With the multiplayer beta test for Halo 5: Guardians set to begin today, Microsoft is also offering Halo fans another opportunity around this eagerly-awaited game: You can now pre-order Halo 5: Guardians in any of three editions. The bad news? The game won't even be released until Fall 2015.
That's gotta set some kind of record for a video game preorder, though I suspect that Halo fans will be quite happy to pony up now. Three editions are available for preorder:
Halo 5: Guardians. The standard edition of the game retails for $59.99 as you might expect, though preorderers will also get a free Halo 5: Guardians poster from participating retailers.
Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition. This version costs $99.99 and adds "new digital content to enhance Spartan combat and exclusive items wrapped in a uniquely designed steel book" to everything that comes with the standard edition.
Halo 5: Guardians Collector's Edition. For the well-heeled die-hard Halo fan, this version costs $149.99 and includes everything in the Limited Edition plus a "commemorative numbered statue designed by 343 Industries."
The Limited and Collector's Editions will both include other content that hasn't yet been disclosed. Microsoft's 343 Industries, which is creating Halo 5: Guardians, says it will reveal more about the exclusive content in each at a later time.
Meanwhile, if you purchased Halo: The Master Chief Collection, you can begin playing the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta beginning today at 12 noon ET. All of the content you unlock during the beta will carry over to the final version of the game, 343 Industries says. The beta ends on January 18, 2015. Which is unfortunate: Given the problems Microsoft has had with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, maybe the company could keep the beta open a bit longer.
Game on.
