MS announces Halo Wars, a new RTS [update 1]

by Ross Miller { Sep 27th 2006 at 2:00PM }

A real-time strategy game based in the Halo universe has been announced. The project, entitled Halo Wars, will be designed by Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires) "exclusively for Xbox 360" (read: no PC).

This announcement comes weeks after Bungie issued a cease-and-desist to the Halogen project, a C&C: Generals mod based in the Halo universe. It was at this time that 1UP's Luke Smith predicted an official Halo RTS in collaboration with Ensemble Studios. Somebody buy this man a drink, because he nailed it.

After bringing Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft, up to speed on the Halogen incident, he assured us Halo Wars "has absolutely nothing to do with that" (whether he meant the mod's shut down or the game's inception is vague).

The original Halo: Combat Evolved, in earlier stages of development, was a real-time strategy game in the vein of Myth, another Bungie RTS. You can read all about it in the pages of Bungie's lore. While we're very intrigued by the thought of a Halo strategy title, we're a bit concerned about how it will play on an Xbox 360 controller. Must ... use ...
mouse ...

[Update 1: The Halo Wars official website has also just gone live, with a pretty (yet entirely pre-rendered) trailer. The FAQ explains that Halo Wars takes place before the events of Halo 1 and its controls have been built "from the ground up" to work with the Xbox 360 controller.

We have also embedded the trailer below, via Game Videos.]

Tags: halo, master chief, MasterChief, rts, x06

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

kade @ Sep 27th 2006 2:03PM

that is cool. hope it is for the pc

acceptablerisk @ Sep 27th 2006 2:08PM

Couldn't see that one coming.

munchie @ Sep 27th 2006 2:09PM

What have you not played Lord of The Rings Battle for Middle Earth. It played nicely on the 360.

BlessedBullet @ Sep 27th 2006 2:10PM

I think Ensemble is the wrong studio to handle Halo... Their RTS games are typically very slow paced which dosn't fit with the action packed Halo universe.

I knew it would never happen but I wish Relic got the IP to make an RTS. They would have had the perfect fit.

confucious the obnoxious little sh** as told by KilgoreTrout XXLMS @ Sep 27th 2006 2:10PM

almost makes me feel as if this would be the closest thing we would come to for a starcraft 2 .. .

modeless @ Sep 27th 2006 2:11PM

Maybe they're planning on using the camera and gesture recognition. That would be some innovation in controls for the RTS genre...

charlie @ Sep 27th 2006 2:12PM

If they allow mouse and keyboard (i mean plugging regular USB ones into the X360, not having to buy overpriced garbage from MS), and if they have 1080 or even 720 output (because remember, 720p is 1280x720, which I would consider on the low end of definately playable. 1080p is 1920x1080, which is excellent resolution even for a computer setup), then the game should be fine. If they try to come up with a scheme for the x360 controller... they might as well not make the game.

Gusx @ Sep 27th 2006 2:12PM

The Marines, the Covenants or the Flood

which one will you choose?????

Amir @ Sep 27th 2006 2:27PM

*Insert's a Plasma Gun Into his mouth, charges it up, and pulls the trigger*
Can anyone say Nintendo Juiced Mario?
No, But I can Say Microsoft Will Juice Halo.
With the new Microsoft Juiceman 3000!

james @ Sep 27th 2006 2:48PM

#7 shut the fuck up, of course you can use any mouse and keyboard. and since when does any xbox360 game NOT output at alteast 720?

Geoff @ Sep 27th 2006 2:52PM

I really look forward to the Halo universe expanding. I think Bungie has the discipline to prevent games like "Halo Basketball!" from coming out. The Halo universe is really beautiful and filled with a nice range of species and weapons. I really hope the three new Halo games are great. I am glad three different studios are handling the games, with Bungie in charge of making sure the Halo universe stays continuous.

Eric @ Sep 27th 2006 2:55PM

Your comments: No the Big N never juiced Mario, its not like he was ever licensed into a cartoon show, quick buck movie, cartoony sports games, happy meal toys, etc.

