of 'Halo' on Xbox with Gearbox's proven talent in the first-person shooter genre, PC gamers are guaranteed a lively and 'up-all-hours' single and multiplayer experience on the PC."

The award-winning "Halo: Combat Evolved" for Xbox earned the distinguished honor of being the fastest million-unit seller ever for any next-generation console according to NPDFunworld (SM). Statistically, this means that more than six copies of "Halo: Combat Evolved" were sold every minute of every day between the launch of Xbox on November 15, 2001 and April 8, 2002.

"We've been dying to play Halo online with a PC ever since its spectacular launch last year," said Gearbox Software President Randy Pitchford. "The team at Gearbox has the experience and the talent to not only bring Halo to the PC, but also to add enhancements that exploit the multiplayer capabilities that PCs are known for."

The Macintosh version of "Halo: Combat Evolved" will be developed by Westlake Interactive and published by Destineer, which has brought other top Microsoft games to the Macintosh including "Age of Empires II" and "Links Championship Edition." Development of the Macintosh versions of "Halo" will occur simultaneously with Gearbox's development of the PC version.

"Our goal is for Mac and Windows users to battle each other on foot, in vehicles, and in the air next summer when the best first-person shooter ever created comes to both Macintosh and Windows," according to Destineer President Peter Tamte.

Halo for PC is expected to be available in summer 2003. The Macintosh version is also expected to be available in 2003. Additional information regarding game content, features and enhancements will be announced at a later date.