Platform exclusives: "Nothing is bigger than Halo," says MS

With the reintroduction of Master Chief, Microsoft sees Halo re-establishing itself at the top alongside the biggest names in the industry, with Microsoft adding that no other platform exclusive series is "bigger than Halo".

"Bringing Master Chief back is huge," global marketing director for Xbox Steve Beinner told MCV.

"Honestly, there’s not many franchises that have done what Halo has. There’s not many that have broken through and sold that much. You named two of them, GTA and Call of Duty. But if you look at platform exclusives, nothing is bigger than Halo.”

Producer Kiki Wolfkill added the inclusion of Chief adds "a strong focal point to the fourth installment of the series.

"“Halo has missed Master Chief a little bit. And that’s not to take anything away from the games that were off the main line. But we’ve built so much equity in Chief and really such a strong icon in Chief, that I do think people missed a little bit not being able to see what he was doing next.

Halo 4's out this holiday season for Xbox 360.