Microsoft will be releasing Halo 4 at the end of 2012, as reported by a number of sources including ars technica.
“It’s official. As expected, at this morning’s E3 keynote, Microsoft revealed both Halo 4 and an enhanced remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo 4 will be the start of an all-new trilogy and will launch on the 360 at the end of next year. And unlike some of the more recent entries in the franchise, it stars none other than Master Chief.”
Once again though, Microsoft doesn’t own the domain name for an upcoming title. In this case, Halo4.com. The unidentified owner has put up the name for sale at Sedo with an asking price of $10,000.
Halo domain names
Halo4.com isn’t the only domain related to the Halo franchise Microsoft doesn’t own. The company also doesn’t own Halo.com or Halo1.com.
The company does own Halo2.com and Halo3.com. Both Halo2.com and Halo3.com were acquired by Microsoft on April 27, 2004. Halo2.com switched straight over to Microsoft Corporation, while Halo3.com was put in Microsoft’s broker’s name Trout & Zimmer, before switching over to Microsoft Corporation nearly two years later on February 23, 2006, according to DomainTools.
In 2010 Microsoft launched Halo Reach without owning the domain, a name it still doesn’t own. However, it did finally acquire Kinect.com.
Readers: What do you think? Will Microsoft purchase the name for $10,000 via Sedo from its current owner, acquire the name through other means like a domain dispute, or simply do nothing?