Halo Wars 2

"Know your enemy."

- Official tagline

Halo Wars 2 is a real-time strategy video game and a direct sequel to Halo Wars, developed by both Creative Assembly and 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios. It was first revealed at Gamescom 2015 with a teaser trailer. The game will be released simultaneously on Windows 10 and Xbox One on February 21, 2017, and was playable at E3 2016.

Plot
"There's a sense of scale and scale that I think was maybe missing from Halo Wars."

- Frank O'Connor

Halo Wars 2 takes place twenty-eight years after the events of Halo Wars in 2531, after  had floated adrift in space for decades and declared by the rest of the United Nations Space Command as "lost with all hands". The remaining crew of Spirit of Fire are awoken from cryo-sleep above the Forerunners' Installation 00, previously the setting for Halo 3. Led by Captain James Cutter, the crew of Spirit of Fire encounter the violent mercenary faction known as The Banished, led by the cunning Jiralhanae warlord Atriox. Having previously battled the Covenant, the Banished rose to power in wake of the empire's fall in 2552 by gaining control of numerous assets from the Covenant.

According to franchise director Frank O'Connor, a primary theme of the game is two commanders from two very different backgrounds facing off against each other in an attempt to gain control of Installation 00. The crew of Spirit of Fire, having been in cryo-sleep since 2531, are unaware of the nature of the installation nor do they know the result of the Human-Covenant War. In an effort to return home, Cutter leads the ship's crew to the surface of Installation 00 to search for a way to reconnect with the rest of the UNSC. It is at this time that the crew encounter Atriox and The Banished. While Halo Wars 2 will tonally feel like a direct continuation of Halo Wars, managing director Kevin Grace claims that the game will have a similar tone to Halo: Combat Evolved, as the game's setting is primarily contained within one location.

Gameplay
Halo Wars 2 is a real-time strategy video game with two playable factions: the United Nations Space Command and the Banished. The game's campaign will consist of thirteen missions.

The multiplayer mode will feature a number of gamemodes and will support up to six players, one for each leader in the game; known leaders are Captain James Cutter and Atriox. Skirmish allows players, through solo or cooperative play, to battle against AIs with a range of difficulty levels. Strongholds is a fast-paced, timed gamemode where players must control more bases than their opponent when the timer stops to win. Domination centers around players building bases, armies, and battling for control of the map. Deathmatch will also involve players building up their own bases and armies, though players battle to eliminate one another rather than taking control of the map. Blitz will be a new gamemode with an unique approach to RTS gameplay.

Campaign
The Halo Wars 2 campaign consists of twelve missions.
 * 1) The Signal - "Spartan Jerome and Red Team investigate the source of a UNSC emergency signal."
 * 2) A New Enemy - "Captain Cutter dispatches a strike team to launch an attack against Atriox's lieutenant, Decimus."
 * 3) Ascension - "Spartan Jerome and his forces fight through Banished fortifications on the way to the Cartographer."
 * 4) One Three Zero - "Fighting behind enemy lines, Spartan Alice must rescue UNSC prisoners to open up a second front in the war against the Banished."
 * 5) The Cartographer - "Professor Anders and Jerome arrive at the Cartographer to discover the secret of Atriox's command over the Ark."
 * 6) Lights Out - "Jerome must destroy The Banished's portal network controls and cripple Atriox's transport capabilities across the Ark."
 * 7) From the Deep - "Alice must defend against the Banished as they assault her rag-tag band of survivors."
 * 8) Hold the Line - "In part one of Isabel's plan, the UNSC must defend a Forerunner cannon as it immobilizes the Banished's carrier and breaks through its shields."
 * 9) Under The Dark - "In part two of Isabel's plan, Jerome and Isabel infiltrate a Banished compound and prepare to enter the belly of the beast."
 * 10) The Foundry - "Alice and Douglas lead an assault to cut off the wave of Banished boarding the Halo."
 * 11) The Halo - "A reunited Red Team must push back the Banished invasion of the Halo so Anders can reach the Control Room."
 * 12) Last Stand - "Cutter and his crew must fend off the Banished in a final defense of Anders as she prepares the Halo for its voyage."

