343 Industries has announced in this weeks bulletin that they will be shutting down the servers for Halo 2 vista, they said the reason for this is because the population has only been 20 at it's peak.

"To switch gears ever so slightly, we’re sad to report that the service end-date for Halo 2 PC Multiplayer will be February 15, 2013. We’ve been monitoring the population for months, and it’s been peaking consistently at approximately 20 players or less. Those that own this game can continue to enjoy Multiplayer over LAN after that date; however our network services will be turned off at that time. We love you, Halo 2 PC, and you will live forever in our hearts"

So for those few who still play it try and get in as much games as you can before the lights are switched off and the doors are locked for good.

Goodbye Halo 2 vista we love you.

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New Halo 4 Code

Turns out that there's a mod where you can take off all the armor—including, despite how baffling it might sound, your entire head.

People around the web seem confused as to whether or not this is a glitch, but it's something that can done on modded Xboxes.Though the video here is but a match replay, if you happen to know someone who uses the cheat and visit their Halo Waypoint profile, their Spartan will look just like that. All muscular and headless, I mean.

Update: Though footage makes it seem otherwise, the hitboxes on Spartans are still intact, so you can still shoot people in the head. Microsoft's comment on banning the cheaters:

"We are aware of the issue and have already taken action to identify and ban the accounts of these modders and cheaters. We want players to know that while the mod makes a player's head and armor appear to be invisible, the hit boxes are still intact, so competing players can still defeat them as usual. While the problem was very isolated, we will continue to diligently identify and take action against all offenders. " – Microsoft spokesperson

Players have reported encountering headless Spartans in multiplayer games, with the offending Spartan seemingly lacking any armor.

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Frank O'Connor talks a little bit about the next Halo project it's is now in the very early stages of development.

Read below for more details.

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343 Industries is gradually reallocating its teams to work on the next major Halo project, an executive at the studio has told CVG.

Frank O'Connor, the franchise development director for Halo, said that "a lot of people at 343 are already prototyping ideas and software and art for future Halo products".

He added: "I can't say more than that, but work on the game started actually before we launched Halo 4 and continues apace as we cycle staff through the team's vacation breaks. We're excited about the next game."

O'Connor didn't explicitly state that the next game is specifically Halo 5, though Microsoft has already confirmed that it is building a second trilogy of Halo titles.

Many within the 343 Industries studio are still working on post launch content for Halo 4, the latest being the curation of a

It has also developed a plot-led series of co-op games called Spartan Ops, which has been widely praised by critics. A second season of the co-op mode, however, remains up in the air.

"Spartan Ops season 2 is yet to be decided, we're looking at how the first season does," said O'Connor.

"We got such great responses from [live-action web series] Forward Unto Dawn and Spartan Ops that we're pretty happy with it and we're learning a lot of really interesting stuff for the future," he added. "You are going to see a spectrum of Halo support though the next year and beyond."

Here we have a walk through of the Halo 4 the Harvest map. Harvest is one of the new maps that will be included in the crimson map pack which will be released on December 10th.

Those who did not purchase the limited edition the map pack will be available form the marketplace for 800 microsoft point.

Video uploaded by IGN

We get a little look at the new map pack Crimson. The map pack releases on December 10th and it contains 3 new maps. Wreckage, Harvest and Shatter.

Crimson will be followed by the Majestic map pack which will be released February 25th 2013 then Castle map pack on April 1st 2013.

Video uploaded by Halo Waypoint.

Here we have another small insider for Halo 5, again mot much is revealed as it is still in very early stages. Read the article below for details and a couple of questions answered by 343 Industries franchide development director Frank O'connor.

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There are some things you’ve got to ask when in the middle of an interview, and in respect of the Halo 4 launch and the future of this franchise, it had to be details about Halo 5 and Xbox 720 that an interviewer would try and find segments of information. This is exactly what happened when Brier Dudley performed an interview with Halo development director at 343 Industries, Frank O’Connor, and asked about Halo 5.

