On Wednesday July 20th, Bungie will release Autoupdate 4, a small file that updates your version of Halo 2 to mostly address cheating, strengthen security or minor, invisible bugs, but one thing you will notice right away, is that the Relic teleporter bug has been fixed, so you can no longer crouch jump to get through a locked teleporter. If you Xbox contains modded Xbox content, softmods, Action Replay saves, you will be permanently banned from matchmaking. Head on over here for more juicy details ...

The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack, now avaiualble for $19.99 (U.S.), adds nine all-new multiplayer maps, previously unreleased footage including an animated feature highlighting an unseen battle in Old Mombasa and a mini documentary showcasing the creative process behind the new multiplayer maps. The map pack disc also contains the Halo 2 Auto Update, providing non-Live gamers with the ability to enjoy recent gameplay enhancements and improvements, as well as all previous Xbox Live updates.

The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack adds nine all-new multiplayer maps, additional bonus content showcases previously unreleased footage including an animated feature highlighting an unseen battle in Old Mombasa and a mini documentary showcasing the creative process behind the new multiplayer maps. The map pack disc also contains the Halo 2 Auto Update, providing non-Live gamers with the ability to enjoy recent gameplay enhancements and improvements.

Tomorrow Halo 2 fans with Xbox Live access will be able to get a sneak peek at the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack. The multiplayer expansion pack contains nine new multiplayer maps to push gamers' skills to their limits. Xbox Live subscribers will be able to preview the four maps, and by late summer, all maps will be available for free. Read more for some screens ...

Bungie's Frank O'Connor has put up his weekly "What's Update" in which he reveals that Halo 2 player will be getting an Xbox Live Auto Update on Monday, addressing various cheats, bugs, glitches and implement some important weapon balance issues in order to smooth out the Xbox Live and System Link experience. The fuse on grenades has been shortened, and they are now also more powerful, melee attacks will do more damage, and various cheats like the standby cheat, flag bouncing, the ability to grab a flag through walls and sword flying have all been eliminated. People who are not on Xbox Live will still be able to get this auto update when they purchase the multiplayer maps retail version, scheduled for June 28.

Microsoft Game Studios has announced a June 28 release date for the highly anticipated Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack. The multiplayer expansion pack contains nine new multiplayer maps to push gamers' skills to their limits. The retail package also contains two new videos: an animated side-story from the single-player story in New Mombasa and a mini-documentary that includes interviews with the map designers, combat strategies and fly-throughs of the new maps. Xbox Live subscribers will get a four-map sneak peek in April, and by late summer, all maps will be available for free. Read more for details ...

Revealed on the Korean Xbox website, it seems Microsoft and Bungie are gearing up to release a previously unannounced addon for Halo 2. Speculation has it that the Halo 2 X-Pack addon will feature eight new maps, but there is no confirmation from Microsoft in any way on the validity of the information. We contacted the Powers That Be and got the usual "no comment" reply, which could either mean it's bogus information or that an announcement is imminent and no details are supposed to be released yet. Sources also claim that after its initial retail debut, the addon will be released through Xbox Live at a pace of two maps at a time.

Yes, today is the day to answer the call to save Earth and all of humankind in the tournament we've all been waiting for. Gamers have two weeks from today, 7th March, to register in what is the first stage of the Halo 2 Championship, hosted on the Xbox Live service. Registration closes on 20th March when eight winners will battle to win the title of UK Halo 2 Champion and, ultimately, the chance to take part in the Xbox Live Halo 2 Worldwide Finals in April.

Kicking off the start of the frenzied holiday shopping season, retailers welcomed hordes of Xbox consumers over Thanksgiving weekend. Gamers flocked to purchase the Xbox video game system, Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games, not the least of which was the blockbuster "Halo 2."

Bungie and Microsoft have issued yet another Halo 2 auto-update via Xbox Live mainly making significant updates to the Xbox Live Matchmaking Playlists. Read more for details ...

Bungie and Microsoft have issued a Halo 2 auto-update via Xbox Live today addressing a few issues with its FPS which will improve the functionality of Halo 2, such as addressing Matchmaking issues, 480p resolutions on a wide range of HDTV and EDTV displays and unlocking the Foundation multiplayer map. Read more for details ...

Halo 2 broke entertainment retail records in its first 24 hours on store shelves. Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the highly-anticipated game sold through 2.4 million units in the U.S. and Canada, driving cash register receipts to the $125 million mark.

Halo 2 is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief—a genetically enhanced super-soldier—is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.

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.

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.