Samuel McConnell @ Sep 27th 2006 3:00PM

#7 - 1280x720 is the LOW end of playable? I guess you've never played Starcraft...it's limited to 640x480, and is completely playable.

Phranctoast @ Sep 27th 2006 3:05PM

i like how they show halogen as the picture though.

Danny @ Sep 27th 2006 3:05PM

#11 are you kidding me. Halo baseball would rock. How about Halo Kart Racer or Halo Texas Hold'em Poker.

LordMinogue @ Sep 27th 2006 3:24PM

Halo was always a Fist Person Starcraft

consider that a complement, I love starcraft and halo

Halowars is just going to be Starcraft 2.

Del @ Sep 27th 2006 3:25PM

Beautiful graphic arts, hope and a subject will be good.

nalgae @ Sep 27th 2006 3:28PM

But can you do warthog jumps?

Brian @ Sep 27th 2006 3:37PM

Didn't they already make that game?

I think it was called Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

J @ Sep 27th 2006 3:44PM

For those that want to see the trailer in 720P:

http://www.halowars.com/trailer.html

ShMgS @ Sep 27th 2006 3:44PM

too bad warhammer is terrible

Daniel @ Sep 27th 2006 3:53PM

yawn

Brian @ Sep 27th 2006 3:55PM

ShMgS,

What are you talking about? Warhammer is the classic tabletop strategy game and was finally executed well as a video game in Dawn of War. BEsides the Warhammer backstory (for both fantasy and 40k) is one of the most fully fleshed out and detailed universes in any game. Where do you think the background for Starcraft came from?

Respect your gaming roots.

HaloBreaker @ Sep 27th 2006 3:55PM

Yeah the game is just terrible, probably why it's sold 1.5 million copies and has had spawned 2 sequals.

Some Body @ Sep 27th 2006 3:57PM

Warhammer is not terrible! it just takes an insanely long time to play... but if you have time to waste, warhammer is awsome. I really like AOM and AOE, having a halo game like that would be pretty awsome... but, it seems like it SHOULD be a PC game... or maybe for both... but it will still be good on the 360... i hope.

vadermaggot @ Sep 27th 2006 4:24PM

charlie.....shut up.

LordMinogue @ Sep 27th 2006 4:26PM

Ya know, this is the PS3 equivalent of the Killzone 2 trailer!

Hopefully nobody here assumes this trailer is what the game is actually going to look like. There is no way these systems can produce that much detail on that many objects at once!

The engine used in the trailer would be great for a TV show!!!!

copres @ Sep 27th 2006 4:26PM

hm... not too sure about this one. there are few
rts games for consoles, and they usually arent good.

robogamerx @ Sep 27th 2006 4:33PM

i dont care for ms,but i have to give credit where its due,they make some damn fine games,(age of empires)
this better be on the pc!
games are the only form of entertainment left that doesn't annoy me.i might be old.that would explain why i suck at fps games.and why i cant understand why people have to have their music so loud......

Huricos @ Sep 27th 2006 4:40PM

Well, Halo started life as an RTS, this was the next logical step.

I'm not really an RTS player, but this is Halo damn it so yeah... I'll buy it.

Now here's hoping there are space battles. I want try the Keyes' Loop myself!

Anticrawl @ Sep 27th 2006 4:41PM

Can you say Vista Q4 2007?

I've been looking for a reason to get back into RTS games, here is my reason. Yay Halo.

WhetWurm @ Sep 27th 2006 4:48PM

$10 says the Halogen mod would have been better.

Guess we'll never know now. Then again, who didn't see this coming? 1up just mentioned the elephant in the room first... whoopie.

dsub @ Sep 27th 2006 4:53PM

everyone else is reporting this as coming to 360 and PC and supposedly using live anywhere...you guys are reporting the opposite...what gives?

Sub @ Sep 27th 2006 5:05PM

I was excited about this until I found out that it's exclusive for the 360. Every RTS made for a console has sucked (Yes, Battle for Middle Earth included). I hope to God they have mouse and keyboard support or something.

