Budgie Announces Halo 3 Public Beta, Halo 2 Maps

Bungie Studios Prepares “Halo” Nation to Finish the Fight – Groundbreaking worldwide “Halo 3” public beta and “Halo 2” maps exclusively for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 coming in spring — First “Halo 3” TV ad coming this December

On the fifth anniversary of the release of the landmark Xbox video game Halo, Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today celebrated the milestone by announcing an exclusive hands-on experience with Halo 3, one of the industry’s most anticipated sequels.

The Xbox Live multiplayer public beta, which is a pre-release version of the multiplayer experience of Halo 3, is scheduled for availability in spring 2007 exclusively on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

Gamers will be able to play online via Microsoft’s premier online entertainment network and participate in a pre-release version of the multiplayer experience of Halo 3. This beta also represents an opportunity for gamers worldwide to participate in the development of Halo 3. Through the resulting feedback, Bungie Studios will be able to further refine and hone the end result of Halo 3.

In addition, Microsoft and Bungie confirmed today that consumers will be able to experience the Halo universe this holiday season through a one-time airing of a 60-second Halo 3 teaser ad to be broadcast Dec. 4 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

And finally it was announced that the new, premium downloadable content for Halo 2, exclusive to Xbox 360, is scheduled for release in spring 2007.

“The ‘Halo’ Nation has a nearly insatiable desire,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. “We hope a taste of advance ‘Halo 3’ gameplay satisfies some of their appetite as we count down to the game’s launch later in 2007.”