After the previous explosions, Rockslider decided to come back for more! Check out his post in our forum to see some different setups and fireworks!(MacGyver10 15:11:24 UTC)

Adv Jones gave us a heads up on the latest Archive Beacon. With a lot of changes this past year, the Halo Archive isn’t resting on their laurels, but still striving to improve how they do what they do! Give it a read as they look ahead at what’s to come!(MacGyver10 16:14:50 UTC)

Thanks to the aforementioned Community Update, we found out about this blog post from studio head, Dan Ayoub on the upcoming Halo Wars 2 beta!(MacGyver10 16:12:47 UTC)

Davidfuchs gave us a heads up on the earlier than normal (thanks Ske7ch!) Halo Community Update this week. Plenty of Halo Wars 2 info as we approach the newly announced beta on January 20th, with pre-order bonuses, physical discs for PC and a reminder of the HW2-themed LootCrate coming. The Halo World Championship for 2017, XP/RP boosts across gamemodes, Warzone changes and still-to-be-found easter eggs, dev spotlight on 343’s Olga and the community spotlights! Make sure you give it a read sometime soon when you get the chance!(MacGyver10 16:07:49 UTC)

The second beta for Halo Wars 2 starts January 20th! This time it features the new ‘Blitz Mode’ that combines tactical combat, card-based strategy and microtransactions (we’ll see how that goes)!

The Halo Wars 2 Blitz Beta begins on Jan. 20! Tactical combat meets card-based strategy on Xbox One & Win 10 PC. https://t.co/s5ZTDIdUPK pic.twitter.com/thNiFnjth6

— Halo (@Halo) January 11, 2017

(MacGyver10 23:13:22 UTC)

Looks like the winter season is over, and the new one has started in Halo 5’s Arena mode! If you played ten games in a ranked playlist during its duration, your emblem should be there. In the meantime, here’s the preview of this new season’s emblem!

Hop into Halo 5 and complete your Arena placement matches to earn this season’s emblem. The Jan-Feb 2017 Season is live! pic.twitter.com/Dv5SJLw0Xp

— Halo (@Halo) January 10, 2017

(MacGyver10 23:11:13 UTC)

Big fan of the Brute species? Already a Legendary LootCrate subscriber? Either way, you might want to check out the new figure coming with the next Halo Wars 2-themed crate, as Atriox can be picked up with this crate if you order before February 15th (<---Affiliate link heads up!)!

His name is Atriox. That is what you're up against. Get this exclusive figure in the next Halo Legendary Crate! https://t.co/yQHVada6yx pic.twitter.com/dCwObJcO4n

— Halo Gear (@HaloGear) January 9, 2017

(MacGyver10 22:53:42 UTC)

Both Gravemind and WizBlue (via email) gave us the heads up on an amazing bit of footage from a cancelled Halo Mega Bloks video game! There’s quite a bit of great footage of what might have been, including some use of iconic Halo weapons, and a killer takedown of a Covenant Hunter at one point!

Update:Looks like studio head, Bonnie Ross, is soliciting feedback on this game proposal over at HaloWaypoint!(MacGyver10 22:47:53 UTC)

As they’ve done in years past, the Awesome Games Done Quick crew will be speedrunning for charity again, and they’ll be picking up the controller-throw-inducing legendary difficulty of Halo 2! The jackal sniping is currently set to run at 7:55P EST this Wednesday, but might change so check out the full schedule here. (Thanks General Vagueness!)(MacGyver10 22:44:23 UTC)

Forward Unto Dawn is kicking off the new year by going old school with a classic Halo villain, the Prophet of Truth! Check out their piece, ‘The Shroud: Prophet of Truth as Tragic Hero’, and let ’em know what you think in our forum!

(MacGyver10 23:03:38 UTC)

Forge user Julianoz1224 created a really cool game with the new scripting tools in Halo 5. Check out his scripted, co-op survival game where you and friends are pitted against Mantis’s! You can see his Imgur post for GIFs, links and explanations of the point system! Pretty amazing!(MacGyver10 23:00:17 UTC)

While we’ve known the next Halo Legendary Crate would be Halo Wars 2 theme, we get a pretty picture from LootCrate to show of Atriox and the new order-by date of February 15th for Crate #4! Don’t forget to use our code ‘HBOCrate’ to get 10% off! Would make a great Valentine’s Day gift!

Experience the conflict at the center of Halo Wars 2. Order the next Halo Legendary Crate by 2/15 to claim your own! https://t.co/yQHVada6yx pic.twitter.com/iezCmZjYKQ

— Halo Gear (@HaloGear) January 5, 2017

(MacGyver10 22:56:48 UTC)