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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 for five years after the finale of Halo 3, John-117 and Cortana, adrift aboard the wreckage of the aft section of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn, find themselves near Requiem, the Forerunner Dyson sphere first seen in the Legendary ending of Halo 3.

The story of Halo 4 will be heavily focused on mystery, exploration and discovery, and has been described as being grand in scope and scale. Forerunner elements will be featured extensively, including elements in Halo 4's online multiplayer. It has also been suggested that the game will reveal how humanity and the UNSC have adapted to the post-war world, particularly how they have co-opted Forerunner technology into their military devices and assets. The former subject species of the Covenant Empire return in the game, with the supposed Sangheili allies and their former Unggoy subordinates, turned enemies, have banded together and engage with John-117 in combat. However, the Covenant are taking a backseat to an entirely new antagonist, the Prometheans, which has been said to be a "threat beyond anything that Master Chief has faced before." The subject of Cortana's ongoing Rampancy, a year beyond her ideal functional lifespan, will also be thoroughly and prominently detailed in Halo 4.

Beginning approximately on July 20th, 2557, four years and seven months after the armistice ending the Human-Covenant War, a prologue cinematic will educate new players to the game and refresh fans on the events leading up to the present day. Cortana, laying silent for years, notices that the ship's intruder alarms have activated and attempts to wake John-117 from cryo-sleep. Cortana notifies him that in his sleep, she rewrote the firmware of his MJOLNIR Mark VI armor, upgrading the HUD, armor capabilities, while giving a new overall appearance. With alarms ringing and the intruders spreading to multiple decks, John slips Cortana's chip back into his neural interface and upon opening a sealed hatch, unpressurized rooms rip him from the deck and send him into the vacuum. After climbing up an elevator shaft, suddenly, a Sangheili swordsman comes charging at the Spartan supersoldier. After a brief close quarters engagement with the soldier, he kicks him down the shaft to his death. John questions the AI construct on why his once-formidable allies have attacked them, to which she has no answer. After fighting the Sangheili and their "repatriated" Unggoy subordinates, John makes his way to the aft observation deck, viewing a large Covenant fleet surrounding the Forward Unto Dawn while multiple boarding crafts dock with the heavily damaged aft section of the frigate. John and Cortana subsequently make a crash-landing on the Forerunner Dyson sphere Requiem, entering the sphere via an entrance in the superstructure.

Days after their arrival on Requiem, a Human warship, the 5.6 kilometer-long, entered Requiem's system and was promptly scanned by alien forces. The advanced warship was then dragged down into the planet through its external protective casing and proceeded to crash land. John-117 and Cortana, who witnessed the ship breaking through the atmosphere and fly over their position detirmined that the Infinity would crash nearly 78 kilometers from where they were. As the two were watching Infinity fly low to the surface, a large sphere known as a Cryptum, a sealed capsule for those who desired to exile themselves, uncloaked itself and presented before the Spartan and his AI companion. The Cryptum scanned the immediate landscape and John-117 before quickly pursuing the crashing UNSC warship.

Unlike Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 4 is designed to be part of a three-game arc from the beginning. In addition, 343 Industries is aiming for more complete connectivity among all of their future media than that of the original trilogy; the Forerunner Saga and Kilo-Five Trilogy novels, and the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary terminals have been stated as "definitely" having "resonant connections" to Halo 4's story. The third and final Forerunner Saga novel, with the working title of "Silentium", is expected to be released on January 13th, 2013. Frank O'Connor noted that Silentium will be released after Halo 4 for "specific strategic reasons" likely referring to the connectivity of the game and the novel. A live action series, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, will provide a backstory for several characters set to appear in the game; this series will consist of five episodes totaling 75 minutes. The Halo 4 Collectors Edition will include a 90 minute extended cut of the series.