From the answers given above you can pretty much count on a Halo 5 arriving at some point, unless Halo 4 is a complete disaster, and the fact that it will be crucial to the the Xbox 720 launch. You can read the full interview in

The dates for the new map packs for halo 4 have been revealed, it was seen in an advert on a German Xbox dashboard.

Crimson will be released on December 10th 2012.

Majestic will be released on February 25th 2013

Castle will be released on April 1st 2013.

Each of this map packs will contain 3 new maps.

Source: IGN

Click the link below about the news on the map packs and a "Whats New Halo 4" video.

There have been talks discussing what halo 5's story will be, obviously they aren't going to into all details about it yet but some interesting things have been discussed about the next story and also about it being on the next gen console. Read the article below for more details.

Credit to Lil Dog for finding this.

Source: Examiner

"Halo 4" brought Master Chief back in a fitting way this holiday season, but this is only the beginning for what's still to come from the series and on next-generation systems.

According to a report from Product Reviews on Thursday, apparently people are in favor of seeing the next few installments on next-generation platforms.

"We could simply see 'Halo 4': Next-gen land with improved graphics for the Xbox 720 at an event next year, but we’d favor something totally new in the form of 'Halo 5' with some major improvements in physics and graphics, which would be the bonus for the second and third games in this trilogy if they launch on the Xbox 720.

"If 'Halo 5' hasn’t been worked on this year then launching it next year might bring something with limited work done, so again this is why we’d prefer to see a 'Halo 5' more thought-out with a release date in 2014 on the next-gen Xbox," the report stated.

It went on to discuss how the next installment of the series could perhaps explain more about how Master Chief came to be.

"Some of the ideas we’ve seen for the 'Halo 5' story include the possibility of an episode in the theme of “Search for Spock“, which could see Master Chief leave Earth looking for Cortana, although we also hear that a lot of fans want to see how the Spartans were created and how they were broke to make them a Spartan.

"This would also deliver a lot more insight into how MC had been created, and what process he had to go through," the report stated.

On Monday there will be changes in the multiplayer game types Oddball and King of the hill. Read below for more details

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Dislike dying in multiplayer shooters? Put off by the idea of developing competence? Not a problem - join a team. You'll have more people to stand behind when the bullets are flying, and what's more, some of those people may be feeble-minded enough to heal you when you shoot your own feet with a grenade launcher. It's just like friendship in reality!

Thanks to the cushioning presence of players whose thumbs are on speaking terms with their brains, the acquisition of skill need never be a priority. Providing, that is, you stay away from certain special Halo 4 playlists. Alas, my fellow oafs - 343 is wise to our coward's tricks and has taken appropriate steps. Next Monday, the developer will add FFA Throwback to the Halo 4 playlists. Its contents: lone-wolf-only variants of Oddball and King of the Hill.

"If you've been dominating these modes with teammates, see how the game changes when it's every Spartan for themselves," gloats Jessica Shea, high mistress of Halo Waypoint. Be merciful, Jessica. I've only just worked out which end of a plasma sword does what.

The FFA Throwback maps are Haven, Adrift, Complex, Solace and Abandon, and you can bring up to seven other players to the party. You'll need 100 points to win on Oddball and 50 to win on King of the Hill, with a 12 minute time limit. Who's man or woman enough to get involved?

It's been said 343 Industries are looking to hire people with MMO experience. Could this mean a future Halo game will be an MMO game? Read the article below for more details.

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Microsoft has put out a call for staffers with massively multiplayer online game development experience to join 343 Industries to work on future Halo projects. Two

These job listings follow additional requisitions posted last week that indicated 343 Industries was staffing up for mystery

If Microsoft is building a Halo MMO, it will not be the first time the company has done so. The Microsoft-owned (and

Microsoft shipped Halo 4 earlier this month to a

Job listings from July suggest 343 Industries is at work on a

Here is a video showing us how to unlock all the raider armor in halo 4, also when unlocking the armor it gives the player some XP. To unlock this we need to enter codes on waypoint so here is video the showing us exactly what need to be done to get the armor.

All credit to Archangel Tyrael for finding this.

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It has been announced that Halo 4 has made $220 million within it's first 24 hours of release which makes it the most profitable Halo launch ever.

