Microsoft has ended speculation on the release date of Halo 2 by officially announcing that it will be released, on XBox, this fall. The announcement comes as a blow to the many fans of the game since most expected a June 2004 release date.
As the sequel to the best ever selling Microsoft title, Halo 2 has raised expectations and is guaranteed to bring even more gamers to the XBox since it will also include an online multiplayer mode utilizing XBox Live (the screenshot to your right is the first ever official Halo 2 multiplayer image).
Large online game retailers still list Halo 2 with a June release date but Bungie have also confirmed the date by issuing the following statement; So remember last year when we told you we don't announce release dates until we're confident well meet our deadline? Well now were confident. Halo 2 will ship in Fall, 2004. Please make a note of it.
Halo 2's release had caused a lot of confusion with some web sites even reporting the possibility of a January 2004 date. Other experts claimed a spring date was likely, while most opted for the always popular summer release. Neither Microsoft nor Bungie, the game's developers, have given a more specific date but that is common practice since it makes deadlines a bit more flexible. Halo 2 has been confirmed as part of Microsoft's fiscal 2005 and since that begins in July the announced fall release seems even more likely.
Let's hope the Halo 2 release will be accompanied by an XBox console priced at USD 99, now that would be good news.
