My Halo News.com

The latest news about the Halo series of games from Microsoft

  • Community Member of the Week: Yiazmat012

    Every Monday, we feature a community member who does one or more of the following things: routinely goes above and beyond for their fellow forum members, is a positive and active member of the community, and/or sends me mass amounts of cat pictures. This week our Community Member of the Week is Yiazmat012. Read about this particular person below, then hit their profile to learn more about this Mega Man-loving gamer!

    Community Member of the Week

    Gamertag: Yiazmat012.

    Origin of Gamertag: In Final Fantasy XII, the ultimate boss in the game is named Yiazmat and takes about three hours to beat if you are at the highest level with the best equipment. But I choose this name for another reason. A man named Yasumi Matsuno worked on previous Final Fantasies but quit during the start of the game’s creation. This depressed a lot of people in the studio, and they decided to name the dragon after him to honor what he had done for the company. The Japanese name for the Yiazmat is Yasmat but translated is Yiazmat. I honor him since Final Fantasy made up part of my childhood.

    Current clan/community: None, I play Halo for fun and carnage.

    Halo game(s) you are currently playing: Halo 4.

    Favorite map, game type and playlist: Exile, Grifball, and Dominion.

    Least favorite map, game type and playlist: Haven, Grifball, and CTF.

    Preferred control scheme: Default.

    Halo playing style (offense, defense, sniper, driver, etc.): I can drive a vehicle better than most people, and I like to go on offensive.

    Favorite character: The Arbiter.

    Favorite Halo book: First Strike or Cryptum.

    Favorite Halo quote: “The Reclamation has begun…”

    Anything else we should know? I don’t like the My Little Pony fad going around, but if you don’t try to shove it down my throat, you and me will get along just fine!

    Get to know Yiazmat012 here!


  • Theatrical Halo 4 (Full Campaign and Cutscenes)

    The Tyrant let us know that he’s got a full run-through of Halo 4 (cutscenes and everything) online – it’s a ‘theatrical presentation’, designed to give you the story as it was intended to be delivered. It’s nearly 6 hours long! (Louis Wu 17:32:18 UTC)

  • Spartan Ops Ep 5 Cinematic – now archived

    Spartan Ops Episode 5 is up now on Xbox LIVE – and the cinematic that goes with it is now available in our Spartan Ops Cutscene Library. Thorne REALLY doesn’t like following orders, does he? (There’s a small stutter around 1:22 in – but it appeared on 5 separate recordings (and it seems to be in a version I found on YouTube, as well), so you may just have to live with it.) (Louis Wu 16:37:44 UTC)

  • Filling the glass with carnage

    More coolness from padraig08 – this time culled from Reddit. Check out these amazing Christmas ornaments!(Louis Wu 16:32:04 UTC)

  • Ops-Cast Episode 4: Didact Juice

    MoltenSlowa and crew recorded Ops-Cast Episode 4 – this one goes through (surprise, surprise) Spartan Ops Ep 4. Go listen!(Louis Wu 16:29:15 UTC)

  • With a little help from his friends.

    padraig08 put together a few nice panoramic shots – the first one, especially, is amazing. Go look! Update: Plus one more.(Louis Wu 16:28:06 UTC)

  • Multikill Monday 3 – A Halo 4 Montage


    From Parsnipes:

    This is Episode 3 of our weekly montage series featuring The Spartan Force community. Enjoy!

    Multikill Monday 3 – A Halo 4 Montage


  • An Unexpected Journey

    munky-058 becomes the first HBO regular to hit SR 130. Not sure that’s something to be proud of…(Louis Wu 16:18:22 UTC)

  • Hang on, lemme just lick my armor…

    NeoGAF’s Ken was inspired by the Doritos/Mountain Dew promotion. I love it.(Louis Wu 16:14:56 UTC)


  • Picturing Destiny

    At last, ncsuDuncan has released another detailed article focused on Bungie’s next big adventure! He covers the last six months of news regarding Destiny and even though the game is still shrouded in secrecy, there is actually quite a bit of information to dissect. It is an extremely interesting read, so check it out! Oh, and while you’re there be sure to check out Duncan’s other article regarding Bungie’s super secret project. (mastrbiggy 08:16:04 UTC)

  • An Elegant Weapon

    Vanguards of Requiem released a video where they put the Assault Rifle, Storm Rifle, and the Suppressor head to head. The results are pretty interesting! Thanks, TCKaos. (mastrbiggy 08:02:12 UTC)

  • Spike VGAs to premiere… Spartan Ops content?

    It’s unclear what’s left to ‘premiere’… but the press release for the upcoming Video Game Awards (airing December 7 on Spike) contains the following snippet:

    “VGA TEN” will also feature highly anticipated world premieres from […] “Halo 4: Spartan Ops” (Microsoft Studios) and more.

    What will they be showing? You’ll have to tune in to find out! Thanks to TheOddOne for the heads-up.(Louis Wu 18:32:14 UTC)


  • Melting your face has never been so beautiful.

