14 DAY TRIAL // Apparently, the upcoming sci-fi shooter Halo 5: Guardians will star Master Chief after all, in spite of all the rumors about another soldier stepping into the limelight.
Last week, the actor playing Agent John Locke in Ridley Scott's Halo Nightfall mini-series, Mike Colter, issued a statement that was interpreted by many as a spoiler that Master Chief would be stepping down from the position of main protagonist in developer 343 Industries' upcoming first-person shooter.
"Once Halo: The Master Chief Collection is released, and then Halo 5 comes out shortly thereafter, you're basically going to be playing a game with me as the primary character," Colter stated, apparently confirming that Agent Locke would be the main character in Halo 5: Guardians.
Master Chief is the hero once again
However, that seems to have been an error or misunderstanding, as 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor denied the rumor on NeoGAF.
"'A' primary character," O'Connor said. "Chief is the main character and hero," he continued, putting the rumors to rest.
This, however, does not put all worries to rest, as 343 Industries chief Bonnie Ross also mentioned that at some point, Master Chief would be retired from the series, and new stories would be explored. She also stated that for the time being, nothing was set in stone, and the studio would have to make all the decisions sometime in the future.
We'll be seeing a lot of Halo pretty soon
Halo: Nightfall explores the origin story of Agent Locke, which will play a significant role in the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection has also been updated with various scraps of lore pertaining to the events in the upcoming science fiction first-person shooter, meant to set the scene for the adventure.
Halo: Nightfall will debut alongside Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a compilation of all four Halo games released so far, remastered and recompiled for the Xbox One. The collection will be launched on November 11 in Europe and November 14 in North America.
Gamers who purchase the compilation will also receive an exclusive pass, allowing them access to the Halo 5 multiplayer beta test, scheduled to take off at the end of December and run through January 18, 2015.
There's also a Halo television series being currently in production, under the supervision of famed science-fiction director Steven Spielberg, set to go live sometime in 2015, around the time that Halo 5 is released.