Multiplayer
In Blitz, players contest control points by positioning their forces over particular areas of the map. When one team holds more control points than the other, they start accumulating points until the balance is redressed. The first team to hit 200 points, or the highest scoring team after 12 minutes wins the game.


 * Maps
 * Proving Grounds

Development
Blur Studio will once again create pre-rendered CGI sequences for the game's cutscenes.

After the announcement of Halo Wars 2, Creative Assembly went on to publicly advertise positions working on the game.

Halo Wars 2 Announce Trailer
On August 4, 2015, at Gamescom 2015, Halo Wars 2 was first announced by Bonnie Ross. The Halo Wars 2: Announce Trailer is a pre-rendered trailer showcasing Halo Wars 2. The trailer was created and produced by Blur Studio, in collaboration with 343 Industries and Creative Assembly. It was directed by Blur Studio's Dave Wilson.

Atriox statues
Around August to November 4, 2015, for the numerous parties involved in Halo Wars 2, Jeremy Cook, Art Director at 343 Industries, made 3, 9 inch, statues of Atriox, who was featured in the announcement trailer. The statues were made using the very detailed highpoly meshes Blur studio made, and the statues are fully colored, the skin and hair is blue and grey, and armor is metallic.

The first statue was finished sometime before August 21. The second bust was finished during a power cut on September 1, and was given to Creative Assembly, The third and final statue was colored using a Valejo airbrush primer, with its color blended in so it can be detailed and highlighted, to finally be finished on November 4, and was given to Blur Studios.

Halo Wars 2 toys
On February 12, 2016, numerous toys were announced with the start of a partnership with Mattel. Two of which were the MegaBloks Jackrabbit, and the Boomco Type-25 Spiker set to be featured in Halo Wars 2.

E3 2016
At E3 2016, a Halo Wars 2 demo was playable. Also at E3 was shown the Halo Wars 2 Official E3 trailer, and a behind the scenes of that specific trailer.

Halo War 2 Open Beta
During E3 2016 it was announced that between June 13 and June 20, 2016 a open beta for Halo Wars 2 would be available. The beta was later extended an additional three days. Another Beta for both Xbox One and Windows 10 will be available closer to the game's full launch.

RTX 2016
At RTX 2016, a cinematic trailer for Halo Wars 2 was revealed during 343 Industries' panel on July 2, 2016.

Know Your Enemy
A ViDoc was shown on July 22, 2016, after 343 Industries' panel at SDCC 2016, and it focused on the story and characters of the game.

Multiplayer ViDoc
The ViDoc was shown on October 19, 2016, and its focused on Halo Wars 2's multiplayer, including the first look to the new gamemode Blitz.

Atriox
A cinematic trailer for Halo Wars 2 was revealed on December 2, 2016 at Game Awards 2016, and it focused on the story of Atriox and the Banished.

#TwitterHaloWars
Starting on January 17, 2017, 343 Industries ran a twitter minigame to promote the new Blitz Mode of Halo Wars 2. Played over twitter's Direct Messaging system, players could face off against the computer or challange their friends with the hashtag #twitterhalowars. Players were rewarded for their victory with an exclusive skin code. The game concluded on February 16, 2017.

Blitz Beta
The second Halo Wars 2 open beta ran from January 20-30, 2017. It featured the new multiplayer gametype, Blitz, and the map Proving Grounds.

Limited edition poster series
The release of a series of limited edition posters depicting central characters from Halo Wars 2 was announced on February 2, 2017. These posters, three sets of paired prints featuring Let 'Volir and Professor Anders, Isabel and Decimus, and Atriox and Capt. Cutter, were produced by 343 Industries with artists Grzegorz “Gabz” Domaradzki, Craig Drake, and Kevin Tong (respectively for each set). The release dates and availability of these posters will later be revealed on twitter. Murals based on these posters were also later installed by 343 Industries through local artists in six U.S. cities: Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and San Francisco.

Launch trailer
The official launch trailer for Halo Wars 2 was released on February 6, 2017.

War of Wits
Released on February 9, 2017, War of Wits is a pair of live-action trailers that humorously portray the dynamic between Atriox and Captain Cutter in mundane real-life situations.