    Hedgemony has a bunch more panos – including some spectacular Oddball kills. I LOVE that effect! Go look.(Louis Wu 18:09:22 UTC)

  • Composing A Universe

    Laird pointed out a video called ‘Composing a Universe (Full Length)’ on YouTube – it’s an hour-long documentary about the music of Halo 4, originally released with the Limited Edition Halo 4 Soundtrack. Fascinating – go watch! (Louis Wu 18:03:54 UTC)

  • Millions of Angry Halo Fans Can’t Be Wrong

    If you did not buy Halo 4’s Limited Edition, you cannot continue to specialize in Multiplayer after SR70, until 343 unlocks that privilege for you. They did say, however, that if you played Halo 4 during the first couple of weeks of release, you’d receive an unlock at the end of November. Apparently… there have been some technical glitches with that unlock. Read all about it on Halo Waypoint.(Louis Wu 17:47:01 UTC)

  • Halo 4 Specializations Offer Update

    12.3.12 5:30PM PT Update

    Some players that were eligible for the Specializations post-launch offer did not receive their fulfillment email due to having an invalid email address associated with their Xbox LIVE account. We are working to send affected players their codes via the Xbox LIVE Message Center (which is accessible on both web and console). The text will read as follows, and we expect players to start receiving these messages this week. Thank you for your continued patience, and we will provide an update when all messages have been sent.

    Xbox 360 Dashboard message text:

    Your Halo 4 gift is waiting! Here is your token to unlock six Specializations in Halo 4. We apologize for the delay in providing this and thank you for participating in our program. See you on the virtual battlefield!


    Halo 4 Specializations


    If you’re reading this, you more than likely have a question about the Specializations email that was recently distributed by Xbox LIVE. Before I start addressing some frequently asked questions, please note:

    DO NOT PUBLICLY POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR ANY OTHER ACCOUNT-RELATED INFORMATION ON OUR FORUMS. AGAIN, DO NOT POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR ANY OTHER ACCOUNT-RELATED INFORMATION ON OUR FORUMS.

    As a general rule, to protect yourself and your account, you should never post or share any personal information online, and that includes our forums.

    Now, back to business. When Halo 4 launched, there was a special offer involving the following.


    Play Halo 4 Standard Edition while connected to Xbox LIVE by November 20, 2012, and you’ll get early access to six Specializations. That’s 60 additional levels and new content in Halo Infinity Multiplayer.



    Codes giving early access to six Specializations were sent yesterday. The email says the following and includes an image of Master Chief and the Halo 4 logo.


    Here’s your free gift from Xbox LIVE

    Thanks for being an Xbox LIVE member. You’ve earned a free gift. Just follow the instructions below, and you can download it immediately.*

    Here’s how to redeem:

    • Click here or on the “Get your free gift” link below.
    • Sign in to your Xbox LIVE account using the email address you received this message at (if you are not already signed in).
    • Your code is automatically entered on the page so simply click Redeem Code.

    Get your free gift –>



    Here are a few reasons why your inbox may still be empty.

    • Emails were sent to both opt-in and opt-out accounts (in regard to your receive marketing emails preference).
    • If you did not play Halo prior to November 20 at 11:59 PM EST, you would have not received the email.
    • If you are registered with Xbox LIVE in Europe, the Middle East or Africa, you would have not received the email. As noted on the original offer, these regions were not part of the Specializations offer as Specializations were extended as a pre-order offer, not a post-launch offer.


    If you don’t think you have received this email, here are a few things to consider.

    • It may be in your spam folder. Check now!
    • The codes were sent to the email address that you used when you signed up for your Gamertag. If you are now using a different email address but did not change it with Xbox LIVE, the code will have been sent to the email address associated with your Gamertag as of November 20.
    • The title of the email is “You have a gift from Xbox LIVE”. Since Specializations are not directly mentioned, you may have skipped over it.


    If you successfully redeemed your code, you will gain early access to six Specializations.

    If you received the email but are experiencing issues, here are a few possibilities as to what could be going on:

    The Specializations are locked.
    Specializations cannot be accessed until you reach SR50. Once you have advanced through the standard fifty levels, you will then get the option to enlist in a Specialization under “Infinity”. You can choose the order in which you tackle unlocked Specializations. However once you select one, you must advance through it completely before enlisting in a separate Specialization. Please read this article for more information.

    I don’t see any new Specializations.
    Redownload the content from your download history (from the Xbox Dashboard: Settings–>Account–>Download History). If you have the content properly downloaded, try restarting the game.

    The link in my email is not resolving properly.
    Please wait an hour or two and try the link again.

    Please visit The Official Specializations Email Thread if you have additional questions.


  • There’s an App for That

    Have you ever wanted a tool that helps you keep track of weapon drops, timers, etc? Well you’re in luck because the H4 Timer iOS App does just that! via The Halo Council (there is a promo code in that Halo Council link.)(mastrbiggy 23:25:07 UTC)

  • Out of Composer’s Airlocks

    t00lbox stopped in with yet ANOTHER ‘out of Composer’ trick – that’s the third in two weeks! Check it out. (Louis Wu 17:57:35 UTC)

  • Serene… definitely appropriate

    nomis78 put together his own Halo 4 panoramas – some beautiful environments!(Louis Wu 17:56:39 UTC)