Microsoft Confirms Halo 3 for 2006

For a game that's yet to be officially announced, Halo 3 is drawing a lot of attention. And it's only going to increase with the release confirmed for this year.

Considering how popular Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 were (the latter was the most popular game on the Xbox), it's perhaps surprising to note the technicality that Microsoft has yet to formally announced Halo 3 to Xbox 360. Nevertheless, the company is hinting that the game is coming out this year.

Asked by Next Generation whether Halo 3 would hit this year, Microsoft's Shane Kim said: "It depends. If it's the game that everyone is expecting then, yes. For us it's about making a proper impact on the platform. It has to be something with huge significance, so we won't be rushed."

Part of Microsoft's reluctance to force Master Chief's third adventure into the spotlight right now is to avoid stealing attention from the other big games coming out in the second wave of titles for the Xbox 360.

"We don't want all the hype and speculation to overshadow some of the great titles that do have coming this holiday and thereafter. Gears of War has an incredible level of anticipation. I think it has more anticipation than Halo did before Halo came out."

But does Kim's revelation that Halo 3 is coming this year say anything else? Microsoft has been clear that it will use its big titles to launch new features on Live, such as Project Gotham Racing 3, which introduced spectator mode via GothamTV.

It would seem natural that the company would use its biggest game - announced or not - to usher in more functionality for its core feature. Expect a lot more taunting and teasing in the run up to Microsoft's showing at E3.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games