Was the Halo trailer shown at E3 two weeks ago actually Halo 5? And does its advertised 2014 release date eliminate the possibility of the fan-requested Halo 2 Anniversary, since that game’s tenth birthday happens the same year? IGN sat down with Microsoft Game Studios vice president Phil Spencer to try and get to the bottom of it.

“ What we showed wasn’t the game.

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“ We have discussions about [Halo 2 Anniversary...

And yet, Spencer did have a plan: “But I did want Bonnie to come out and say, ‘First-person shooter. Master Chief.’ Because they’ll get the questions – ‘Hey, is this ODST? What are you guys doing?’ Bonnie comes out and reaffirms that 343 is building this game. It’s Master Chief. It’s a first-person shooter at 60 frames per second. It’s coming in 2014.”When I asked why show Halo now without a game to formally announce, his answer was…intriguing. “If you go back in Halo history, and I’ve been around all of the Halos since Halo 1… Halo usually has two E3s.”He elaborated: “The Halo Anniversary that we did was as much about the launch of the first Xbox as well. It was a culmination of many things coming together. It would probably run out of steam if we were trying to think about, ‘Okay, what’s 10 years old now?’ It’s definitely more from the game itself, the experience that we’re able to bring to market. Less about ‘Is the last digit a zero?’ in terms of its anniversary.”

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.