No more Halo side-stories planned

There are currently no side-story titles planned for the Halo franchise, new custodian 343 Industries has revealed.

Discussing the series' post-Bungie future with Official Xbox Magazine, franchise development director Frank O'Connor explained that 343 had no plans to release another game in the vein of 2009's tangential Halo 3: ODST campaign expansion.

"I can tell you we're not working on any side stories as games at the moment," he insisted. "There'll certainly be more Halo fiction entering the universe, but we've no new games to announce right now."

However, O'Connor did offer a few pointers as to what fans might have in store over the next few years.

"I think that there are a lot of questions that fans of the series want answered, and we'll certainly be in the business of answering those questions," he promised.

"But we would be lazy and very lacking in imagination if we didn't inject lots of brand new questions into the universe, and enigma, mystery, and awe are at the heart of what drives the fiction.

"I think building that sense of epic scale, while also focusing on creating great, memorable characters, and exciting new stories, are what will propel both 343 Industries and the universe it inhabits."

He added that while there is no core Halo release currently on the horizon, this year's 10th anniversary celebrations should keep fans happy in the short term.

"2011 is the tenth anniversary of Halo, and we'll make sure that the fanbase, the userbase, and the community is energised with cool new content and fiction.

"We'll kick off 2011 with the first of three novels from Greg Bear, which explores the Forerunner universe, and there will be more information about the 'contemporary' Halo novels coming from Karen Traviss. And by contemporary, we mean events of 2552 and beyond."

O'Connor also promised at least two more Halo: Reach map packs from series creator Bungie.