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When the iconic Spartan hero known as the Master Chief revealed himself during the short teaser trailer at Microsoft’s E3 conference, a surge of excitement roiled through the gaming sphere. While it was no secret that Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries were planning new titles in the so-called Reclaimer Trilogy, it still was elating to see Spartan 117 up on the big screen again.

The gaming world identified this mysterious new next-gen Halo game as “Halo 5”, naturally assuming that it was the next numbered chapter in the franchise.

Recent speculation has pointed to a different perspective, however, as Microsoft Studios has officially included the next Halo game as part as the Reclaimer Saga–a series of titles which was originally labeled as a trilogy of games:

“While we originally said trilogy, we’ve actually expanded this to more of a saga, so we don’t want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy,”

Interestingly enough, on the back of the standard edition of Halo 4, gamers can find a line that reinforces the publisher’s intent on not limiting the franchise to just three games. On the reverse side of the case, the top reads “The Reclaimer Saga Begins”, somewhat clashing with Microsoft Studios’ previous announcements of a trilogy of titles.

This news may indicate that the upcoming next-gen Halo title isn’t Halo 5, but rather a game that bridges a gap in the narrative.

Microsoft Studios’ Phil Spencer had the following to say about the Xbox One Halo game:

“It is the next Halo game that we are working on,” Spencer began. “We will talk more about actually the story arc in the game and how it plays out; we’ve got more time to talk about that.”

The Xbox One title isn’t the only newly announced Halo game: 343 Industries has also announced Halo: Spartan Assault, a mobile RTS-type game for Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, and Windows RT. Spartan Assault will bridge the gap between Halo 3 and Halo 4, filling in the events that took place while Master Chief was isolated out in deep space.

Halo 4 was just the beginning of 343i’s new Halo series, and with the advent of next-gen consoles, the upcoming chapter in the Reclaimer Saga may be the best one to date–if, that is, the developers can pull it off.

It will definitely be interesting to see how this new Halo title fits in with the franchise, and I for one am eager to know more about Master Chief’s current plight. The teaser left us with many questions: what was that massive (Forerunner? Promethean? Precursor?) infrastructure that towered over Master Chief, where was our heroic space marine, and what is he doing out in the middle of desert?

Hopefully we’ll get answers to these questions soon, but the teaser definitely accomplished its goal by igniting the passion of Halo fans across the globe.

We’ll keep you updated on the most recent news concerning the new Halo title, and if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the official reveal trailer below.

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Via Games Radar, Gamespot