Speaking to IGN during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week, Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer described what would be the most important feature to him in a hypothetical Halo 2 Anniversary release for Xbox One.

“ I think you just have to nail [multiplayer] in just such a fundamentally core way. Frankly probably better than we did with Halo 1 Anniversary.

Loading

"All the things that you and I know about the evolution of the franchise, if you’re going to say one thing about Halo 2, you’re going to talk about real multiplayer. I think you just have to nail that in just such a fundamentally core way. Frankly [we'd have to do it] probably better than we did with Halo 1 Anniversary. I thought the multiplayer in Halo 1 Anniversary was good, but Halo 1 never had multiplayer in the truest sense, so it always was going to be something different."If there were something called Halo 2 Anniversary," he concluded, "I think the multiplayer would have to be fantastic."Halo 2 Anniversary has been heavily rumored recently, and not just because it's the 10-year anniversary of the game's original November 9, 2004 release. A purported insider leak allegedly outed the game, and then it was allegedly confirmed again in an interview with Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes.If and when Halo 2 Anniversary Edition is officially confirmed, we'll have the full story on IGN.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan , on IGN , catch him on Podcast Unlocked , and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.