Halo 4 - Master Chief cloudwatching

With the necessary business of introducing Microsoft and Sony's next-gen consoles now out of the way it's time to talk games. Not launch titles, mind you, but serious flagship, console-moving games.

E3 2014 is widely considered to be ground zero for the biggest title announcements for both this year and next year, with many of the biggest franchises for both consoles slated to make an appearance. On the Microsoft side, one franchise we now know (for sure) will be making an appearance is Halo, although it's unclear in what form.

Microsoft's Phil Spencer confirmed the news earlier today with the below message:

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However, much like we've been hearing thus far, Spencer is gun shy about saying the words "Halo 5," but kept things to the very basic Halo. That could be because Microsoft and 343 Industries are working out how best to position the next chapter in Master Chief's adventures and the Reclaimer Trilogy, or because the forthcoming game we will hear about is not a proper Halo sequel.

For quite some time there have been rumors that 343 is prepping a Halo 2 Anniversary Edition, and that possibility was further confirmed by Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes. Since his comments, though, Downes has backed away from talk of Halo 2 Anniversary, so it's hard to get a read on that.

Then, there is a quote from Microsoft's Rob Semsey in January, which claimed that the "next Halo journey will begin in 2014." That quote seemed to suggest Halo 5 was on track for a 2014 release, but, again, it's still hard to figure that out.

The idea of a Halo plan certainly has us intrigued, but in the mean time it would be nice to have a few clues as to what fans can expect at E3. Most want Halo 5 — they've been anticipating it since that initial teaser trailer — and the expectation is that it will hit the Xbox One sooner rather than later. We'll have to wait until June to see.

What do you think Microsoft and 343 Industries will announce at E3 2014? Would you be disappointed if Halo 5 did not make an appearance?

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Source: Phil Spencer