Remember roughly 4.5 years when Microsoft announced a TV series for Halo? One that was live-action, developed by Showtime and featured Steven Spielberg as an executive producer? We’ve heard roughly nothing about the series ever since and gone from transmedia being a major Xbox One strategy to the closure of Xbox Entertainment Studios and a tighter focus on games. Halo Nightfall (seen above) happened but it was fairly forgettable.

Spielberg’s series isn’t dead though, at least not according Showtime President and CEO David Nevins when speaking to TV Guide. Nevins said that, “[It] is absolutely still in development, still moving forward and I’m encouraged by what we’ve seen so far. It’s still live action, and it will definitely satisfy the fans of Halo and I think also satisfy the drama audiences of Showtime.”

Nevins has only scripts on the same and couldn’t offer any more information on the actual show. Considering this is a project that was announced even before Halo: The Master Chief Collection, it seems highly unlikely to be anywhere near done at the moment.

In other news though, it may be a while before the next big first person shooter Halo arrives according to 343 Industries. Then again, the studio has promised something exciting is on the way this year so stay tuned for more information.

Xbox Entertainment may be dead but we’ll still be seeing some original TV shows in the coming months, one of them being Halo: Nightfall, an original series developed by Ridley Scott and set to premier on Showtime along with Xbox One. Check out the first look at the series in the video above.

Like many Ridley Scott sci-fi adventures, Halo: Nightfall concerns a strike team investigating a biological attack which eventually leads to an artifact. It sees Jameson Locke, an agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), trying to figure out just what’s happening and deciding whether the mission or staying alive is more important. The series is set between Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, effectively setting up the plot for the fifth game.

Halo: Nightfall will release this November alongside Halo: The Master Chief Collection and will see a new episode each week. What are your thoughts based on the first look trailer? Let us know below.

Microsoft currently has two major entertainment productions planned in its Halo universe with Steven Spielberg’s Halo TV series and Ridley Scott’s feature, but according to a recent report by Variety, the former could debut on American cable network Showtime before it arrives on Xbox formats.

Showtime has been with Xbox Entertainment Studios to bring the show to the network and the only reason it’s been going on for so long is because of the property’s untested nature. As of now, it’s unconfirmed whether it will actually hit Showtime first since unnamed sources are claiming the same. Regardless, the series will be a major test as it looks to combine traditional TV episodes with interactive features more suited to Xbox platforms.

Though Microsoft has touted more games for E3 2014, expect to hear some news on the upcoming Halo TV Series at the company’s media briefing on June 9th. Stay tuned for more information.

GDC organisers have confirmed that DICE’s yet to be shown Battlefield 3 will be getting a session over at their conference next year.

Kenny Magnusson of the Swedish developer will be taking to the stage in SF and will preside over a session caleed “Lightning You up in Battlefield 3” which will showcase the “the technical implementation of the art direction in BATTLEFIELD 3, the workflows we created for it as well as how all the individual lighting components fit together: deferred rendering, HDR, dynamic radiosity and particle lighting.” Neat, no?

GDC gonna take place in Spring next year, which means you can expect a formal announcement of the game in the not too distant future (cough…VGA 2010…sneeze).

Look what EA Games VP, Patrick Soderlund told recently:

“You’ll know probably sooner than I will. You are going to be able to see it in the not too distant future. The marketing guys would kill me if I told you when,” he said earlier in the month.

Gears of War 3, Final Fantasy and Pixar have also been confirmed to appear at the event next year. More updates as they come in.