New Halo game has public beta for owners of 'Halo ODST'

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Bungie, developers of the top-selling Halo series, used Microsoft's X10 press event on Thursday, February 11 to announce further details regarding the public testing phase of their next game, Halo Reach.

The public beta launches on May 3 and will give eager gamers the chance to play part of Halo Reach first and for free, while at the same time providing Bungie with valuable user feedback to help them tweak the game before its official release later in the year.

Instead of asking volunteers to take part in a randomized selection process, the beta will be available to all owners of Halo ODST on the Xbox 360.

Halo ODST (2009), the fourth game in the series, was noted for a change in atmosphere and approach to the shooter franchise. Instead of playing as a powerful elite futuristic warrior, the game's main character was an ordinary foot soldier.

Halo Reach will be set just before the original Halo: Combat Evolved (2002), at a time when humanity has been brought to its knees by an alien onslaught.

Link: Halo Reach beta announcement at Bungie.net