Halo franchise has sold 46 million copies since 2001, Microsoft releases series stats

Microsoft has revealed a slew of Halo franchise stats in the run up to Halo 4's November 6th release. Most impressive is that the franchise has sold 46 million units to date. That's got to equate to a lot of online frags.

In an official release, Microsoft highlights that the combined Halo series has sold 46 million copies worldwide since since Halo: Combat Evolved launched in 2001, resulting in over 5 billion hours of Halo gameplay logged over Xbox Live. The publisher also revealed that Halo: Reach along generated $200 million in sales in its opening week alone.

The series has also generated over $3 billion since its launch, according to Microsoft's Chris Lewis.

The VP for interactive entertainment business said, "Halo is a $3 billion blockbuster franchise which has shaped entertainment history and defined a generation of gamers. From the world’s first ever red-carpet premieres for a video game to sending a man strapped to a jet-pack 50-foot above London’s iconic skyline, Halo launches have continually broken the mould and we are back with a colossal bang for Halo 4."

The 'colossal bang' in question is Microsoft's recent stunt, in which it took some gamers to Liechtenstein to play Halo 4 before launch, and transformed parts of the region into a sci-fi warzone.

Are you excited for Halo 4's launch? Let us know below.