Games that will be impacted include Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo: Spartan Assault, and Halo Wars. Aspects of the game such as matchmaking will be shut down, while others such as Achievements are yet to be ascertained. Of course, fans will still be able to play through the campaign and the Forge mode alongside Custom Games and Firefight.

343 Industries said that the move was made in an effort to move development resources to Halo Infinite, which is the same reason why Season 8 will the last content update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

343 Industries’ upcoming Halo Infinite also received a new campaign overview trailer, which showcases updated visuals alongside open world elements.

Originally released for Windows 8 devices, 343 Industries’ Halo: Spartan Assault is now officially available on Xbox One and mysteriously a day earlier than planned. You can pick it up for $15 on Xbox Live. If you already own a version for Windows 8, you can purchase it for $5 instead.

Spartan Assault differs greatly from the usual Halo first person shooter titles in that it is a twin-stick, top-down shooter with its own story, focused on the origin of Spartan Ops, and missions. You’ll also gain access to the Operation Hydra DLC which will be coming out soon for the Windows 8 version. Other features include 1080p visuals and a 60 FPS frame rate.

There will also be a new cooperative mode for players so you can play alongside friends. It will also be available in January 2014 for the Xbox 360. Will you be interested in picking it up for Xbox One? Let us know below.

While the upcoming Halo: Spartan Assault might seem an odd fit for the Xbox One and Xbox 360, with its twin-stick gameplay, it’s part of a bigger initiative to make sure that the franchise is available for as many formats as possible, which includes both digital and physical. Or so Halo: Spartan Assault lead designer Mike Ellis stated to Venture Beat.

“343′s looking to have Halo experiences in as many formats as possible. You can look through our portfolio now. We have games. We have books on the New York Times bestseller list. We have toys and things like Mega Blocks and McFarlane figures. Halo is bigger than any one game. We see it as an entire universe of experiences.

“The games have a lot of the same values. A lot of the building blocks of the core gameplay are the same. It was just a matter making sure that this version of the game was appropriately native to the console. We went in and looked at it as if it was a console game from the ground up, and evaluated what changes needed to be made to make it a successful console shooter.

“If you’re a casual gamer who’s never experienced playing on a console, you might be happier with the phone or tablet versions. A PC gamer would be more comfortable with a keyboard and mouse. Our console fans should be very happy with the controller.”

Regardless of whether it’s a first person shooter or not, Ellis feels that games like Spartan Assault fit right in with the Halo universe. “We’ve created a game that looks like Halo, sounds like Halo, and plays like Halo. We see it as another part of the Halo universe.”

Halo: Spartan Assault releases on December 24th for the Xbox One. It will release for Xbox 360 in January 2014.

Microsoft and 343 Industries have released a new trailer for the upcoming port of Halo: Spartan Assault, a twin-stick shooter which originally launched for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8.1. Check it out above.

Some new additions to the original game include native 1080p resolution and a 60 FPS frame rate for the Xbox One version. There will also be new weapons, a new co-op mode, the Operation Hydra DLC and much more. An interesting deal is on offer right now where you can pick up the Windows version before December 15th and purchase the Xbox One version for $5 (the normal retail version is for $15). Sound like a good deal?

While the Xbox One version will be launching on December 24th, it will arrive on Xbox 360 in January. Would you be willing to pick up the game for the Xbox One/Xbox 360 or would you rather wait for a proper Halo title? Let us know what you think below in the comments.

Will this be the case for other titles, and will this be used an initiative to get more players to play on the Xbox One? We’ll find out as more Achievements for other cross-generational titles are revealed. Till then, check out the full Achievement list for Spartan Assault below.

Flooded
Complete all co-op missions
Xbox 360: 30 GS
Xbox One: 60 GS

Overachiever
Earn all co-op medals at least once
Xbox 360: 50 GS
Xbox One: 100 GS

Dynamic Duo
Earn all Gold stars in all co-op missions
Xbox 360: 30 GS
Xbox One: 60 GS

Extermination
Kill 10,000 enemies in co-op
Xbox 360: 30 GS
Xbox One: 60 GS

The Company of Strangers
Complete a co-op mission with at least 5 different players
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Xbox One Exclusive Achievements:

The Enemy of my Friend
Get a higher individual score than your partner on all co-op missions
100 GS

Immune
Finish a co-op mission without becoming infected
100 GS

Original Achievements:

Overrun
Complete Operation A
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Switched On
Complete Operation B
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Switched Off
Complete Operation C
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Evacuated
Complete Operation D
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Terminated
Complete Operation E
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Escort Service
Keep all Wolverines intact in Operation A, Mission 3
Xbox 360: 5 GS
Xbox One: 10 GS

