The entertainment industry is bracing for a big night tonight as thousands of fans around the globe finally get their hands on one of the most highly anticipated games of the year: "Halo 2," available exclusively Xbox. Gamers, celebrities, adrenaline junkies and industry paparazzi worldwide will converge at hundreds of lively launch soirees and thousands of retail outlets when the game officially goes on sale just after midnight.

With three weeks to go before the game hits store shelves, pre-orders for "Halo 2" – the highly anticipated Xbox exclusive from Microsoft Game Studios – have eclipsed the 1.5 million mark in the United States.

With slightly less than a month to go until Halo 2's official release, malicious hackers have struck once again. After last year's Half-Life 2 theft, it seems a PAL/French version of Bungie's FPS has been leaked onto various ftp sites, peer-to-peer networks and Usenet newsgroups. Microsoft is currently on a press tour showing off the full game to various magazines, albeit in a closed environment. Apparently Microsoft is already aware of the leak and is said to be investigating the matter, "aggressively pursuing the source of this illegal act" (thanks VE3D).

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that Halo 2 for Xbox has gone gold and will ship simultaneously over three days to 27 countries in eight languages on November 9th, most European countries will have to wait an extra 2-3 days.

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth.

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. Our preview turned out way longer than we anticipated, so here is part 2, and final one, of our big indepth Halo 2 preview..

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. Our preview turned out way longer than we anticipated, so here is part 1 of our big indepth Halo 2 preview..

Microsoft today announced the Xbox Live Backstage Pass Sweepstakes featuring Halo 2, which will give 20 lucky winners from around the world the chance to play Halo 2 multiplayer before the most anticipated game of the year hits store shelves in North America on November 9, 2004.

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth.

Microsoft has issued a new patch for Gearbox/Bungie's first person shooter Halo: Combat Evolved. This upgrade brings your Halo retail to v1.05 and addresses a rare crash bug that could occur if a malicious individual (hacker) purposely sends a malformed packet to a game server, as well as fixes to resolve compatibility problems with WinXP SP2 and certain 256MB video cards, which could cause the game not to launch, or not to display chat messages (thanks Joe). Read more for details and download links ...

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. Read more for some new multiplayer screens...

Xbox today announced it will be releasing a Limited Collector's Edition of the highly anticipated Halo 2, that includes a copy of the game plus a 2nd DVD packed with extra content.

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today announced a movie-style promotional campaign for the launch of the most anticipated game this year, Halo 2. Beginning today and continuing through August, a Halo 2 theatrical trailer will be shown in more than 1500 Loews Cineplex Entertainment movie screens in the U.S. before many of the hottest films of the summer.

Microsoft today announced that people in the UK will have to wait a few extra days as the highly-anticipated Halo 2 will hit UK retail shelves on Thursday, November 11, 2004. Halo 2 is getting released in North America on November 9, 2004.

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. Read more for some new screens...

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth. Read more for some new screens...

Earlier today, a story on IGN caused a ruckus when somebody asked whether there was truth to the rumor of a GBA version of Bungie's FPS Halo being in the works. A moderator replied, acknowledging the rumor and then suggested that there could very well be truth to the story. That, in turn, triggered a reply in the Bungie forums, where they claim a Halo GBA version is very "unlikely," and there are no plans for it. The previously-mentioned IGN moderator is "sticking to [his] guns" and claims to have heard from several development sources that such plans HAVE existed since last Christmas. Read all about it over at IGN...

Halo 2, a sci-fi action/first-person shooter game, is a full sequel to the best-selling original and will continue the story of the Master Chief, a genetically enhanced supersoldier who is the only man who has successfully defied the Covenant, a coalition of alien races on a murderous march toward Earth.

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today announced that Halo 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the hugely successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved, will land on store shelves on November 9, 2004. In what promises to be one of the biggest launches in videogame history, Halo 2 will be the focus of an extensive marketing campaign that includes cinema, print, outdoor, online and television advertising.

Halo Custom Edition is a new version of Halo that is free for all HaloPC owners (meaning you need a HALO PC CD key to install). This unsupported version of HaloPC is a stand alone version created to introduce a bunch of new features to HaloPC. The most important of which is the ability to play user created content. HaloCE features a set of tools, tutorials and source art, a powerful package (Halo Editing Kit) which will allow users to create their own custom content for HaloCE. Read more for details and download links ...

Halo Custom Edition is a new version of HaloPC that is free for all HaloPC owners. This unsupported version of HaloPC is a stand alone Gearbox Software release and is not supported by Microsoft. HaloCE was created as a way for Gearbox to introduce a bunch of new features to HaloPC. The most important of which is the ability to play user created content. HaloCE will feature a set of tools, tutorials and source art, a powerful package which will allow users to create their own custom content for HaloCE. You can read all about on the Gearbox Forum..

Microsoft Corp. today announced a pairing of epic proportions: a limited-edition retail special featuring the Xbox and all-time Xbox best-seller "Halo" for only $169. Shipping to U.S. retailers April 13, the coveted combo features a special "Halo"-branded, green Xbox console and "Halo" jeweled controller with a copy of the game. However, only the best and brightest - or at least the fastest - fans will taste the glory: Just 200,000 of the boxed sets are available.

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that 19 gamers representing nine nations will be duking it out on February 17 at the Halo for Windows Worldwide Championship in Los Angeles, California. The Halo for Windows Worldwide Championship is a truly global event; spanning more than 275 iGames centers and worldwide partners gaming centers across five continents, including locations in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and the United Kingdom. Read more for additional details ...

Microsoft has issued a new patch for Gearbox/Bungie's first person shooter Halo: Combat Evolved. This upgrade brings your retail copy to v1.04 and addresses a rare crash bug that could occur if a malicious individual (hacker) purposely tries to exploit the GameSpy CDKey SDK. An v1.04 updated Win32 dedicated server is also available. Read more for details and download links ...

Critically acclaimed science fiction writer and HALO alumnus Eric Nylund leads thrilled readers back into the maelstrom of the Human-Covenant War¯and explores the further adventures of the enigmatic Master Chief¯in HALO: FIRST STRIKE (Del Rey Mass Market Original; December 15, 2003; $6.99), the official prequel to the highly anticipated Xbox game HALO 2 from Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios.