Critically acclaimed ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ launches worldwide with global celebration

“Halo 5: Guardians,” the latest addition to Microsoft’s $4.6 billion “Halo” sci-fi franchise, launched worldwide on Tuesday. Fans tuned in to YouTube Gaming yesterday to take part in “Halo 5: Live,” a one-of-a-kind live broadcast celebration spanning multiple continents with exclusive gameplay reveals, celebrity appearances, international events and more. The six-hour event drew views worldwide, as fans came together to experience what makes “Halo” truly special.

“‘Halo 5: Guardians’ is the culmination of more than three years of hard work, passion and dedication, and we could not be more excited to celebrate with our fans,” said Bonnie Ross, corporate vice president, head of 343 Industries. “Last night, Halo Nation came together from around the world like never before, and we are thrilled to see fans jumping into the most ambitious game we’ve ever launched.”

The excitement reached a fever pitch last night as #Halo5Live was shared by fans around the world on Twitter. Some of the most-watched moments of the “Halo 5: Live” broadcast, as well as other key celebrations, included these:

• The world premiere of “Halo: The Fall of Reach,” a new animated series centered on the dramatic origin story of the SPARTAN program.
• Microsoft store fan destinations in Microsoft on Fifth Ave. and 53rd St. (New York City), Microsoft at Westfield Century City (Los Angeles) and Microsoft at University Village (Seattle), with appearances by 343 Industries, the world’s best “Halo” cosplayers, some of the biggest celebrity voices behind “Halo” characters and more.
• London players converging on The Roundhouse event venue for a friendly eSports competition with top YouTubers and celebrities.
• An Xbox roundtable with actor Nathan Fillion, the voice of Spartan Buck, and the creative minds at 343 Industries.
• A fan in Finland setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for longest video game marathon on a “Halo” game.
• Interviews with actors Scott Porter, Jack Falahee and musician Chris Daughtry.

“Halo 5: Guardians” is available now for $59.99 (ERP) at more than 110 Microsoft stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, microsoftstore.com, as well as other major U.S. retailers and via digital download. A sample list of participating retailers can be found at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/halo-5-guardians/buy-now.

To relive the launch day excitement, fans can watch video on demand of “Halo 5: Live” through YouTube athttp://www.xbox.com/Halo5Live. Photos and video from global launch events can be viewed at http://news.xbox.com/media.

About the Halo franchise

Exclusively published by Microsoft Studios and developed by 343 Industries, the Halo franchise is an award-winning collection of properties that has transcended video games and grown into a global entertainment phenomenon. Beginning with the original “Halo: Combat Evolved” (2001), the critically acclaimed and record-shattering series of games has reinvented how people think about video games and has since built a fan base of millions worldwide and inspired multiple New York Times best-selling novels, a live-action digital series, comic books, action figures, apparel and more.

About Xbox

Xbox is Microsoft’s premier entertainment brand for the TV, phone, PC and tablet. In living rooms or on the go, Xbox is home to the best and broadest games, as well as one of the world’s largest libraries of movies, TV, music and sports. Your favorite games, TV and entertainment come to life in new ways through the power of Kinect, Xbox SmartGlass and Xbox Live, the world’s premier social entertainment network. More information about Xbox can be found online at http://www.xbox.com.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.