The games of the main Halo trilogy were developed by , and are in which the player experiences most action from the protagonist's perspective. The first title in the series is the version of , released on November 15, 2001. The game was initially intended to be released for Windows and , until 's purchase of Bungie in 2000 led to the game becoming an Xbox launch title and platform exclusive.Halo: Combat Evolved introduced many gameplay and plot themes common to the whole trilogy. Players battle various aliens on foot and in vehicles to complete objectives, while attempting to uncover the secrets of the Halo. One concept introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved, is limiting the number of weapons players could carry to two, forcing them to carefully select their preferred armament. Players fight with ranged and melee attacks, as well as a limited number of grenades. Bungie refers to the "weapons-grenades-melee" format as the "Golden Triangle of Halo", which has remained fundamentally unchanged throughout the trilogy. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the player's health is measured in both and a continually recharging energy shield; the sequels forgo the hit point system, although it returns in spin-offs. A and was later developed by , and released on September 30 and November 11, 2003, respectively. A stand-alone expansion, entitled Halo: Custom Edition, was released as a Windows exclusive, and allowed players to create custom content for the game.
Its sequel, was released on the Xbox on November 9, 2004, and later for on May 17, 2007. For the first time, the game was released in two different editions: a standard edition with just the game disc and traditional Xbox packaging; and the Collector's Edition with a specially designed aluminum case, along with an additional bonus DVD, extra booklet, and slightly different user manual. Halo 2 introduced new gameplay elements, chief among them the ability to hold and fire two weapons simultaneously, known as "dual wielding". Unlike its predecessor, Halo 2 fully supported online multiplayer via . The game uses "matchmaking" to facilitate joining online matches by grouping players looking for certain types of games. This was a change from the more traditional "server list" approach, which was used to find matches in online games at this time. Upon release, Halo 2 became the game played by the most people on the Xbox Live service that week; it retained this title for over two years – the longest streak any game has held the spot.
is the final game in the main Halo trilogy, ending the begun in Halo: Combat Evolved. The game was released on the on September 25, 2007. It adds to the series new vehicles, new weapons, and a class of items called equipment. The game also includes a limited map-editing tool, known as the Forge, which allows players to insert game objects, such as weapons and crates, into existing multiplayer map geometry. Players can also save a recording of their gameplay sessions, and view them as video, from any angle.
At E3 2014, Microsoft and 343 Industries announced , released on November 11, 2014. The collection is an all-in-one disc that includes the full campaigns and multiplayer for Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4.
Reclaimer saga[]Main articles: and
Following Bungie's split from Microsoft, – a studio established by Microsoft in 2009 – took the helm of the Halo franchise. 343 had already co-developed the animated series and had overseen production of and . The next game in the series, , was announced at 2011 as the first entry in what would be a new series of Halo games, also known as the "Reclaimer Trilogy". The game included many staples of previous games, such as new or redesigned weapon types, an improved map-editing tool and expanded multiplayer options and maps.Halo 4 was released worldwide on November 6, 2012, achieving record sales for the franchise. In a new addition to the series, a story-driven multiplayer campaign entitled was released over the weeks following Halo 4 's release, telling what happened after the end of the main game.
At E3 2013, Microsoft announced a new, then untitled addition to the Halo series, along with a trailer appearing to depict a post-Halo 4 Master Chief wearing a cloak. The upcoming Halo game is confirmed to be only on the Xbox One, and claimed to run at 60 . After E3, Microsoft Studios corporate vice president said that the "Reclaimer [t]rilogy" had been expanded into a longer series of games, saying they "[didn't] want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy". Spencer also clarified in an interview with IGN that while the next-gen game was not Halo 5, it was a "legitimate" entry in the game series rather than a spin-off. On May 16, 2014, Microsoft confirmed that the next Halo game will be titled . The game will take place on many different worlds, mainly the Covenant's, and will revolve around Spartan Locke attempting to hunt down Master Chief. This will be the first game in the Halo series where players switch between two teams in Campaign at certain times: Master Chief's team, consisting of the Spartans in the Blue team, and Spartan Locke's team called Fireteam Osiris, consisting of fellow Spartans such as Buck from Halo 3: ODST.[]
Spin-offs[]Main articles: , , , , and
The success of the main Halo trilogy spurred the creation of spin-off games. is a game developed by for the Xbox 360. Set in the year 2531, the game takes place 21 years prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Much effort was spent on developing a control scheme that was simple and intuitive, unlike other console strategy games. The game was announced at , and released in February and March 2009.
In a July 2008 interview with , Microsoft's head of Xbox business, Don Mattrick, stated that Bungie was working on a new Halo game for Microsoft, independent of other Haloprojects. An announcement of the new Halo project was expected at the 2008 E3 game exposition, which Bungie stated "has been building for several months", but was delayed by their publisher Microsoft. The Halo announcement was to be part of Microsoft's 150-minute E3 presentation, and was cut to trim the presentation down to 90 minutes; Microsoft stated it wanted to give the game its own dedicated event. After the release of an ambiguous teaser trailer on September 25, the project was revealed as Halo 3: Recon, later changed to . Set between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, players take control of elite human soldiers called Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST). The game was released on September 22, 2009.
Announced at E3 2009, Halo: Reach is a prequel to the main trilogy and Bungie's last Halo game. Players control Noble Six, a "Hyper Lethal Vector" who is one of the members of the Spartan squad "Noble Team" as they defend Reach against the Covenant. The ending of the game leads directly into the events of Combat Evolved. The game was released on September 14, 2010.
