Halo 5 2014 Release Date Not Happening? Master Chief, Microsoft Disagree

The Halo 5 release date in 2014 may or may not be happening, with the voice actor of Master Chief publicly stating a Halo 5 2014 launch is unlikely. But what does Microsoft officially have to say about all this?

In a related report by The Inquisitr, Halo 5 plot details were leaked, including some concept art that gives us some hints on what to expect from the beta.

There were hints that the Halo 5 release date might be postponed when the game failed to make Microsoft’s official Xbox One 2014 games list. Microsoft was quick to send out damage control units, with Halo PR manager Rob Semsey reassuring fans we’d definitely see something in 2014:

“Xbox Wire today mentioned a few 2014 titles; Halo on Xbox One not listed due to official name of the next title not announced yet. Rest assured your next Halo journey WILL begin in 2014. #staycalm.”

But the rumors continued to persist and now voice actor Steve Downes has added to them. The website GameZone emailed Downes, saying the Halo 5 release date “will likely be this fall” and they asked about the progress of development and how much voice acting has been completed. This is what Master Chief had to say:

“I think you may be ahead of yourself on H5. I wouldn’t expect anything until 2015. What you can look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of HALO 2.”

November 11, 2014 is supposedly the release date for Halo 2: Anniversary Edition. Just like the original Halo Anniversary Edition, Halo 2 will be getting a major graphics facelift and will supposedly include access to the Halo 5 beta.

But then Downes followed up his bombshell by retracting his statement partially:

“What I said was: ‘I think you’re ahead of yourself on H5. I have read some things on line that you can look forward to a H2 anniversary edition maybe this year, but I have no official information one way or the other.’ I was just mentioning some of the things I had read online about Halo 2. I have no idea if there will be an anniversary edition and didn’t mean to leave that impression.”

Downes also told GameZone the same thing:

“It sounds like I was ‘confirming’ [an] H2A edition, which I most certainly was not. I’m in no position to do that as I have no knowledge of it. I was only mentioning what I had seen on line about it.”

IGN reached out to Microsoft for an official comment and this is all they had to say:

“We can confirm your next Halo journey will begin in 2014, but beyond that we don’t have any details to share at this time.”

So the rumors over the Halo 5 release date haven’t been officially confirmed or denied, per se. It’s also possible this “journey” refers to something other than Halo 5. Supposedly, there’s going to be at least two more live action Halo movies to compliment Halo: Forward Unto Dawn. And, as I discussed in an article about why I chose the Xbox One over the PS4, Microsoft is also trying to position the Xbox One as an all-in-one entertainment system which includes interactive television. At one point the Halo developer 343 Studios posted a position for developing episodic content, so it’s possible by the end of 2014 we could see the launch of a Halo TV series following gaming episodes set in the Halo universe.