News: Halo 3 ODST sells 2.5 million and Microsoft has big plans for the Halo series (try to act surprised).
It seems that the lack of Master Chief in the latest Halo game, Halo 3: ODST, did not stop fans of the series from picking it up. According to an article in USA Today, the game sold almost 2.5 million copies in the first two weeks after its release. ODST's 2.5 million pushes the series' total sales to 27 million.
In addition to celebrating the Halo franchise's continued sales success, 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor (Microsoft's division that handles everything Halo-related) talked a little bit about the franchise's future, including games, comics, anime, novels and action figures.
When it comes to games, O'Connor would only confirm next year's prequel, Halo: Reach. However, he was much more forthcoming about the spinoffs to the franchise, which will include...
Two comic book miniseries, Halo: Helljumper and Halo: Blood Line. Issue 4 of Helljumper, which follows Dutch and Romeo from ODST, will be stores October 28 while the first issue of Blood Line, which follows unnamed Spartans performing secret operations, will be released on December 23.
The Halo Legends anime compilation, which is still scheduled to receive a preview on the new Halo Waypoint sometime this Fall.
Four more novels, including the short story collection Halo: Evolutions and a new trilogy written by Greg Bear. Evolutions will be released in November while Bear's trilogy (which will focus on the Forerunner mythology) will debut next year.
Finally, action figures. Todd McFarlane's McFarlane Toys will release the sixth wave of Halo action figures this month, including the main character from Halo 3: ODST, "The Rookie".
O'Connor did drop a few fresh hints on where the Halo universe is headed though. He revealed that Microsoft and 343 Industries have a "Six Year Plan" for the series that will tie all of the comics, novels and games into a cohesive canon. He also revealed that the Master Chief will probably not be left to float in space forever:
"I think that (his) fate, Cortana's fate and the identity of that giant, dark planet at the ending (on the game's hardest skill level) are probably big mysteries that would be irritating if they were just cliffhangers."
The only question now is will that story be told in a game, a comic or a novel?
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