Halo 4

"Wake up, John."

- Official tagline

Halo 4 is the recently announced seventh installment in the best-selling Halo franchise. A teaser trailer shown at Microsoft's E3 Media Briefing on June 6th, 2011 confirmed that Halo 4 is to be the first installment in a new series of games known as the Reclaimer Trilogy.

Plot
"Set in the aftermath of Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Halo 4 marks the start of a new trilogy that begins with its release in 2012."

- Official summary

Halo 4 marks the return of John-117 as a playable protagonist after three Halo games focusing on different sets of characters. Having been lost in space in the finale of Halo 3, John-117 and Cortana, adrift aboard the wreckage of the frigate, find themselves near a mysterious planet, first seen in the Legendary ending of Halo 3.

It has been noted that the Forerunner Saga novel Halo: Primordium, the post-war novel Halo: Glasslands, as well as the terminals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, will "definitely" have "resonant connections" to Halo 4's story.

Announcement trailer
Released during Microsoft's E3 2011 media briefing, the trailer depicts Cortana awakening John-117 from cryo sleep on the wreckage of Forward Unto Dawn, followed by John securing Cortana's storage chip and rushing through the wreckage to witness the ship being pulled into an enormous opening on the surface of a mysterious planet.

Director's Cut
This version of the Awakening trailer, which was released during GamesCom 2011, features a few changes from the original version. The background melody is different from original video, and continues until the end of the trailer. When John reaches the holotank, he does not speak to Cortana. Near the end of the trailer, he throws away his weapon rather than reloading it.

Concept Art Glimpse
A video presenting several pieces of concept art was initially presented during at Halofest by 343 Industries and was subsequently released on Halo Waypoint's YouTube channel in the form of a trailer. The trailer presents concept art of a world which appears to have a similar atmosphere to Earth's, several location drafts which feature buildings and ships that follow the Forerunner's style of architecture and design, concepts of the Forward Unto Dawn 's wreckage, and some concepts of the unidentified planet.

Characters

 * Cortana
 * John-117

Locations

 * Legendary planet

Vehicles

 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle

Weapons

 * Unidentified UNSC weapon

Internal

 * Halo 3
 * Halo 4 announcement trailer

External

 * Halo 4 on Halo Waypoint
 * Halo 4 on Xbox Marketplace
 * Halo 4 on Wikipedia
 * Halo 4 Announcement Trailer
 * Halo 4 Director's Cut Trailer
 * Halo 4 Concept Art Glimpse