Halo: The Journey

"Your journey begins."

— Halo Xbox One announcement trailer^[1]

Halo: The Journey.

Halo: The Journey,^[2] or simply The Journey, is a multimedia series that comprises games, novels, comic book issues, live action and animated series, and promotional materials. Originally announced in 2013 with the Xbox One Halo announcement trailer, it officially started in 2014 with the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and continued up to the release of Halo 5: Guardians in 2015.^[3]^[4]

The Journey refers to the Master Chief's personal journey after the events of Halo 4.^[5] To an extent, it also applies to the origin stories of the other major characters featured in Halo 5: Guardians.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Content[edit]

Halo: Escalation[edit]

Main article: Halo: Escalation

Halo: Escalation was a comic book series that started in late 2013. Its main purpose was to bridge the gap between Halo 4's Spartan Ops and Halo 5: Guardians, by continuing the story of the UNSC Infinity's crew and that of the alliance between Jul 'Mdama and Dr Halsey. However there were some specific story arcs that were explicitly tied to The Journey. "The Next 72 Hours" was a three-part arc that narrated the reunion between John-117 and Blue Team after the events of Halo 4, and their conflict against the Didact who had survived his first defeat. "The Glass Horizon" was a two-part arc that told the origin story of Holly Tanaka, a character set to appear in Halo 5: Guardians as part of Fireteam Osiris.^[6] "The Absolute Record" was a six-part arc that continued Tanaka's story after her becoming a Spartan-IV, connecting it more closely with the fate of Infinity, 'Mdama and Halsey.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection[edit]

Main article: Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Halo: The Master Chief Collection was the journey's first major step, and released on November 11, 2014 as the first core Halo game on Xbox One (Halo: Spartan Assault being the first Halo released on Xbox One a year before).^[1] The game was marketed as the first Halo title running at 1080p, 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers.^[9]^[5] It comprised Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4, and also included exclusive access to Halo: Nightfall and the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta. In addition, Halo 2: Anniversary featured Terminals and bookend cinematics setting the story for Halo 5: Guardians, with a focus on Jameson Locke and Thel 'Vadam. Halo 3: ODST was added to the collection on May 30, 2015.

Halo: Nightfall[edit]

Main article: Halo: Nightfall

Halo: Nightfall was a digital series included with Halo: The Master Chief Collection.^[5] It was released on the Halo Channel on a weekly basis, between November 11 and December 9, 2014. A DVD and Blu-ray release later followed on March 17, 2015. Nightfall told the story of Jameson Locke, an ONI Acquisitions Specialist sent to a volatile Halo fragment for a perilous mission. The series served as an origin story for Locke, before his recruitment into the SPARTAN-IV program. Locke was set to appear as a playable character in Halo 5: Guardians.^[10]

Halo: New Blood[edit]

Main article: Halo: New Blood

Halo: New Blood was a novella released digitally on March 2, 2015. A follow-up to Halo 3: ODST, it told the story of Edward Buck and his squad, Alpha-Nine. Furthermore it detailed how the ODST became a Spartan-IV, how Alpha-Nine gradually broke up, and why Buck ended up being separated from his former teammates. It was later revealed that Buck would be a member of Fireteam Osiris in Halo 5: Guardians.^[6] A print version was released on March 15, 2016, with an additional coda narrating a discussion between Dare and Buck about the latter's reassignment to Fireteam Osiris.

Hunt the Truth[edit]

Main article: Hunt the Truth

Hunt the Truth was a marketing campaign for Halo 5: Guardians, mainly in the form of weekly podcasts. Season 1 was narrated by war reporter Benjamin Giraud, who thoroughly investigated the Master Chief in order to understand his true origins and current situation. Season 2 was narrated by FERO, and tied up more closely with Halo 5: Guardians and the Guardians' awakening. The Hunt the Truth campaign also included several trailers leading up to Halo 5: Guardians, namely the Bullet teaser, All Hail, and The Cost.

Halo: Hunters in the Dark[edit]

Main article: Halo: Hunters in the Dark

Halo: Hunters in the Dark was a novel released on June 16, 2015. It narrated the adventure of a UNSC-Sangheili team who went back to the Ark to investigate the Halo Array's dangerous reactivation. While the novel explored the relationship between the UNSC and the Arbiter's newly formed faction, it also served as the origin story of Olympia Vale, an expert in Sangheili xenoanthropology who would later become a Spartan-IV and appear as a member of Fireteam Osiris in Halo 5: Guardians.^[6]^[8]

Halo: Last Light[edit]

Main article: Halo: Last Light

Halo: Last Light was a novel released on September 15, 2015. Set less than a year after the Human-Covenant War's conclusion, it followed Blue Team's activities during the absence of the Master Chief. During one of their missions, Blue Team were sent to Gao, a colony world where the cavern system had mysterious effects. The Spartans would come to fight against insurrectionist and Covenant enemies in order to secure the planet's hidden Forerunner technology.

Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series[edit]

Main article: Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series

Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series was an adaptation of the novel of the same name. It was included with the Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition, released on October 27, 2015 and viewable on the Halo Channel. It was later released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 1, 2015. The story focused on the origins of John-117, Blue Team, and the SPARTAN-II program. There were some differences with the novel, to align the animated series more with Halo 5: Guardians.^[11]

Halo 5: Guardians[edit]

Main article: Halo 5: Guardians

The Journey led up to Halo 5: Guardians. It was the first Halo title developed entirely for the Xbox One console.^[3] The game was released on October 27, 2015. It told the story of Master Chief and Blue Team going AWOL to find Cortana, with Locke and Fireteam Osiris being sent to bring them back to the UNSC. The story concluded with the rise of the Created, according to Cortana's plan.

Production notes[edit]

Main article: Halo: The Television Series

Halo: The Television Series was originally announced in 2013 and set to release in fall of 2015, coinciding with the release of Halo 5: Guardians, and acting as part of The Journey.^[4] Intending to tie-in to both Halo 5: Guardians and Halo: Nightfall, it was subsequently delayed and overhauled dramatically during development.^[12] The Halo TV series would finally air between 2022 and 2024, and was disconnected entirely from both The Journey and the entirety of the core Halo canon, taking place in the Silver Timeline, a new, alternate continuity. It was ultimately cancelled after two seasons.