Despite a five-year absence, Master Chief is still packing plenty of firepower.

Microsoft announced its long-awaited first-person shooter Halo 4 raked in $220 million worldwide in the first 24 hours of release, which makes it the biggest Halo launch ever. The game is on track to earn $300 million in its opening week.

The company says more than 4 million players have tried Halo 4, which follows hero Master Chief as he confronts a new alien threat to the universe. To date, players have logged more than 5 billion hours playing games across the Halo franchise.

The series has been a massive hit for Microsoft and its Xbox video game consoles. With the arrival of Halo 4, the franchise has pulled in $3.38 billion, an impressive feat considering it's only available for one platform.

The announcement arrives as another blockbuster video game -- Call of Duty: Black Ops II -- prepares to hit stores this Tuesday. Last year's release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 pulled in $400 million in the first 24 hours.

The Halo bulletin.

Read below for more details

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Over the past few days, babies were born, presidents were elected, and games were released—one of which just happened to be Halo 4.

To say we’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our game would be an understatement. We’re humbled by your feedback and blown away by how many of you are spending significant amounts of time traversing our virtual battlefields. Here is a teeny-tiny peek into our day one numbers:

More people played Halo 4 in the first 24 hours than any other Halo launch day in history.

We’ll be sharing more details on Monday, but that should whet your appetite for the hard stats that are coming. Thank you for playing our game and stay tuned for additional updates, because we have some amazing things planned for the future of Halo 4.

Midnight Madness

It was a very surreal moment when the clock struck midnight on November 6. A day almost four years in the making, a single tick of the clock marked the occasion as stores around the world began releasing Halo 4 into the wild. From a

Check out this pictorial recap showing how your fellow community members celebrated the release of Halo 4.

The vast majority of 343 attended a launch event, and we had a blast celebrating the release of our game with you. We hope you had a good time, too!

Halo 4 Housekeeping

While the launch of Halo 4 went off without a hitch for the majority of you, a small percentage of players are experiencing a few different issues. We are tracking these issues and providing regular updates in the following forum thread: Issues being investigated.

Please utilize that thread for reporting any and all problems you may be experiencing (we also have a Halo 4 FAQ, so check to see if your issue has been covered there first). We kindly ask that you utilize that thread for actual issues with the game. While we absolutely care that you think Cortana’s thighs are too large, that is not the appropriate place to make that post. You know who you are.

Here are a few of the more common questions (and their relevant answers) we’re seeing right now.

Y U No have game manual?!

In an effort to save the world (and by world, we of course mean trees), we created an in-depth online interactive guide. You can access that here: http://www.halowaypo...n-US/Halo4Guide.

How does the install process for Disc 2 work?

Disc 2 contains largely multiplayer content. You can put it in at any time, even before Disc 1, and install the content. You will get a slideshow, some music and a progress bar. After a few minutes, you can remove that disc and never deal with it again. Everything multiplayer, including Spartan Ops, Forge and Campaign can then be launched from Disc 1.

My Disc 2 is failing to install. HELP!

If you’re experiencing issues installing Disc 2 content, choose “Spartan Ops” or “War Games” in the menu. You will see a message saying you need to install the content. Please choose the “Download from Xbox LIVE” option.

If you have done a partial install with Disc 2 (i.e., your last install was either corrupt or interrupted), delete the old package before attempting the reinstall process. You can delete the old package by following the below steps:

1. Go to the Xbox Dashboard

2. Go to the “Settings” tab

3. Select “System”

4. Select “Storage”

5. Select “All Devices”

6. Select “Games and Apps”

7. Select “Halo 4” from the list of games

8. Select “Spartan Ops Season 1.0”

9. Select “Delete”

10. Select “Yes” to confirm

11. After it deletes that package, select “War Games” from the list

12. Select “Delete”

13. Select “Yes” to confirm

My Xbox crashes every time I try to go to Halo Waypoint from Halo 4. Fix it!

You fix it! You can do that by deleting Halo Waypoint and reinstalling it.

