It's been almost three years since gamers last suited up as Master Chief on a brand new adventure in Halo 4. While there were a number of major plot developments during the course of that game's narrative, gamers have been chomping at the bit to get their hands on the next core iteration of the series. That next iteration, Halo 5: Guardians, is set to arrive in the near future, but 343 Industries is already hard at work mapping out the sixth installment of the franchise.

It's odd to think that Halo 6 (or whatever it ends up being officially titled) is already in the planning stages, but this is a fairly normal aspect of development. That said, the team is said to still be hard at work on Halo 5: Guardians, as the game approaches its release this October – as well as all of the free content planned to release post-launch.

This information came about during a recent interview between GamesRadar and Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor, where the developer elaborated on the current state of Halo 6. While his statement isn't all that revealing in regards to the future narrative may entail, it's still surprising to hear that this is the first time O'Connor has been in a position where he was certain about what would happen in the next iteration.

"We do kind of know what's going to happen in the next game pretty well at this point. We're doing serious, real planning and even some writing on the next game already, and that's a luxury – we've never been in that position before. So we both know at a very high level what’s going to happen in, say, ten years from now. But at that very granular level knowing what’s going to happen in the next game and that’s just been a great feeling for me."

It's been said before that Halo has a 10 year plan by Frank O'Connor, which makes it odd that he claims that he's "never been in that position before." Whatever the reason for those comments, it makes sense that the studio is already mapping out the next adventure that Master Chief will find himself on – provided he manages to survive the events of the next game. With a cast full of new and returning characters, however, it's impossible to say what will happen in the series next.

While the next story has been figured out, one of the more redeeming aspects of the franchise has always been its multiplayer. Halo 5 in particular is set to arrive with a brand new Warzone mode, which adds some of the biggest multiplayer battles ever seen in the series. If Halo 6 takes on those same ambitions with its online multiplayer component, then fans should be in for an entry just as anticipated and seemingly worthwhile as Guardians.

Halo 5: Guardians is set to arrive exclusively for Xbox One on October 27, 2015.

Source: GamesRadar