Halo: The Master Chief Collection may be on people's minds for now, but once the game is released, that might not be the case for very long. Not that The Master Chief Collection isn't a good deal, it's just not the next full-fledged Halo game fans really want. Halo 5: Guardians is the next true entry in the franchise, but aside from a few snippets of footage and the announcement of a multiplayer beta, 343 Industries has been extremely quiet about the game. There's likely still quite some time before a release date is revealed; most would expect such a big announcement to come during one of Microsoft's larger press conferences.
It may have just been a fluke, but it seems that 343 Industries may have accidentally revealed Halo 5: Guardians' release date. What started as an innocent post to Twitter about a new job may have ended up revealing when players can expect the game to hit store shelves:
I’m extremely happy and humbled to join the the 343 Industries team to work on @Halo 5: Guardians! pic.twitter.com/BI7csQK9hR
— Michael Cavanaugh (@mcstrongside) October 23, 2014
It may not look like anything is hidden in the picture, but look closely: just under the '4' on the 343 Industries banner is what appears to be a countdown clock. While most of the screen is blocked by the subjects in the picture, it's easy to see the number '382' on the clock.
What's interesting about the number 382 is that, when translated into days on a calendar, it becomes Nov. 10, 2015. Many Halo games in the past have been released in November, and Nov. 10 is a Tuesday - the general retail release day for most major video games. Nov. 10 also gives Microsoft plenty of time to market Halo 5 and the Xbox One to holiday shoppers. When all of those details are put into place, a Nov. 10 release date makes a whole lot of sense.
Some may assume that the countdown clock has something to do with The Master Chief Collection, but there's not much that 382 could mean with the collection's release date being so close. There is a chance that the clock has nothing to do with Halo 5, but the theory of a November release date is certainly sound.
As per the usual, 343 Industries isn't commenting on the rumors. Previously, Halo 5: Guardians' gameplay was set to debut this Nov. 10, and would be followed by the beta next spring.
Until then, players can pick up Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Nov. 11.