What’s up with the daily XP cap?

The daily XP cap is intended to preserve the integrity of the progression system. In other words, it’s in place to provide an early gate from players running amok in their progression. When we launched, we had a bug where double XP tokens were being consumed even when you went over the cap. That has since been fixed. In the coming weeks, we will be monitoring how many players are hitting the cap so we can respond accordingly.

Sometimes I see a different set of hoppers, and my SR gets set back to 0. Why does that happen?

What you are seeing are “fallback hoppers”. When you enter this mode, you will see a UI notification. It shows up on the “Find Game” screen for War Games. In previous Halo titles, you’re dependent on the servers to get the information you needed for Matchmaing, and if they go down, you can’t play. Fallback hoppers are a new functionality for Halo 4, and they allow people to continue playing Halo 4 when there are server issues.

In order to preserve the integrity of the online experience, there are some limitations to this functionality:

• Reduced XP earn rate, counted as offline XP

• Players in the fallback hopper cannot play with those that are using the regular server hoppers

• Player customization is disabled (no armor, loadouts, emblem)

Since the server isn’t actually available in fallback hopper mode, you’ll be missing functionality that the server provides. This includes:

• Spartan Ops

• File Share

• Service Record

• Commendations

• Challenges

• Double XP tokens

You will automatically be switched to fallback hoppers if you fail to download a necessary file. You’ll remain in fallback hoppers for up to 10 minutes after the services return. When in this mode, it’s a good idea to relaunch the game on a regular basis, so you can reenter the regular hoppers as soon as they’re available.

Now that we’re done with the housekeeping, we’d like to say that we hope your experience with Halo 4 has been nothing short of pleasurable. If that’s not the case, definitely let us know here.

Next Week's Matchmaking Playlist Update

As you read the above title, you’re probably thinking, “We get a Matchmaking update already?!” and the answer is yes, you do indeed get a Matchmaking update already. Welcome to Halo 4, Spartans!

Halo 4 Matchmaking updates will occur on a more frequent basis than what you’re accustomed to with Reach. Instead of monthly updates, we will be providing weekly updates, with the goal being to provide fresh content on a regular basis. We will maintain a static set of playlists and feature one or two “rotational” playlists on top of that. We will be monitoring trends and statistics closely so we can react accordingly to your preferences and likes. For instance, if one of our rotational playlists consistently holds a higher population than one of our static playlists, we will consider swapping them out based on player demand. The process will be fluid and based on numbers, and we’re extremely excited about the benefits of our new approach.

So, what brand new playlist do you get next week? You get everybody’s favorite “Boom, headshot!” game type. Oh yes, it’s time for SWAT! By the way, please excuse the sobbing you might be hearing right now. It’s Frankie, weeping his man-tears of joy.

Now, on to the nitty-gritty of SWAT in Halo 4.

We’ve carefully balanced the damage resistance to allow both the Battle Rifle and the DMR to compete against each other in SWAT. Another change is that we’ve removed the shield HUD; so combined with disabled radar and no ordnance, you get even more visibility during a match.

Below are the exact number of shots it takes for each weapon to kill.

• DMR – 3 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head

• Magnum – 3 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head

• BR – 7 bullets to the chest (this gun shoots three bullets in a burst, so the first bullet of the third burst will kill the player), 1 bullet to the head

These are the maps that will appear in the SWAT playlist.

• Haven

• Adrift

• Complex

• Abandon

• Solace

Here are some strategies for those unfamiliar with the SWAT game type.

• Aim for the head!

• Use a DMR for long range encounters and a BR to sweep hallways.

• A Magnum is more effective than melee at very close range because of its incredibly fast fire speed.

• Use callouts with your teammates; communication allows you to work more efficiently as a team.

• Pick up a DMR or BR off of an enemy. Having both weapons is a big advantage.

• Learn the maps to keep your reticle at headshot level.

And finally, here’s a preview of our planned settings.

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There are 7 Terminals in Halo 4 in Chapters 2-8, each unlocks a video on the Halo Waypoint website and Xbox app. One bonus Terminal is already unlocked (the first video).