Halo Waypoint launches today – the virtual world of Halo

Exclusive previews of “Halo Legends” on Xbox LIVE starting Sunday November 8

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – November 6, 2009 – Halo Waypoint, the new virtual home for all things “Halo,” launches today on Xbox LIVE, and will be the exclusive destination for full-episode previews of “Halo Legends” beginning Sunday, Nov. 8.  Following a successful preview period, Halo Waypoint is now available for “Halo” fans worldwide bringing all the richness of the “Halo” universe together in one place. Halo Waypoint features daily updates of new, exciting content such as developer interviews, trailers and screenshots, exclusive video footage, community activities and the latest “Halo” news.

In addition, Halo Waypoint includes an innovative career system that tracks players’ accomplishments across multiple “Halo” games and gives them new ways to show off their heroic gameplay feats. By downloading and “enlisting” in Halo Waypoint, players will be rewarded with a variety of Bungie-created “Halo 3: ODST” Avatar Awardables for attaining specific Achievements in the game. Rewards vary from stylish T-shirts to full sets of ODST armour. The experience is retroactive, so if players have already unlocked the requisite Achievements, the awards will be ready for them once they enlist in Halo Waypoint.

Players can unlock the following Achievements to gain access to “Halo 3: ODST” Avatar Awardables^*:

As a bonus for enlisting to Halo Waypoint, fans will receive a Monitor accessory for their Avatars modelled after the “Halo” character, 343 Guilty Spark. The Monitor will help fans find their way around Halo Waypoint, the new destination for all things “Halo” on Xbox LIVE.

The rollout of exciting new “Halo” content doesn’t stop there. This Sunday, the first preview episode of the highly anticipated anime series, “Halo Legends,” will debut only on Halo Waypoint. Set to be distributed in early 2010 by Warner Home Video, the rich anthology of anime short films will tell all-new stories in the epic “Halo” saga.

Written and created by an array of renowned anime studios and produced by 343 Industries, “Halo Legends” will explore never-before-told stories based on themes and characters in the vast “Halo” universe. Previews of four new “Halo Legends” episodes will be available only on Halo Waypoint during 24-hour live-streaming events on Xbox LIVE over the next three months.

The first “Halo Legends” preview episode, “The Babysitter,” is created by famed anime house STUDIO4ⅹC, and follows the story of a group of ODST’s who reluctantly accept a Spartan sniper into their strike team. As they embark on a perilous mission to assassinate a high-ranking Covenant Prophet, old rivalries must be reexamined if the mission is to succeed. Watch what happens as the mission progresses into hostile territory, and both the Spartan and the ODST’s discover something important about the other.

Following each preview episode on Xbox LIVE, fans will receive exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at each studio’s creative process through “making of” specials. Below is the current broadcast schedule of upcoming “Halo Legends” live-streaming events (subject to change):

To learn more about “Halo Legends,” visit http://halolegends.com and http://halolegendsdvd.com. For the latest updates on the “Halo” franchise, follow the Halo Waypoint Twitter @HaloWaypoint or visit the Halo Waypoint Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HaloWaypoint.