Spencer @ Sep 27th 2006 5:24PM

Yeah, good thing Microsoft would never be like Nintendo and overuse one of their key franchises....

oh, wait.

I'm looking forward to "Halo Soccer," "Halo 32," and "Halo Party 9."

reguy @ Sep 27th 2006 5:30PM

live for the swarm!!!!

man i love the zerg, so i guess i'll love the flood?
hope i do get to use a mouse

rockintom99 @ Sep 27th 2006 6:15PM

Hm. Halo was origionally planned as an RTS (on the mac, no less). Should be interesting.

But, not on the pc? Assholes... Then again, if it was, it would require vista, damn it.

Elpea @ Sep 27th 2006 6:30PM

Microsoft's PR person, Graham Sommers, has confirmed to me that Halo Wars will be a x360 only game, no plans for PC at this time.

zoku88 @ Sep 27th 2006 6:47PM

I'm really surprised that they aren't releasing this for the PC. That's where RTSs really belong. Not with some dinky console controller.

Walshicus @ Sep 27th 2006 7:06PM

@27

No, it's NOT like the Killzone 2 trailer... Nobody is assuming Halo Wars' is ingame, and Ensemble have said it's just a movie. Killzone 2's developers and Sony wanted you to think theirs was ingame.

Anyhow, if the control system is as good as BFME2's, this will be very nice indeed.

SuicideNinja @ Sep 27th 2006 7:13PM

Why RTS?

I'm a huge Aliens vs Predator fan, and Extinction just didn't do it for me.

They just aren't very amusing in the end, especially on a console.

Dallas Corben @ Sep 27th 2006 7:17PM

"... if they have 1080 or even 720 output (because remember, 720p is 1280x720, which I would consider on the low end of definately playable. 1080p is 1920x1080, which is excellent resolution even for a computer setup).."

1366x720 is 720p

Running a display at 1920x1080 on a pc is not very common unless you have the greatest and most recent hardware.

Moogle @ Sep 27th 2006 7:30PM

Sorry Dallas,

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/Video_Standards.PNG

Also, 1280/720 = 1.778 = 16/9

insertnamehere @ Sep 27th 2006 7:40PM

For all those who are worried about controls, here is an interesting interview with Bruce Shelley (head of ES) from about 4 months ago, where he talks about how Ensemble is working with the X-box controller to create a (then secret) game from the ground up, which coincidentally is why it is 360 only.

http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=10833

I personally am ambivalent about the project. Ensemble is the one of the best studios in the genre and they produce high quality and very deep games. Age of Kings is probably one of the only RTSs that can rival Starcraft in excellence and popularity. However, I was hoping that their secret new game was an original ip, not a translation of another studio's work.

LordMinogue @ Sep 27th 2006 8:26PM

Oyay Ethan:
Weren't you one of the fanboys who kept on calling Oblivion a POS? You must be feeling very clever right now.

Gullable is written on the ceiling.

Jonn @ Sep 27th 2006 9:40PM

1. Hey, they're using the battle rifle! Not the OMG PWNINATE Magnum supergun, which is not at all unbalanced! What gives?
2. Aren't Elites commanders? Wouldn't they be in the rear?
3. Anyone else notice there were seven SPARTANs in front?

Jeffers @ Sep 27th 2006 9:45PM

I think saying a RTS game would not work on a console is a little unimaginitive. And I'm not just talking about changing the control scheme.

An RTS doesn't have to follow the formulaic "arrange all your little pieces and move groups of armies in for battle" (although it appears this game may do that).

All you really need to make these games work on a console is a format that doesn't require constant control (meaning you don't have to constantly be doing something to win).

An illustrative example might be trading stocks - the markets move in real-time, but trading non-stop will usually yield poor results (discounting arbitraguers).

Essentially you need more emphasis on the strategy and less on the real-time.

melloncollie @ Sep 28th 2006 12:59AM

To #46:
The game is set before Halo 1 transpired.
Meaning there would be squadrons of SPARTANs.
Also explains why their MJOLNIR looks bulkier.
Although what gives with the Elites looking like wrestlers on steroids? They're suppose to be lean.

At any rate, I am excited.