Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the Halo universe where players command armies of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Citing reliable inside sources, the Angry Pixel blog claims that Halo Wars is coming to PC and feature cross-platform play, co-op, a map editor, no resource and unit management usually found in the Age of Empires series, and possibly even user content playable on X360. More at GDC!

Microsoft launched a European competition looking for fans to help create and show the unseen adventures of Master Chief. The Halo: Recut contest encourages gamers and filmmakers alike to be as creative as possible, with the lucky winner scooping a once-in-a-lifetime master-class trip to Los Angeles.

In an interview with Newsweek, Bungie writing director Joseph Staten reveals that Master Chief would be relegated to a more supporting role, because it would be too hard for a lead character whose face is always hidden by a helmet, and has mere one liners for dialogue, to carry the movie. Instead Master Chief was to serve as source of mystery, an anonymous problem solver for other characters to discuss and talk about, while they carried the movie.

Microsoft and the U.S. Army announced that U.S. gamers will have a chance to prove their skills in the first ever Halo 3 Championship Tournament, hosted exclusively on Xbox Live. Registration will begin in March, and the actual tournament kicks off in April 2008, preceded by Basic Combat Training exercises.

Designed exclusively for the X360 by Ensemble Studios, known for the Age of Empires series, Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the Halo universe. Players will command armies of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind.

After being lauded by Time Magazine yesterday, MCV's annual independent retailer survey reveals that UK stores pick Halo 3 as the best single moment in 2007, while Microsoft was voted the best in terms of overall quality and attitude throughout the year. To complete the hat trick, 49% of the UK retailers think Xbox 360 will win the next-gen battle.

Time Magazine has compiled a list of its top 10 video game picks for the year. The usual suspects are present and accounted for (Bioshock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mass Effect, The Orange Box, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy), and there are a couple of surprises (Ace Combat 6 and God of War II), but Halo 3 takes Time Magazine's top honors. "In one of the greatest years video gaming has ever seen, Halo 3 is the very best of the bunch."

Halo 3 players will be able to continue the fight as Microsoft has released the Heroic Map Pack, three all new multiplayer maps for its recent sci-fi FPS, the first in a series of downloadable content from Bungie Studios to come via Xbox LIVE.

Halo 3 players will be able to continue the fight as Microsoft announced three all new multiplayer maps to be released on Dec. 11 as part of the Heroic Map Pack, the first in a series of downloadable content from Bungie Studios to come via Xbox LIVE.

Halo 3 players will be able to continue the fight as Microsoft announced three all new multiplayer maps to be released on Dec. 11 as part of the Heroic Map Pack, the first in a series of downloadable content from Bungie Studios to come via Xbox LIVE.

Neversoft, Bungie, Activision/RedOctane, and Microsoft have all joined forces to bring players the Halo theme (MJOLNIR Mix) as a free playable song for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, downloadable through Xbox Live on Thursday, Nov. 22nd.

Halo 3 players will be able to continue the fight as Microsoft announced three all new multiplayer maps to be released on Dec. 11 as part of the Heroic Map Pack, the first in a series of downloadable content from Bungie Studios to come via Xbox LIVE.

Microsoft has launched a new promotion: If you buy an Xbox 360 before Dec. 21, you can have a copy of Bungie's sci-fi FPS Halo 3 sent to you. To take advantage of the promo, all you need to do is sign in on Xbox/Windows Live, register this page on your PC, enter the XBX7777 code, and submit your new console's serial number and a valid mailing address. A brand spanking new copy of Halo 3 should arrive shortly thereafter.

Sumthing Else Music Works presents Halo 3 Original Soundtrack. The highly anticipated original soundtrack comes in a 2-CD set featuring the game’s original music score and will be released on Nov. 20th to US retail outlets through Nile Rodgers’ Sumthing Else Music Works label and via digital download.

Nollenberger Capital Partners analyst Todd Greenwald has commented on the early success of Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, saying that it may very well outpace Halo 3's record-breaking sales. Released earlier this week, most retail stores have already sold out, with only pre-orders being assured. "Keep in mind, CoD4 is launching on four times as many platforms (360, PS3, PC, DS) as Halo 3 (360). Halo 3 has so far sold about four million units. A year ago, Call of Duty 3 sold about three million units, and we anticipate this year's version could do four million or more," he predicted.

An interview with Bungie studio manager Harold Ryan gives more details about the split with Microsoft, but also reveals some future plans. First, the obvious: Bungie is currently working on Halo 3 downloadable content with new maps, but now that the studio is independent, a new IP is also in the works. Last, but not least, "we have other Halo games that are cranking along also."

In celebration of Halloween, Bungie announced a 27-hour zombie marathon (Oct. 31 at 12:01 AM - Nov. 1 at 3:00 AM). Inspired by a Halo 2 community-made custom game, it pits humans against zombies, with the odds stacked heavily against the zombies at first, but when a human is killed by a zombie (as they inevitably are), they join the zombie team and turn on their former teammates.

The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) announced today that it will host a $1,000,000 Halo 3 competition at the Extreme Winter Championships taking place Tuesday, Dec. 18 to Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas, Texas.

Fueled by the Halo 3 effect, Xbox 360 sales experienced a 50% increase in Sept., selling more than 528k units, compared to 501k for Wii, 496k for NDS, 285k for PSP, 215k for PS2 and 119k for PS3. Software sales amassed a total of $1.3B, a 74% increase compared to Sept. 2006, no doubt due to the 3.3 million copies of Halo 3 in circulation.

The epic saga continues with Halo 3, the third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. Microsoft is sponsoring a nationwide contest to identify one lucky artist or band to be included on the “Official Halo 3 Original Soundtrack.”

The epic saga continues with Halo 3, in this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. Bungie has released the first patch for Halo 3 addressing some Matching playlist issues.

Microsoft announced that Halo 3 has garnering more than $300 million in sales in the first week alone, and initial retailer reports show console sales worldwide have more than doubled compared to the weekly average before the launch of Halo 3.

Microsoft announced that its Xbox 360 exclusive game "Halo 3" has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours, beating previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like "Spider-man 3" and novels such as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

If, for any reason, you have a damaged Microsoft Xbox 360 disc and like to replace it, Microsoft will send you a replacement disc. This program is good only for X360 console owners in countries where Xbox 360 is sold at authorized retail locations. This program covers the Halo 3 Limited Edition Game Disc and Essentials Disc at no charge through 12/31/07.

The epic saga continues with Halo 3, in this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. If you are not in line to pick up your copy yet, here's some screens to tide you over.