Nowhere to Hide
Prevent all Jackals from regenerating their shield in Operation B, Mission 3
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Never Knew What Hit Them
Kill a convoy target with every stationary gun in Operation C, Mission 3
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Brute Force
Finish the objectives using only the Brute Shot, melee and grenades in Operation D, Mission 1
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Foot Soldier
Finish the objective without using any vehicles/turrets in Operation E, Mission 4
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Recruit
Earn a star of any type in an operation mission
Xbox 360: 5 GS
Xbox One: 10 GS

Prodigy
Earn your first Gold star in an operation mission
Xbox 360: 5 GS
Xbox One: 10 GS

117
Earn all Gold stars in all operation missions
Xbox 360: 20 GS
Xbox One: 40 GS

Distinguished Service
Earn all medals in the game at least once
Xbox 360: 15 GS
Xbox One: 30 GS

Weapon of Choice
Score a kill with every handheld weapon (excluding Rocket Launcher and Spartan Laser)
Xbox 360: 5 GS
Xbox One: 10 GS

Powered by MJOLNIR
Use every ability at least once (excluding Overshield and Seeker Drone)
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Skull Combo
Complete any mission with the maximum number of Skulls active
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Vidmaster Challenge
Complete Operation 5, Mission 1 with the Hollow and Black Eye Skulls active
Xbox 360: 15 GS
Xbox One: 30 GS

Extra Credit
Complete 75 challenges
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Pension Plan
Earn 25000 Spartan Points throughout your career
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Archeology
Complete Operation F
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Silvertip
Destroy all Mega Turrets with the Grizzly tank in Operation F, Mission 2
Xbox 360: 10 GS
Xbox One: 20 GS

Vidmaster Challenge 2.0
Complete Operation F, Mission 4 with the Blind and Thunderstorm Skulls active
Xbox 360: 15 GS
Xbox One: 30 GS

Halo: Spartan Assault is a radical departure from the series which has been dominated primarly by first person shooters. It is a twin-stick shooter played from a top down, overhead perspective and features 25 missions in the campaign mode along with Achievements that tie into Halo 4.

Of course, Spartan Assault was criticized for its touch-screen support and micro-transactions. Will Microsoft continue with the latter on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One? We’ll find out this December.

Unlike the Xbox releases of Halo, Spartan Assault is a top-down, twin-stick third person shooter developed by Vanguard Entertainment in association with 343 Industries. The game features 25 missions, along with weekly challenges and opportunities to earn Xbox Achievements and compete against friends in the leaderboards.

You’ll also be able to earn experience points from which you can upgrade and customize your Spartan. All Emblems and Achievements earned will also be integrated with one’s Halo 4 career.

Halo: Spartan Assault is currently retailing for £4.99 GBP. The Windows Phone 8 version of the game hasn’t been released yet but is expected to be available soon.

Spartan Assault will cover the very first missions of the Spartan Ops program and detail the rise of Commander Sarah Palmer across 25 missions.

Players will be able to earn XP, unlock 40 in-game Achievements and emblems that can be used for one’s Halo 4 Spartan career, take part in weekly challenges and more.

It will also support in-game purchases for quick levelling and weapon boosting, though players can earn their abilities and upgrades by grinding as well. Halo: Spartan Assault will retail for $6.99 and be available as a digital download.

The listing is for a multiplayer designer who will be creating “revolutionary multiplayer experiences” for the next Halo. Neither Spartan Assault nor Halo 5 were officially named, though we know it will require using 343 Industries’ internal scripting engine.

The developer is also searching for individuals with “extensive” competitive multiplayer experience from past games, along with one shipped AAA title, to apply.

A supposed leak today which showed both Halo 5 and Spartan Assault to be announced at Microsoft’s E3 conference indicates that the work will be for either title. Stay tuned for more updates in the road to E3 2013.

In the image above we can see the following titles:

Top left: Banjo Kazooie Grunty Land (Rare’s historic IP was previously confirmed)

Middle Top: Forza Motorsport 5 already announced as a launch title

Middle Left: Halo: Spartan Assault was recently registered via Microsoft domain

Center: Fable IV Lionhead Studios has opened up new Fable forums earlier today confirming the sequel for the next-generation Fable experience

Middle Right: Hard to tell due to letters being cut of but could be Dead Rising 3 or something to do with Zombies.

Bottom Left: Can’t tell because we can only see a piece of the symbol.

Bottom Center: Quantum Break was already announced on May 21st during Xbox One’s reveal.

Bottom Right: Halo 5 and that is a no-brainer since 343 studios was already hard at work for next-generation Halo.

We will be attending Microsoft’s press conference and will be posting full impressions of what I’ve seen of the games and the console itself.

Let us know if any of these games excite you in the comments below.

Check back on GamingBolt on June 10th for the E3 coverage and more updates on daily basis.

Update: Halo: Spartan Assault has been officially announced, along with the official logo of the game. Of course, it doesn’t match with the logo shown in the above pic, but it’s fully possible that the above logo is old while this is new. As always, take the above “leak” with a grain of salt and wait till E3 2013 before getting your hopes up.