2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Microsoft's Xbox and its flagship Halo series. With Halo Infinite on the way, the hype is soaring, and fans new and old are finding new interest in researching Halo's extensive fictional universe. The 20-year history of Halo encompasses a lot of games, media, merchandise, and lore – so much that you'd need an entire encyclopedia to cover everything. Fortunately, publisher Dark Horse has you covered. Halo developer 343 industries announced that they're teaming up with the prolific Portland-based purveyor of graphic novels and artbooks to deliver the Halo Encyclopedia on March 29, 2022.
Clocking in at over 500 pages, this hefty book will cover everything you'd ever want to know about Halo's two decades of existence. It's being authored by 343 Industries loremasters Jeff Easterling, Jeremy Patenaude, and Kenneth Peters, along with some added fact-checking from Halo megafan Stephen Loftus. It also features an all-new cover illustration by current Halo art director and industry concept art veteran, Sparth. While there aren't too many specifics as to the book's content just yet, the official announcement on 343's website includes some high-resolution images as examples of the sort of things fans can expect: plenty of art and details about the minutiae of the Halo universe, including the upcoming Halo Infinite. Maybe we'll see some more concept art and renders, too.
This isn't the first attempt at compressing all of Halo's lore into a massive tome. A Halo Encyclopedia first released in 2009, with an updated edition appearing in 2011. However, in the ten years since the last Halo Encyclopedia's release, a lot has changed, both within the universe of Halo itself and the consoles that play host to the games. Details on pricing and pre-order availability will come at a later date.
Related: Halo Infinite Guide: Everything We Know So Far
Halo Encyclopedia publishing partner Dark Horse has been carving out a niche in the realm of game artbooks lately, with releases of books like Hyrule Historia, Runescape: The First 20 Years, and The Art of Super Mario Odyssey. These books have been quite well-received by fans and collectors, so it's easy to see why 343 Studios decided to team up with them for the daunting task of bringing a mammoth-sized Halo book to market.
Dark Horse's NieR: Automata World Guide comes highly recommended to anyone looking for a deeper look into that particular game's universe – they're filled with beautiful art, lore, and details you likely missed in the games, and a top-notch presentation. If the finished Halo Encyclopedia is even half as good as Dark Horse's NieR books, then Halo fans can look forward to a tome to treasure for years to come.
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