Negative, Master Chief Says Don’t Expect Halo 5 In 2014
Let's back up a moment. In the original interview with GameZone, Downes was asked where Halo 5 resides in the development and how much of the game has been voiced at this point.
"I think you may be ahead of yourself on Halo 5. I wouldn't expect anything until 2015. What you can look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of Halo 2," Downes revealed.
After news of his remarks spread, Microsoft contacted GameZone and asked the site to retract his statement and post a new one that Microsoft claims is what Downes really said. That didn't sit all too well with GameZone, which still has the original email and interview on file, and thus knows exactly what Downes really said. In any event, here's the new statement from Downes, provided by Microsoft:
"I think you're ahead of yourself on Halo 5. I have read some things online that you can look forward to a Halo 2 Anniversary edition maybe this year, but I have no official information one way or the other."
When GameZone asked Downes about this new statement, he stood behind Microsoft's edited version.
"It sounds like I was confirming an H2A edition, which I most certainly was not. I'm in no position to do that as I have no knowledge of it. I was only mentioning what I had seen online about it," Downes told GameZone in a followup email.
We're speculating here, but it sounds to us like an accidental reveal. This is, after all, the 10 year anniversary of Halo 2, a game that was instrumental in promoting Microsoft's Xbox Live service.