The Xbox One is being billed as an all-round media center, and at yesterday’s Xbox One reveal event Microsoft showed how the new console will be able to stream live TV. In addition, Microsoft and 343 Industries are bringing the Halo franchise to the world of TV serials, and announced that renowned director Steven Spielberg will be involved with the project.
Microsoft’s Xbox One reveal event was yesterday, but with E3 just around the corner, the event itself didn’t have much in the way of games to reveal. In lieu of interactive entertainment, Microsoft was keen to use the stage to sell the Xbox One as the new center of the living room. The Xbox One will be able to stream live television, and viewers will be able to use the One’s inbuilt Kinect 2.0 to select specific channels or TV shows with their voice.
That’s not all that Microsoft had to announce regarding TV and the Xbox One though. Mid-way through the conference, 343i studio head Bonnie Ross took to the stage to announce a Halo live-action TV show, with Steven Spielberg as a producer. The audience at the event were then treated to a video of Spielberg himself, who called the Halo universe “an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet to create something really groundbreaking.”
This wouldn’t be the Halo franchise’s first foray into forms of media other than games. The series already has a range of novels expanding the game’s background lore, as well as web series Forward Unto Dawn, which was launched last year in the run up to Halo 4. The Halo TV series (currently known officially as Halo The Television Series) would appear to be part of 343 Industries’ plan to transform the lucrative Xbox-exclusive gaming franchise into a multimedia phenomenon.
