So it seems that as of today 343 Industries has some big news for us Halo fans. Xbox will be putting a lot of money towards the web series now known as “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.” At this moment in time we know the website Machinima and the online community Halo Waypoint will be playing these new videos in the weeks leading up to the release of Halo 4.
Now, we also know that in the past other live-action shorts have appeared right before the launch of new Halo titles. According to Matt McCloskey, Director of Franchise Business Management at 343, Microsoft wants to use the Halo 4 web series as a way to make Halo, as a whole, accessible to users who’ve yet to play any of the games. He further adds that, “…we wanted to do something unique from a narrative standpoint that’s big in scale.” The web series is “…not just a marketing piece…” to promote the game. “We wanted to go way beyond that and transform this live-action exploration from advertising into a full standalone product that people will enjoy.” Frank O’Connor, Franchise Development Director at 343, also adds, “Every time we do a live-action commercial, the audience says, “We want to see more so that we can explore the ‘Halo’ universe a little bit more.’ Demand grew more and more out of the two little vignettes we’d previously produced.”
The new web series will be released over the course of five weeks, running around 15 minutes each. They will tell an original story about Master Chief and a young UNSC cadet who took inspiration from him, eventually becoming a leader aboard the UNSC Infinity. The web series will tie in with the plot of Halo 4 while simultaneously providing a flashback to the war between the humans and Covenant at the beginning of the Halo franchise.
Halo 4 is sure to be a grand adventure once it releases on November 6th, 2012. Of course, I’ll be going crazy day by day until the release, and with the announcement of a web series, I’ll be looking forward to a lot of great Halo content in the leadup. For more information on the Halo franchise, please visit the Halo home page.
