I'm sure nobody was surprised to see a new Halo trailer at the Xbox event. I want to know why Chiefs armor was so beat up and cracked in some places (which could explain having a cloak on in the desert). Also, what happened that led to his armor being that damaged when at the end of Halo 4 he was with the UNSC again?

I was thinking even before the trailer that a new Halo could possibly come out in spring of 2014, that way Microsoft can be out of that window that sees potential players ditch Halo for Call of Duty. Also, they'll have an established install base of Xbox One's. I want to think that this will be a cross-platform game, but I have some serious doubts. I don't think Halo is the system seller it used to be, so Microsoft might be hesitant about launching to a limited install base and hold off until their typical fall launch, plus that would be a full two years between Halo games.

I just hope the story isn't about Chief going on a "journey" to even ATTEMPT to bring back Cortana... That and I hope to The Flying Spaghetti Monster that the title is not something stupid and maintains the Number for simplicity: Halo 5. As for it not being a system seller anymore, I can agree to an extent as originally (before all the terrible useless policies that the Xbone originally had were thrown out) I would have not bother to even buy the damn console, even for a game franchise that I personally enjoyed (and mostly now own a 360 for...) as it just doesn't have the incentive to even purchase a console just for it. Down the line though now with Xbone having changed it's direction (whether good or bad depending on who views what) if Halo 5 is bundle with an Xbone for a good price I'll pick it up eventually.

My guess based on Halo 4 and the end of Spartan Ops:

MC will be dispatched to find and either retrieve/kill Halsey, thus allowing for Covenant to remain a main enemy force. To locate her he will have to find a seprate Forerunner map of all their cool tech and bases.

Meanwhile a rampant Cortana will salvage the remains of the Didacts body and that spaceship from the end of Halo 4, thus making Cortana now in control of the Forerunner enemies, allowing them to remain enemies. Wanting to destroy all things, but too weak from a near death state, she is forced to leave Earth's atmosphere and search for a place to repair.

Halfway through the game MC will meet with Halsey, realize she's turned on the UNSC, and attempt to kill her. He will be stopped by Spartan Kelly, thus finally bringing other Spartans into the official games, and with Kelly's intervention, Halsey escapes. After a struggle, MC will explain to Kelly what happened, and vice versa, giving us some (hopefully) interesting background to the universe and state of things. Eventually, they travel together to stop her and the Covenant.

End game, you find Halsey, are about to stop her and the Covenant, when (somehow) rampant Cortana appears, and aids her creator. MC and Kelly are nearly killed, and the game ends with the Covenant and Forerunner forces, lead by Halsey and Cortana, turn towards earth. That'll be Halo 6

Edit: Also, Sand Cape Armor Mods

Halo is still a system seller. There has not been a system to be sold and showcase along side a new halo since Halo 3. Once people actually see the game, since Halo is still pretty big ALOT of people will buy it

This is assured.

Also Master Chief is probably in battle against the UNSC after finding out that Halsey is still alive and since she is a copy of Cortana he will look for her. Halsey is also against the UNSC after Spartan Ops Season 1. They will probably join forces.

Halo 4's story was such a clusterfuck that i kinda completely stopped caring. Like the whole Didact thing, who the fuck is that guy? They barely explain it. Same with the Librarian. And why were we fighting covenant again, they don't explain that very well either i had to look it up after playing that its a splinter group. Seriously the only line i heard the entire game about that was at the very begining when chief was like "woah why's the covenant attacking?" and cortana was like "lol i dunno thats weird." Add in a damn 20 second scene after MC meets up with the infinity and have him go "hey whats up with them fighting us?" and the douchey commander guy who only existed for you to dislike him could go "they're a fanatical splinter group!" Boom.

The Chief and Cortana stuff was well done, EVERYTHING ELSE was just utter nonsense. "who's this guy, why's he hate humans? oh...not gonna explain it, i guess i better look it up on a wiki page during the end credits....."

MC is wearing a desert cape because desert capes look cool.

It's going to be "The search for Spock". And I'm alright with that. Set it to Legendary and lets do it.

I suspect: The same thing that always happens since they can't come up with anything new to happen.

ps. What the series needs is Halo IV: The Voyage Home where Master Chief saves Earth by traveling into the past to save a pair of 'WHALES' (codename for whales) to scare off the Diadac's digitizer pen/cigar/whatever thingy.

@clonedzero: The Halo Forerunner books explain who these people are. But if you don't want to spend time reading words, the hidden terminals try to give enough of a backstory to them.

@bigjeffrey: I don't think Halo has the legs it did when Halo 3 came out. I don't dispute that a lot of people will still buy the system to play the game, but it seems like it will be the hardcore Halo fans who will. The ones who have read the books and are invested in the story as opposed to those buying it because it's another MP FPS game.

Halo 4 was just the most disappointing thing in the world to me as someone who followed all the extended fiction. they sacrificed setting up a trilogy story in favor of this quasi cheif-cortana love story.

Halo would have been the thing that would have made me say fuck the drm and get the x1, but i find it hard to care anymore now that its been reduced to a scifi space opera.

Halo 5 Reveal Tommorow? 3am PST? I am excite.

http://www.gamersftw.co.uk/video-games/getting-halo-5-reveal-tomorrow/

Also dude from IGN said

Something a lot of you might be interested in will be up on IGN in 9 hours. 3am PST\

It's probably nothing but im gonna get excited.

I still hope we get H2Anniversary this year, and save 5 for next year.

Why? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. It's going to be at least as popular as something like Killer Instinct. Smaller stuff like Project Spark, Max get 360 ports.

So anyone want to speculate on why this new spartan has an ONI logo on his chest?

I bet the fact that Dr Halsey is in cuffs and being interrogated is pretty important for Halo 5. Master chief is now the last of the spartans from the original program, and I bet someone is looking to get at him....

By Gold has expired and I only got 3 episodes into Spartan Ops.

Anyone care to recap what else happened there?

Microsoft is trying to sell Xbox One's. EA(you know, the actual publisher of Titanfall unlike the games that I mentioned) is trying to sell software. They probably even had to fight super hard for the 360 delay. Titanfall was on the PC too, day one. Where's was Ryse, KI, Dead Rising 3, Forza 5 on PC day one? Hell, they presented a DX12 version of Forza 5 on PC and it doesn't even look like they're going to release it. Come on.