Halo (series)

Halo (series)
Halo logo during the Bungia era
Genre(s)	First-person shooter (primary) Real-time strategy Twin-stick shooter Arcade game
Developer(s)	Bungie 343 Industries Creative Assembly Ensemble Studios
Publisher(s)	Xbox Game Studios
Creator(s)	Bungie
Platform(s)	Xbox, Windows, macOS, Xbox 360, Windows Phone, iOS, Xbox One, Arcade, Xbox Series X|S
First Release	Halo: Combat Evolved November 15, 2001
Latest Release	Halo Infinite December 8, 2021

The Halo series is a sci-fi video game franchise set 500 years in the future. The overall theme of the series revolves around a group of colossal ring-shaped super weapons known as Halos spread throughout the galaxy.

The main games' protagonists are the Master Chief and his AI companion, Cortana, whose main objective is to defend humanity and Earth against the Covenant, a theocratic alliance of alien races who are on a quest to activate a Halo that will annihilate all living things in the galaxy and send them on their "Great Journey." Other antagonists include the Flood, the Prometheans, the Created, and the Banished.

The series was created by Bungie in the late 1990s and is owned by Microsoft Studios. In the year 2000, Microsoft acquired Bungie and made Halo: Combat Evolved the original Xbox's launch title. After Bungie became an independent company again in 2007, they made two more Halo games for Microsoft and then handed over the series for 343 Industries to maintain.

Mainline games featuring the Master Chief and Cortana are Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Infinite.

Spinoff games include Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo Wars, Halo Wars 2, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo: Spartan Strike, and Halo: Fireteam Raven.

Game Series

Mainline number entries in bold

Game	Release date	Platforms	Notes
Halo: Combat Evolved	November 15, 2001	Xbox Microsoft Windows Mac OS X	Released on the Xbox Ported to Mac OS X and Windows XP with minor additions on September 30, 2003.
Halo 2	November 9, 2004	Xbox Microsoft Windows Xbox One (Master Chief Collection)	Released on the Xbox. Game events take place after the first game. Broke sales records for US$125 million on first day. Ported to Windows Vista on May 29, 2007.
Halo 3	September 25, 2007	Xbox 360 Xbox One (Master Chief Collection) Microsoft Windows (Master Chief Collection)	Released on the Xbox 360. Completed the story arc begun in the first game. Broke first day sales record set by Halo 2 with US$170 million and $300 million in the first week.
Halo Wars	February 26, 2009	Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows (Halo Wars: Definitive Edition) Xbox One (Halo Wars: Definitive Edition)	Real-time strategy game released on the Xbox 360. First prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, taking place 20 years prior during the initial encounters with the Covenant.
Halo 3: ODST	September 22, 2009	Xbox 360 Xbox One (Master Chief Collection) Microsoft Windows (Master Chief Collection)	Stand-alone expansion for Halo 3, taking place between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Does not feature the Master Chief as the main playable character but five Orbital Drop Shock Troopers instead. Originally known as Halo 3: Recon. Campaign on Disc 1, and all of Halo 3's Multiplayer on Disc 2. Featured a new multiplayer mode, "Firefight."
Halo: Reach	September 14, 2010	Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows (Master Chief Collection) Xbox One (Master Chief Collection)	Second prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. Last Halo game developed by Bungie.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary	November 15, 2011	Xbox 360 Xbox One (Master Chief Collection) Microsoft Windows (Master Chief Collection)	High-definition remake of Halo: Combat Evolved utilizing Halo: Reach's engine and graphics. Remastered Campaign, 7 Multiplayer Map Remakes utilizing Halo: Reach's engine and graphics.
Halo 4	November 6, 2012	Xbox 360 Xbox One (Master Chief Collection) Microsoft Windows (Master Chief Collection)	Beginning of the new "Forerunner" trilogy. First original Halo game by 343 Industries in place of Bungie.
Halo: Spartan Assault	July 18, 2013	Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows Phone Xbox 360 Xbox One iOS	Mobile twin-stick shooter game. Originally exclusive to Windows 8 phones, tablets, and PCs. Later released on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Code-named Halo: Bootcamp prior to its announcement.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection	November 11, 2014	Xbox One Microsoft Windows	Compilation of remastered first-person shooter video games, it consists of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST, Halo 4, Halo: Reach, and their multiplayer modes, complete with their full set of add-on content. All games received graphical upgrades for the release, but Halo 2 received a Combat Evolved Anniversary-style high-definition overhaul. The release also shipped with access to the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta.
Halo: Spartan Strike	April 16, 2015	Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows Phone iOS	Mobile twin-stick shooter game.
Halo 5: Guardians	October 27, 2015	Xbox One	Sequel to Halo 4. Introduces new multiplayer mode "Warzone."
Halo Wars 2	February 21, 2017	Microsoft Windows Xbox One	Sequel to 2009's Halo Wars. Announced at GamesCom 2015.
Halo: Fireteam Raven	July 2018	Arcade cabinet	Set in the timeframe of Halo: Combat Evolved. The game was initially released as an exclusive to Dave & Buster's in North America.
Halo Infinite	December 8, 2021	Microsoft Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X/S	Sequel to Halo 5: Guardians. Sixth mainline entry in the Halo series. Multiplayer was released as free-to-play.