Rumor: Halo 2 Anniversary coming to Xbox One this year, Halo 5 pushed to 2015, Crackdown 3 due Q1 2016 [Update 5]

Halo 2 Anniversary is in development for Xbox One and will launch on November 11, according to an alleged Microsoft insider posting on NeoGAF. 

On the popular forums site, users who claim to have inside information must be verified by the administrators. An administrator got in touch with the user, ntkrnl, and confirmed he was ‘good and cleared.’

According to the user, the Halo 2 remake will include “all sorts” of additional content, and will include beta access to Halo 5.

He also mentioned a “Halo real-time show” in the works. “Think Forward Unto Down (not the Spielberg stuff),” he said.

What does that mean for the new Halo game announced prior to E3 last year? It’s coming out in 2015, according to ntkrnl.

Halo 2: Anniversary isn’t the only thing planned, however. Ntkrnl added that Crackdown 3 is being planned for the first quarter of 2016, and will be an “unlikely announcement at E3 this year.” He suggests Cloudgine is involved in the project.

The user’s final bit of alleged knowledge teases Microsoft’s fall Xbox One lineup. One user suggested Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break, and Halo 2 Anniversary will headline the fall, to which the insider replied, “Oh, you’re good.” Also, apparently Fable Legends is planned for summer 2015.

Update: Ntkrnl has shared a host of other information:

• Black Tusk Studios’ espionage project was code-named “Shangheist.” (ref)
• Quantum Break and Sunset Overdrive are planned for fall 2014. No subtle hints this time. A white console bundle with Sunset Overdrive and a “fancy” controller will launch in October. (ref, 2, 3)
• Forza Horizon 2 is in development and coming fall 2014 (“likely September”). It will have a weather system, open world, co-op and social features, and run in 1080p. Also “powered by the cloud.” (ref, 2)
• A limited edition 1 terabyte Xbox One is planned for November. (ref)
• Saber and Certain Affinity are working on the Halo 2 remake. There will be multiplayer. (ref, 2)
• Xbox One is coming to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, Sweden Norway, Finland, Denmark, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina in April 2014. And to China, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Allied Emirate Israel, India, Indonesia, and Egypt in October. (ref)
• Games with Gold on Xbox One will start around April. (ref)
• The majority of these announcements are coming in March, then at E3. (ref)

The Verge has corroborated on some of these rumors. Its sources verified that a white console is coming later this year, and that a system update is being planned for March, which will fixing a number of issues with the Xbox Live service, including Party-chat problems and issues with the placement of social features. It also mentions Microsoft testing an Xbox One SKU without a Blu-ray drive.

Update 2: And some more:

• There will be two versions of Halo 2 Anniversary: a collector’s edition with beta access and a War Collection with Xbox One ports of Halo 3 and Halo 4. (ref)
• Sunset Overdrive is set at some point in the future. Everyone drinks a drink called “Overcharge XT or whatever,” and you either “turn into one of these giganto monsters or you die.” A corporation has taken control of the city to wipe this out, because it’s their drink. There will supposedly be managed content developed for an entire year following release, and the game is set in an “open / breathable world.” (ref)
• PlatinumGames is developing “Project Nagano” for release on Xbox One in 2016. It was previously rumored by known NeoGAF insider CBOAT that PlatinumGames was developing an Xbox One-exclusive title. (ref)

Remember to take all of this with some salt, guys.

Update 3: The next ‘leak’ concerns a Titanfall limited edition Xbox One bundle, which you’ll find a supposed mock-up of here.

According to the poster, “real ones are serialized and sitting on pallets in South East Asia.” (ref)

In this case, however, Famousmortimer, another known NeoGAF insider, has said the bundle does not exist, at least as of two weeks ago.

Remember the salt! This supposed insider has said a lot tonight, ranging from believable to kooky. Be sure to approach these with the right mindset.

Update 4: Famousmortimer does add, however, “For the record, nearly everything else this dude has posted is correct, to my knowledge.”

Update 5: And now Famousmortimer is also corroborating the Titanfall Xbox One report. The update comes from his Twitter account. He also shared the feeling that this was a “controlled leak”—meaning one set up by Microsoft in some way.