Update 2:

IGN has received the original email interview with Steve Downes from GameZone, where the website asks, "Looking forward, Halo 5 has obviously been announced and likely will hit this fall. I know you can’t go too in-depth with this, but where are you with your process in the development cycle? How much of the game has been voiced? Have you even gone in [to the voice-over booth] yet?" To which Downes replies, "I think you may be ahead of yourself on H5. I wouldn’t expect anything until 2015. What you

can

[Ed. note: underlined emphasis left intact from the original document] look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of HALO 2."

So, did Microsoft reach out to Downes after this story broke yesterday and ask him to amend his statement? When asked by IGN, a Microsoft spokesperson simply said, "We can confirm your next Halo journey will begin in 2014, but beyond that we don't have any details to share at this time."Read GameZone's full interview with Downes here , and check out our own Podcast Unlocked interview with Downes from last October, where he discusses his life as Master Chief , doing commercial voiceover work, and more.

IGN reached out to Steve Downes, who says that he didn't actually intend to imply that he has knowledge of Halo 2 Anniversary."What I said was: 'I think you're ahead of yourself on H5. I have read some things on line that you can look forward to a H2 anniversary edition maybe this year, but I have no official information one way or the other,'" Downes told us. "I was just mentioning some of the things I had read online about Halo 2. I have no idea if there will be an anniversary edition and didn't mean to leave that impression."Original story follows:

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Halo 5 won't arrive until 2015 according to Master Chief's voice actor, though Halo 2 Anniversary will supposedly arrive later this year to tide us over.Speaking to GameZone , Steve Downes warned that it's unlikely the new Halo game on Xbox One will arrive this year, but proceeded to then out the anniversary edition of Halo 2 that's only been rumoured until now."I think you may be ahead of yourself on Halo 5," Downes said. "I wouldn’t expect anything until 2015. What you can look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of Halo 2."While he didn't clarify who would be developing Halo 2 Anniversary or what platform it would be coming to, we've heard rumours before now that it's set to hit Xbox One later this year , supposedly in two special editions this November.The same source that originally leaked that bit of news also claimed that Halo 5 has slipped to next year , though Microsoft was adamant back in January that the game is still on track for a 2014 release Though this is just shy of official confirmation that Halo 2 Anniversary is real, it's certainly looking increasingly likely. Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer recently added fuel to the fire when he tweeted a mysterious response to a fan asking about a commemorative edition, saying simply that Halo 2 was a good game Furthermore, when we reached out to Microsoft, we received a statement saying our Halo journey would begin on Xbox One this year. The statement didn't specify what title it'd start with, however.At this stage it looks like we're going to have to wait and see about whether Halo 5 has slipped and Halo 2 Anniversary is real but, with all these rumours, both are looking increasingly likely.In case you missed it a couple of weeks ago, a supposed Microsoft insider made a number of claims about the company's plans for the coming years. Among them were rumours that Halo 2 Anniversary would be coming later this year, along with lots of other claims about release dates and reports that white, disc-less and Titanfall-themed Xbox One models are also on the way

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter