With 17 days to go before the opening of this year’s PAX East show, the panel schedule has finally been released. This year, in addition to the usual appearances by the team at Rooster Teeth, a smattering of nerdcore artists, and the Dungeons & Dragons developers, the head honchos of 343 Industries will be on hand to talk about the future of Halo 4. Oh, and they’re bringing a playable version of the final map pack, the Castle Map Pack, with them:

Halo 4 Multiplayer: Past, Present, and Future

Friday, March 22 5 PM – 6 PM

Main Theater

Halo 4 delivered a unique set of multiplayer experiences, immersing players in an episodic campaign with Spartan Ops, while delivering more breadth and depth in the expanded War Games sandbox. You’ve played the Majestic Map Pack and may even have had a chance to play Castle Map Pack on the floor here at PAX. Come prepared to hear 343 Industries’ Frank O’Connor, Kevin Franklin, Dan Ayoub and David Ellis, as well as Certain Affinity’s Tom Potter discuss where we’ve been, where we are, and what is on the horizon for Halo 4 Multiplayer.

The Castle Map Pack is expected to be released sometime in April, so a March preview (PAX East runs from Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24) is a nice surprise. And you never know what other surprises the guys from 343, and map pack developer Certain Affinity, will have for the crowd.