Halo Wars 2 will feature a robust, story-driven campaign and plenty of multiplayer action. While we’re not talking about the game’s story (or where it takes place in the Halo timeline) just yet, we are very excited about the way it contributes to the expanding Halo universe, and we look forward to sharing more in the future.

The last time we saw the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire in Halo Wars, they were settling in for a long cryosleep on their way home, knowing that with a little luck, they’d make it back to civilized space in one piece. Nearly 30 years later, they’re awakened to a new threat to the Halo universe and find themselves as the one thing standing between hope and annihilation. Halo Wars 2 will take you back to the Ark, introduce new heroes and villains, and deliver a new multiplayer mode that has the potential to push the real-time strategy genre forward.

Beyond the terrain and the world in which Halo Wars 2 takes place, its compliment of heroes and villains helps broaden the world. And because the UNSC Spirit of Fire and its crew are essentially in a place out of time, having been asleep for 28 years, they’ve missed all of the recent events that the Master Chief was a part of. This creates a unique setting for new players to the series, as they will be learning about the state of the universe alongside the crew of the Fire.

In January 2017 THQ Nordic announced that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft to bring Halo Wars 2 to retail, but apparently the plans for the North American edition have been canceled.

Earlier this month, you may have heard that we were partnering with our friends at THQ Nordic for worldwide availability of a physical retail version of Halo Wars 2 for Windows 10 PC. Since then, our retail plans have shifted and Microsoft has made the decision to focus the release of the physical retail version to Europe only. THQ Nordic is a great partner and they are working with us to ensure this transition remains smooth for our customers.

Halo Wars 2 for Windows 10 PC will remain available worldwide, digitally, via the Windows Store. We apologize to any customers affected by the change in our retail plans, and thank everyone for the continued support as we look forward to the release of Halo Wars 2 for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC on Feb. 21, 2017.