Halo 4 will release on Xbox 360, says O'Connor

Halo franchise director Frank O'Connor confirmed that Halo 4, the start of the series' next trilogy, will release on the Xbox 360, squashing the speculation of it releasing on next-generation hardware. 

"Halo 4 will be on Xbox 360 and use a modified core of the Halo engine(s)," O'Connor posted on NeoGAF. "Not really a singular engine since it goes through fairly radical evolutions all the time."

Speculation of Halo 4 launching on a new Xbox began when the teaser trailer was shown at E3, and 343 hadn't mentioned the game's engine.

Halo 4 will be about Da Cheef!

A lot of people want the next Halo trilogy, dubbed "Reclaimer," to ditch the whole "Halo" story and start anew with the plot. Well, in terms of Halo 4's story, 343 Industries confirmed it will be different, and this time around it'll be focusing on the story of Master Chief and Cortana.

"It's a direct continuation and evolution of the Master Chief's story," 343's Frank O'Connor told 1UP.

"We're going to be pretty front and center about that. This is about the Master Chief and we're going to make him a deeper and richer character than he's been, but just in the way that I'm sure Bungie would have naturally done anyway. "

In terms of his sidekick, Cortana, O'Connor added that she was approaching the end of her lifecycle in Halo 3, mentioning she's been "exposed to far more information and far more technology than any other A.I. in existence." As a result, Cortana will "develop some weapons and some muscle from that process, but it also directly contributes to her rampancy."

I'm calling it: Cortana will create some super weapon that, when used, will kill her as well. Any takers?

Next Halo trilogy dubbed, "Reclaimer"

During the last day of this year's PAX Prime, 343 Industries held a gathering discussing Halo 4--well, as much as they were allowed to talk about, anyway. The one reveal made at the conference, however, was the name of the series' next trilogy: "Reclaimer."

"The trilogy is a direct continuation to the events in Halo 3," said 343's Frank O'Connor. "It will deal with the fate of John and the fate of Cortana."

Interestingly, O'Connor referred to the Master Chief as John, perhaps foreshadowing he will portray more humanistic qualities this time around. O'Connor did refer to an audience member's question about the Chief's lack of communication in the past, stating, "You're definitely going to have the opportunity to dive deeper into John's mind in this trilogy."

[via GameInformer]