Portable Planet

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the multiplayer beta of Halo 3 will debut to audiences worldwide via Xbox LIVE on May 16 at 1pm GMT and run through June 7 at 7:59 a.m. GMT. Coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 console this fall, Halo 3 is the highly anticipated third chapter in the groundbreaking Halo trilogy from legendary developers Bungie. Halo 3 lets gamers experience Master Chiefs greatest battle as he launches an epic mission to stop the Covenant, destroy the impending Flood threat and ultimately save mankind.

Made possible through Microsoft Corp.s Xbox LIVE gaming and entertainment network, which provides a robust online service for more than 6 million gamers worldwide, the multiplayer beta for Halo 3 will give anxious Xbox 360 gamers their first opportunity to get their hands on the new levels, weapons, vehicles and game types, as well as a chance to provide valuable data that Bungie will use in continued development. Starting May 16, gamers who secured their admission to the multiplayer beta either through the Rule of Three promotion or by purchasing a specially marked copy of Crackdown for Xbox 360 will be able to don their Spartan armor, download the beta on Xbox LIVE, and jump online using their Xbox LIVE Gold account to battle other gamers from around the world.

When gamers gather online to play the multiplayer beta via Xbox LIVE in May, they will be treated to three richly detailed, action-oriented maps: Snowbound, High Ground and Valhalla, which represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments and are brand-new to Halo 3. Each map will test gamers mettle as they are placed behind the controls of new Halo 3 vehicles such as the agile Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and armed with deadly weapons such as the new and improved Assault Rifle, the ferocious Brute Spiker, the devastating Spartan Laser and the treacherous new Spike Grenades. This is just a taste of what gamers will experience later this fall when Halo 3 goes on sale.

Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 changed the face of console gaming forever, said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. Gamers from around the world have logged more than 800 million hours on Xbox LIVE playing Halo 2, and years after its launch it remains the No. 1 title on our Xbox LIVE network. Bringing an early look at the multiplayer elements of Halo 3 to our passionate fan base is tremendously exciting for us.

Gamers worldwide who did not participate in the Rule of Three promotion but are interested in joining the multiplayer beta of Halo 3 can still participate through the purchase of the critically acclaimed Xbox 360 title Crackdown, which was launched in February. Crackdown sets players loose in a free-form, persistent city for action-packed crime fighting that requires a bigger, faster and stronger hero that evolves as a more efficient weapon through continued gameplay. Each copy of Crackdown has been specially marked with a Halo 3 beta sticker prior to the beta period, and starting May 16 the game will act as a key for gamers to download and participate in the Halo 3 multiplayer beta.

In addition, gamers who cant wait for the multiplayer beta this May can get an even earlier look at Halo 3 with a new, behind-the-scenes video feature available at http://www.bungie.net/ and in high definition over Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Starting today, viewers can go behind the scenes at Bungie Studios to learn about the people, technology and process that are making Halo 3 an unforgettable multiplayer experience, and to get a taste of what to expect from the upcoming Halo 3 multiplayer beta. The latest multiplayer video documentary, titled Is Quisnam Protero Damno!, will offer a glimpse at how Halo 3 multiplayer maps are being designed, built and architected, and how these amazing spaces are converted into fun places in which to play. Gamers can also catch the first-ever glimpse of brand-new Halo 3 multiplayer levels in their early stages of evolution and construction.

Source: Bungie