Call of Duty may have taken the plaudits as the biggest console release of the year, but just prior to that, the record – albeit short-lived – was held by Halo 4. Being the first major Halo release post-Bungie, many were apprehensive and skeptical about whether the popular franchise could once again pull in the gamers, but the early sales figures have certainly proved otherwise. Halo 4 fans whom adopted the game early have another treat in store today as the initial installment of the Crimson Map Pack becomes available. It’s the first of three in a series, and will set you back 800 Microsoft Points for three new multiplayer maps. Want details? We’ve got ’em after the break!

November is certainly a month for the major franchises. With gamers around the world having queued, currently queuing, or about to queue up for the special midnight release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the numbers are starting to trickle through with regards to last week’s release of Halo 4. In selling a reported 3.1 million copies of Halo 4 in the first 24 hours, the title also earned $220 million on day one, and with Microsoft tipping the global $300 million to have been surpassed by tomorrow, we’re looking at the biggest Halo launch in history.

When you’re living off a franchise as big, a name as pivotal, and an anticipation level as colossal as that of Halo 4’s, you expect sales figures to be pretty impressive. One of the first titles to release on the original Xbox, the Halo series has maintained its momentum, and so much so in fact, that it managed to shift an unbelievable 3.1 million units in its first day alone.

The long-awaited release of Halo 4 has finally arrived, and having waited some four-and-a-bit years for the fourth edition in the legendary series, gamers are finally able to dive in and get gaming. If you cast your minds back a bit – beyond the manic rush of the past couple of days – you may remember Microsoft’s promise that gamers with high enough Gamerscore would be in the running for a couple of perks and rewards. True to its word, the Redmond company has come through on its announcement, and if you’re an avid Halo 4 fan, you might want to prize yourself away from your Xbox 360 console for two minutes.

The November 6th release date for Halo 4 is looming near, and with excitement levels already at an all-time high, it’s time to notch it up a few more levels now since the official Halo 4 ‘Scanned’ trailer has been released. The trailer has been produced by David Fincher, who may be better known to film buffs as the director of Fight Club and The Social Network, and brings an extraordinary amount of detail all combined together in a hybrid production of mixed media and video game footage.

An understandably disillusioned Microsoft have confirmed that they are aware of the possible leak of the Halo 4 Xbox console game and are currently in the process of working in an attempt to get to the bottom of how the slip occurred. The latest iteration of the phenomenally popular Halo franchise is slated for a worldwide release during the first week of November but it seems that the Redmond based company couldn’t keep a tight lock on the game any longer.

With the release of the hotly-anticipated Halo 4 now entering the home straight, we’re seeing regular installments of in-game footage, giving us more than a slight teaser of things to come. The latest, released earlier today, is probably the strongest insight we’ve gotten to date regarding what it’ll be like to play Halo 4, and if you don’t want to know anything with respect to the storyline, this is probably a trailer you’ll want to skip.

Larry Hryb, better known as Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson, has just showcased two new goodies for Microsoft’s flagship Xbox 360 console, and if you’re a pretty big Halo fan, at least one, if not both of the new releases will be of some interest.

The holiday shopping season is always a time of year that those involved in the gaming industry look forward to. The season of giving generally notches up a rather large spike in the sales of gaming consoles, new titles and accessories as family and friends look for that gift to give the person who already has everything. It’s always the same for people who I am close to, if they can’t think of a gift to get me then they generally fall back onto a new PlayStation 3 game or the latest Xbox 360 release.

Although Microsoft has done fantastically to bring its Xbox brand of console from nowhere to market leader in less than a decade, the Halo franchise has had a big hand in proceedings. It was the first title to release along with the original Xbox console, and with Halo 4 set to arrive this fall, the buzz about the title is still as prevalent as ever.

After the epic Halo trilogy that ended in Halo 3, Master Chief is set to return as the main playable character in Halo 4 which is the start of the Reclaimer Trilogy. Now, to celebrate the return of John-117, Microsoft has announced a new Limited Edition Xbox 360 Slim. Check it out after the jump.

In the gaming world, one of the biggest franchises around is without doubt the Halo series. The fourth installment to the series is greatly-anticipated, and it has been revealed today by Microsoft that Halo 4 will offer a sleuth of multiplayer options, including a weekly “Spartan Ops” episodic series.