Halo Story Bible

"It is the ponderous collection of lies, damned lies, and half-truths from which the entire Halo Universe is constructed."

- Robert McLees

The Halo Story Bible, often shortened as the Story Bible, is a reference document created by Bungie. As a developer's text, the Story Bible contains information that ensures consistency throughout the development of the Halo franchise.

Background
Consisted of four black-and-silver looseleaf binders, the Story Bible is under the care of Frank O'Connor of 343 Industries. When the Story Bible is not with O'Connor, it is stored in a locked metal cabinet in the studio's offices, which are inaccessible to the rest of Microsoft. Eric Nylund, writer of three Halo novels, commented in a letter to Halopedia that the Story Bible was given to him during the writing of the books and quickly taken back once the novels were complete. Some less-sensitive material from the Story Bible was published in the Halo: Combat Evolved: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets strategy guide. Various portions of the Story Bible, including weapon- and vehicle-related information, have been posted on Bungie.net as well. The Halo Encyclopedia also contains new information on canon, and some of its content originated from the Story Bible.

Following Bungie's end of partnership with Microsoft, Microsoft internal studio (now known as 343 Industries) sought assistance from Starlight Runner Entertainment to assemble a "Halo Bible" to ensure that the fictional content is understandable and easily digest for any future development of the Halo franchise. During the development of Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo, new additions were incorporated into the story bible to fill gaps and bridge parts of the Halo Universe.

Trivia

 * The binders are black and silver, and it weighs 10 lbs (including the contents).
 * It is apparent that the material in the Story Bible is not entirely static, as the Kig-yar homeworld of Eayn is a fictional satellite of a real extrasolar planet, HD 69830 d, that was not discovered until May 2006.
 * During a private question and answer session, Martin O'Donnell jokingly claimed that he had memorized every chapter and verse of the Halo Story Bible.
 * On February 12th, 2010, both Martin O'Donnell and Frank O'Connor joined host Chris Cashman in his booth during a special session of 1 vs 100. When answering a fan's question about continuity in the Halo universe, both of them jokingly referred to the Halo Story Bible.