Update:

More Halo Online details were just shared on the Halo Waypoint blog

Halo Online will launch this spring, only in Russia. It's designed to run well on lower-end PCs. There's no campaign mode, but the game is set on a secret UNSC space station called "Anvil" where Spartans train together and test new technology.During the upcoming closed beta, the developers will monitor and adjust gameplay, features, and the in-game economy.There are no plans to bring Halo Online to the Xbox One.

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In a move that nobody could have predicted, Microsoft has announced a new free-to-play, PC-exclusive Halo game for Russia only.It's called Halo Online, and it runs on a modified Halo 3 engine. IGN Russia attended the reveal event and learned that Halo Online will take place right after the events of Halo 3. It will also include classic weapons and vehicles, fan favorite maps (and a few new ones, one of which includes a Russian town), and it is, of course, optimized for keyboard and mouse controls.Matches can handle 4-16 players.Saber Interactive, the developer that worked on Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, will lead the project. 343 Industries, the developer that worked on Halo 4 and the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians, will serve as a project overseer.The game will be published and operated by Innova Systems, a Moscow-based company that operates well-known MMOs in Russia, including Point Blank, Lineage 2, Aion, and APB Reloaded.While this announcement might seem strange, it's not unheard of for major franchises to have online-only game variants in non-Western countries. Another great example is Call of Duty Online , which launched its open beta in China in January.Microsoft hasn't announced plans to bring the game to non-Russian territories. We've reached out for additional clarification.

Brian is an associate editor at IGN. You can follow him @albinoalbert on Twitter